Guyana’s leading Amerindian given moving farewell at Umana Yana

Dec 17, 2009 News

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Minister within the Ministry of Education, Dr Desrey Fox, was cremated yesterday following a very solemn funeral service at the Umana Yana.
Scores of Education Ministry employees and members of the wider society filled the building which was constructed by Amerindians for the Non Aligned Summit in 1972.  It was built as a tribute to Amerindians and therefore formed an apt venue for the first Amerindian to secure a Doctorate and who set out to preserve the Amerindian heritage.
The political fraternity also came out in their numbers to bid farewell to their fellow colleague who in her lifetime was a Member of Parliament.
Mr. Robert Corbin, who delivered a tribute on behalf of the opposition parties, remembered Minister Fox as a well-devoted person to her work. He said that her sudden demise has been a tremendous blow to the political arena.
Mr Corbin posited that he is sure that Minister Fox’s memory would live on even after her death.
University lecturer Al Creighton spoke on behalf of the University of Guyana of which the Minister was a well-achieved researcher.
He echoed that the Minister’s death was sudden and a great loss to Guyana as a whole.
Mr. Rexford Caesar, the Minister’s brother said that his sister’s death took him by surprise.  He said that he fondly remembers his sister cooking the traditional Amerindian dishes whenever he would visit her home.
“My sister was an exceptional cook” he reminisced while trying to hold back the tears. She has left me preparing traditional dishes even as I reside in America.
General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Donald Ramotar said that party has lost a stalwart.
He said that Minister Fox loved life and was dedicated. He said that her children should find comfort in the fact that  their  mother has achieved what some people only could dream of.
He also said that other interior children should try and follow in the Minister’s footsteps and so help celebrate the minister’s life.
Prime Minister Sam Hinds, who is performing the duties of President, said that Government is dealing with a tremendous loss.
He said that the late Minister brought a unique package when she came into the party.
The Prime Minister described the late Minister as a very fair and evenhanded woman who loved life.
The Ministry’s of Education National School’s Choir and National Steel Orchestra delivered musical renditions. These were fashioned by Minister Fox mere days before she died. Minister Fox’s relatives paid their respect through their heritage Akawaio songs.
The Minister’s mother gave her tribute to her late daughter through song also, and melted the hearts of the gathering, especially one of the Minister’s nieces who began screaming hysterically “why did you go without saying you were leaving”.
Ian Persaud, a dear friend of the Minister gave detailed accounts of what the Minister achieved and what she believed in. He delivered the eulogy.
His tribute was followed by a sermon and closing prayer by Pastor Phillip Bowman.
The political fraternity was left in shock last Friday, after the Minister died. The Minister passed away shortly after 03:00hrs on Friday while she was still receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Dr Fox was a victim in an accident on December 8 at the junction of J.B Singh Public Road and Thomas Road. That accident involved her motor vehicle, PKK 8875, and an ambulance.
At the time of the accident, the ambulance was responding to an emergency call that a man had fallen off a scaffold at Victoria, East Coast Demerara.
A post mortem showed that the Minister died from multiple injuries, which she sustained in the accident. One source said that her death could have been attributed to the fact that she was diabetic.
Dr. Desrey Fox was no ordinary Amerindian woman. She held a doctorate from Rice University, the so-called Harvard of America’s south
Dr Fox was a virtual reservoir of knowledge on Amerindian languages and culture, including the dreaded Kanaima.
She studied the Kanaima for her Masters dissertation while at the University of Kent at Canterbury, in the United Kingdom.
Minister Fox became one of the founding members of the Amerindian Language Project at the University of Guyana, now called the Amerindian Research Unit.
Fox spent 29 years at the Amerindian Affairs Unit – the longest serving – and over time became instrumental in the publishing of many publications on Amerindian language and culture.
Because of her strong track record, Dr Fox had been chosen to be Minister within the Ministry of Education when President Bharrat Jagdeo formulated his new Cabinet after the 2006 elections.
Dr Fox had always remained grateful to all those who had helped her to achieve her goals.

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