AFC Will Sorely Miss its Sankar Nirahu

Feb 15, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
The opposition AFC party in Guyana dn ist support group in NY and the Guyanese community in Richmond Hill area will sorely miss the contribution of Sri. Sankar Nirahu who passed away suddenly in New York last week. He was such a decent human being that one cannot fault with him. And he was respectful of everyone including those on the political opposition.
Sankar, as he was called, was committed and dedicated to the AFC. He did so much for fledgling party since the inception and for the Guyanese community in the greater Richmond Hill area patronizing cultural events including participation in the annual Phagwah celebrations. He was one of the key AFC organizers in New York not only in organizing meetings but in fundraising efforts. And he himself made significant financial contribution to the party.
He was respectful and decent and willing to listen to the views of others even when they were in disagreement with his. With regards to his political views, he was not supportive of suggestions that AFC should join APNU before the 2011 election or after the elections when the PPP became a minority government by one seat. He also did not support some of the policies of the AFC in parliament. But he was not one to publicly go against his party. He felt that AFC should retain its independence, using the same description used by Ramjattan — political kokobey – when asked about any political affiliation with the PNC. His views, however, were evolving, and he talked constantly of political change since the 2006 election.
Sankar’s death came as a complete shock to me and others who knew well and who and interacted with him. He was not ailing in the least, and the last time I saw him he was a healthy young man, jovial and high spirited in his conversation. It just goes to show we are all human and can succumb to ailments suddenly, and therefore, we need to pay attention to our health.
Sankar was one of the nicest guys I met and interacted with. He was simple and modest and had no ego about him. I met him some twenty years ago while he was a sales agent at Ed Ahmad’s Realty in Richmond Hill. After he left Ahmad’s realty, I would bounce up with him on 111 Street of Jamaica Avenue where he shared an office with others, just above where Universal Airlines had its office. We also met a few times on the aircraft traveling to Guyana or on Liberty Avenue by pure coincidence. In all of my conversations, he would tell me he looked forward for my columns and reports on the Guyanese diaspora. He always commended me for my volunteerism serving the Guyanese diaspora and writing on Guyana and the Guyanese diaspora in New York. He was always interested in my views on the politics of our homeland and findings of polls I conducted there.
Sankar was not a political activist in the same mould as say the late Lionel Peters or myself or a Vassan Ramracha in community affairs or in the liberation of Guyana from the throes of dictaorship. But he was an ardent supporter of the struggle for the restoration of democracy in Guyana. He attended many political meetings in New York including several where Dr. Jagan was the Chief Guest and later on when Presidents Janet and Jagdeo visited New York. He was at several PPP fundraisers long before the AFC was formed. But like several Guyanese, he became disgruntled with happenings in the PPP. And like many of us overseas he was very disappointed when Khemraj Ramjattan was expelled from the PPP. When the AFC was formed in 2006, he supported Ramjattan, and he remained a supporter until his death last week.
I should note that unlike several other real estate brokers and mortgage agents, he did not get himself into trouble with the law. He stayed above real estate scandals.
Although he was not an activist, in the true sense of meaning of the word, the AFC will sorely miss his presence in New York and his visits to Guyana to cultivate support for the party. Rest well Sankar-ji.
Vishnu Bisram

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