Great living Guyanese

Nov 18, 2008 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

No one, absolutely no one, can accuse me of acknowledging inspirational Guyanese after they would have passed on in life. I don’t believe in that.

I accept that when we see great people in our midst we must let others know what they have achieved for us. This page has been going on for a long time and it is littered with praise for Eusi Kwayana.

It is a tremendous loss to the essential being of this nation that Eusi Kwayana has migrated. Like every human being, he has his faults (one of which is that he must stop writing in esoteric styles) but this grand elder statesman is the man of the 20th century for this land.

I have had the priceless gift of having shared a relationship with Eusi Kwayana in the Working People’s Alliance. I have learnt many positive values from Eusi Kwayana.

He has imbued me with a sense of appreciation and understanding of the other ethnic communities other than one’s own race.

He taught me to comprehend the lesson that in Guyana, the freedom of your own race will never last long once it comes through the enslavement of other ethnic groups.

He has been an outstanding figure through his courage and phenomenal energy in fighting for a Guyana in which its citizens can enjoy the full worth of freedom.

I have done more than two columns on Yesu Persaud and have made numerous passing references to him. Mr. Yesu Persaud is simply a Guyanese par excellence.

If one is going to write on his immense contribution to this nation then the notes will fill more than just one book. This is a Guyanese citizen who has dedicated his life to making something out of his country.

You are not going to find in a generation to come an Eusi Kwayana and Yesu Persaud. Let us remember the other phenomena in our midst. I would like to mention two unsung heroes whose goodness a majority of Guyanese do not know about.

They do not seek the limelight. They refuse to be written about. They just go about doing their humanitarian gestures quietly.

One is Mohamed Nazar, popularly known to his friends as “Shell.” His establishment on Lombard Street is well known to many shoppers. “Shell” is a huge donor to charity.

A practising Muslim, he gives away untold sums to good causes. This is a man who accepts the philosophy that we are in this world to help others. His Christian counterpart is Courtney Benn, from the famous engineering company that bears his name.

A dedicated Christian who keeps a tiny bible on his desk and reads it while engaged in his business duties, Courtney is a giant of a human being.

His philosophy is identical to that of “Shell” in the way they see their mission on earth – we must help the poor and the less fortunate.

You don’t read about the funds these people donate because their style is to remain in the background.
I hope these paragraphs here will help to inform people that we do have our philanthropists in this country and their hearts are big as any Bill Gates. I must include Sister of Mercy nun, Mary Noel Menezes. What a fantastic Guyanese heroine.

The young people of this nation must know about the heroic deeds of great Guyanese that are still living and working amongst us. One of the finest Jesuit priests to emerge in these parts of the world is Father Malcolm Rodrigues.

He took the Catholic Church into the fight for a free and fair elections and Guyana won. This valorous accomplishment was not without its risks and danger and risks and danger did visit Father Rodrigues.

There are times I have not seen eye to eye to Mike Mc Cormack of the Guyana Human Rights Association but twenty-five years of fighting for justice should be applauded.

Mr. Mc Cormack has played his part in keeping alive a future for Guyana. I have had my disagreements with Professor Clive Thomas but here is another citizen who ranks among the few outstanding contributors to the freedoms that we fought so hard for after 1968.

No offer of praise would be complete without the fantastic input of Moses Bhagwan. My wife and I visited him in hospital after he was savagely set upon by pro-government thugs. He went to jail for printing Dayclean, the organ of the WPA.

We must continue to remember the heroism of Dr. Joshua Ramsammy. He almost lost his life in 1973 when he survived an assassin’s bullet. I hope each year there will be a gathering to commemorate the patriotism of these extraordinary Guyanese.

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Great living Guyanese

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