Harry Gill's hariolation on a bennettitaceous performance in Guyana

Harry Gill’s hariolation on a bennettitaceous performance in Guyana

Feb 05, 2011 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

There are two Harrys that can be found in the letter columns of the two independent dailies. One is Harry Hergash. He is from Canada. In his seventies now, he sees Guyana through a racial prism having witnessed the racial conflict in the sixties in Annandale.
He normally takes little punches at some of my pieces but has been stopped fast in his tracks. I doubt I will ever hear from him again. Hergash tries to come across as independent but ran into trouble last month. He observed that people have described Mr. Jagdeo as being autocratic. I inquired what his description is. He cannot and would not answer. If he agrees with the label of autocracy then it means that he would be seen as criticizing the PPP Government. He doesn’t want to do that.
If he disagrees that Mr. Jagdeo is not dictatorial then he loses that independent face that he wants to have. So we may never hear from the Canadian Harry again.
There is Harry Gill from New York. Mr. Gill should not be compared with the Canadian Harry. Mr. Gill’s assessments, analyses and observations are far superior to the Hergash guy. Mr. Gill is no apologist for elected dictatorship. Yesterday, The American Harry had a large missive in this paper in which he opined that the PPP will win the next elections. How can one argue with that? It is Harry’s opinion.
I don’t believe the PPP will see victory. That party was successful in 2001 and 2006 because there was a huge apathy among South Georgetowners. In 2006, the PPP won by 31,000 votes. An equal amount of south Georgetowners (who traditionally vote against Freedom House) did not show up on polling day.
No on can tell me about the attitudes of South Georgetown folks. That is where I lived all my life only moving in 2007. If the combined opposition can get their act together then the PPP will be defeated.
For example, on Thursday, the AFC took their election campaign to UG. That was not carried in the press. No one from the AFC told me about the visit so I could have assisted at my workplace.
Let us leave Harry with his opinion and move on two more dimensions of his letter. One deals with conceptual thinking. The other has to do with methodology in polemics. Let us deal with the conceptual framework first. Harry tells us that Trotman and Ramjattan are two inexperienced to run a government. But in a shocking contradiction a few paragraphs after, Harry tells us that the PPP Government has chalked up some fine accomplishments.
So didn’t Bharrat Jagdeo play a part in that success? Wasn’t Jagdeo less experienced than the entire leadership of the AFC when he became Finance Minister then, President? And if the PPP has a positive score card aren’t some of the inexperienced PPP leaders in 1992 responsible for it?
Harry Gill lives in the US; I don’t, so he is in a better position to judge the performance of Barack Obama. I live in Guyana; Harry doesn’t. I am in a better position to tell him about Guyanese politics and I am telling him now that Khemraj Ramjattan has been in politics longer than Barack Obama.
Let us move to methodology and here is where Harry shows his true colours. One suspects that his methodology will get him into further polemical hot water. Harry lists some of the Government’s positives. He was specific; roads, bridges, schools, houses, hospitals, training of doctors, Berbice Bridge.
Strangely, he wasn’t specific on the negatives. There was not one word. There was no mention of racism, sexual adventures, unspeakable corruption, suppression of many aspects of justice and rights, and disrespect for the rule of law.
Then Harry becomes absurd. Harry Gill sermonizes us with the “fact” that infrastructural works have been hampered by “greedy contractors” Wow Harry! Are you for real? Did I read right? Did you say “greedy contractors?” Or you meant PPP contractors? Or you meant to write “greedy politicians?
Finally, in what can only be a strange comment (one can use a harsher adjective), Gill informs us that David Granger is too loyal a soldier to be President? What is meant by that? Maybe Harry can tell us. But this I can tell Harry; give me a Granger any day than the clowns who have been in power the past 19 years.
Are these the people you see going back Harry and they will do better than Ramjatan, Granger and Trotman? You know something Harry – your slip is showing.

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Harry Gill’s hariolation on a bennettitaceous performance in Guyana

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