‘Iron Lady’ and community stalwart…Edith Bynoe is a ‘Special Person’

May 11, 2014 News

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“I like to fight battles—with men—at organizational levels. When it comes to organizations, I like to see things go right!”

By Leon Suseran

Throughout her career, Edith Bynoe née Telford has been an ‘Iron Lady’ in the political arena, and has helped to shape that landscape. She says she loves to challenge men and champion the rights of women. And she always wins. She has dutifully represented the interests of a wide cross-section of Guyanese and can be duly considered a role model.

EARLY YEARS
This proud Berbician has her roots in Canje—-New Forest to be specific. Edith was born to educator Susan Moriah and Moses

Theophilus Telford, a boat captain of the S.S. Tarpon (which plied the Georgetown-Mabaruma route). She attended St. John’s Anglican School after which she received her secondary education in New Amsterdam. After school, she taught briefly at St. John’s, assisting her mother, the Deputy Head Mistress. Her father died when she was only four, leaving her mother to care for two children. The couple was just about to get married.
Young Edith grew up close to an aunt, Marianne McKenzie, who ensured she had a very strict upbringing. She admits that this was priceless later in life.  After studies at the Adult Education Association, she was successful at the Senior Cambridge Exam.
She then ventured into volunteerism for awhile. Her initial stint was as Secretary of the Parent-Teacher Association of St. John’s Anglican. The Guyana Federation of Women Institute, an organization for rural women, funded by the Government, was formed under her stewardship. That group led the way for her, so to speak. She assumed the Presidency, following which she was elected at the Regional and Executive level in the late 1950s. She enjoyed working with the groups of women, learning skills such as icing cakes, home-making, conducting conferences, etc.

POLITICAL CAREER AND COMMUNITY WORK
At the age of 21, Edith worked as a Poll Clerk during the very first elections in British Guiana for Universal Adult Suffrage, and embarked on what would be a very exciting and fulfilling political career.
Young lawyer Forbes Burnham was in New Amsterdam working on a case, Benfield vs Leelawattie, she recalled, and everyone was anxious to see him. She then became associated with both Cheddi Jagan and Burnham and joined the People’s National Congress (PNC) after the split in the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
She recalled walking long distances campaigning in those days. Then her community work began as she was vociferous in acquiring things for the communities of Canje and other areas, such as drainage and infrastructure.
As if that workload was not enough, Edith joined the Guyana Prison Service in the 1960s. She was also an active member of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and Rice Farmers’ Association, visiting far-flung communities.
“When rice farmers complained—I made it my duty to make representation for them—tractors, etc and they used to get it—For example, I got drainage for them at a place called ‘Speculation’.”

“Many times when I came from the fields and from meetings, I had to rush in to the prisons to get to work…I was tired but yet I felt I was doing something for people,” she reflected.
Mrs. Bynoe was instrumental in the formation of a Prison Officers’ Credit Union (still in existence today), and became the first woman to hold the office of President of the Berbice branch of the entity. Additionally, she was a member of the Executive body and “I fought a lot of issues especially in them getting their uniforms on time.”
She, too, suffered in getting uniforms and challenged her superiors, including the then Director of Prisons. She “rebelled” and wore civilian wear with psychedelic colours one day to work. The Director and members of the Visiting Committee visited the prisons on that day and after seeing and speaking with Bynoe, they all got their new uniforms soon after. They wanted shoes during another year, “so we decided to let the media to know about it”. She got into a bit of trouble with her superiors again, but got what she wanted.
Mrs. Bynoe was instrumental, through her community activism to then Minister of Education, Mrs. Winifred Gaskin, to get the Zorg Primary School at her home village of New Forest, built via self-help in 1966. She also made representation to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) for a piece of land in Canje where cotton was being planted and not being utilized, so that farmers could plant “and every soul there had a piece of land to plant…Whatever I did was in the interest of everybody, because they were my people! I always liked challenges; I always used to look after the people in Canje…I was like a mother of the ‘bad boys’.”
‘“I like to fight battles—with men—at organizational levels!” “When it comes to organizations, I like to see things go right,” she asserted.
She also fought for the men at the Berbice Mining Enterprises and was instrumental, through Prime Minister Burnham, in letting the workers who had to walk long distances, have buses take them to work.
The Mayor & Town Council of New Amsterdam was next in line to benefit from the determined voice of Mrs. Bynoe calling for a car for that entity’s Mayor.

“Georgetown, Linden, Rose Hall, and Corriverton’s Mayors all had cars and the Mayor of N/A Anthony Johnson used to ride a bicycle. So I asked at a General Council meeting, how is it that N/A was the first town of Guyana and they hadn’t a car….And that’s how the town got a car.”

PARLIAMENT AND OTHER PURSUITS
In 1974, she entered the National Assembly. Her village-folk, friends and families (of all political persuasions) in East Canje, threw her a big celebration. “The people in New Forest—all who were PPP, PNC or The United Force (TUF), all had a big function for me.”
“I worked so well, maybe, in the Ministry of National Development, that I was appointed Member of Parliament.”
In 1975, she was appointed Junior Minister within the Ministry of Trade, with specific responsibility to consumer protection. She was later appointed to Junior Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister in 1979. She worked under the then Prime Minister, Dr. Ptolemy Reid.
Mrs. Bynoe was also a member of the Women’s Revolutionary Socialist Movement (Congress of Women). She represented women in different countries such as Cuba and Mexico. While in politics, she took courses in Effective Communication and Public Relations at the University of Guyana Extra Mural Arm at Ogle.
“I always try to set examples. You cannot tell people to do something and then you are not making an attempt to do it. That’s not nice. When you are a leader, you do not live your own life. Many times you will wonder what the community will say or what they will think about you, so you have to live a life that’s pleasing to the community.”
Mrs. Byone was also involved in Co-ops. She was instrumental in the operation of the Tucber Housing Co-op, and as Secretary, did a lot of work in overseeing houses that were built and that contractors gave home-owners their money’s worth.
She also visited Canada and represented the Co-op there. “It’s amazing that we (in Guyana) are far ahead!”
Today, she still voices concerns about her community, especially regarding the roads.
“Right now I am hawking for the roads to see how much can be done… I am hoping the Regional Administration will do a little bit every year… the bad parts of the road.”
Edith is married to Mr. Prince Bynoe, and they have five lovely children: Walsham aka Prince, Jr.; Penelope, Paulette, Lorraine and Byran, with eleven grandchildren and six great-grands.

“I have lived a good life,” she asserted. “I have helped people in many ways, even those whom I did not know.”
She is insistent that women need to continue to stand up for their rights. She has represented them at different forums. In fact, in Parliament, she even successfully advocated for the banning of one of the Mighty Sparrow’s songs which said about women, “Black up dey eye, bruise up dey  knee, then dey love you eternally!”
“I banned it! I said, ‘no’, we cannot tolerate a song like that when we want to give women confidence in themselves…and then a man coming and sing a song like that. What message is that sending? That song was banned since the seventies.”
“Women need to assert themselves…have confidence in themselves, and believe in who they are.”
During her leisure time, Edith dances quite a bit. “I also enjoy writing…I love reading and I love to travel, as well as baking.”
It should be noted that among other significant achievements for this remarkable lady include being the first woman on the Berbice Bauxite Board and first woman, too, on the National Land Selection Committee in the then government. Having spent over 55 meaningful years in the political arena, Edith Bynoe can surely be deemed a ‘Special Person.’

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