Rampersaud’s letter is riddled with the non-recognition of historical facts

Mar 13, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
Elections season is often referred to as ‘silly season’. This nomenclature seeks to highlight the level of idiocy that one should expect during this season. It will be very evident in the media, so much so, that it would be foolhardy to attempt to respond blow-for-blow. However, I pen this letter in response to Shivanie Rampersaud’s letter of March 12, 2015, to alert the public, especially the innocent youths, to the need to look out for the idiocy that will be spewed by false prophets, and wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Rampersaud’s letter is captioned : Don’t take my words for granted, get up and do your research!
That is a fortunate, though inappropriate, caption since any modicum of research will expose Rampersaud’s flawed approach to research and consequently erroneous conclusions.
Rampersaud merely seeks to present some facts of today as the negation of the facts of yesterday, purporting the non-existence of yesterday’s facts.
Rampersaud’s letter is riddled with the non-recognition of historical facts and attempts to elevate recent events to the first or only such occurrences, when in fact they are not first or singular, and on that basis seeks to discredit the Burnham era. That Foreign Policy, a major success story of much of the Burnham era, is chosen to make the case highlights either the lack of knowledge or intellectual dishonesty.
Here are a few samples to support my contention.
1. Rampersaud lauds the recent Guyana-Cuba Scholarship programme as evidence of unmatched PPP achievement. If research was done, or honesty employed, it would have been told that such a scheme predates 1992 by over 15 years. There are still beneficiaries of yester-years Cuban Scholarships, Afro, Amerindo and Indo Guyanese, who are still rendering yeoman service in our Health Sector today. They are living testimonies, not to forget our martyrs who died in the Cubana Air Disaster.
2. Rampersaud refers to Guyana’s present activism in the international arena as if there is no precedent. Had she researched or been honest, she would have recognized that one of the Burnham era’s acclaims was its recognition by, and respect in, international fora. This is amply evidenced by the various international committees it was represented on and chaired. A read of Sir Sridath’s autobiography is recommended as a source of enlightenment for Shivanie and those who may be her prey. The burnt-down Umana Yana is physical testimony of Guyana’s involvement in, and recognition by, the Non-Align Movement. The National Cultural Centre is living testimony of Guyana’s leadership in CARICOM and its cultural development, in particular.
3. As for economic recovery, the Hoyte Economic Recovery Programme is the programme on which Guyana’s economic recovery, from the mid 80s to the mid 90s, was founded. The economic growth of that era is still to be matched.
I can go on ad nauseam to itemize pre 1992 successes of Guyana but the few examples above will suffice as an illustration of Rampersaud’s flawed or intentionally misleading conclusions.
As I close I repeat her charge : “I challenge you not to sit there and take my word for granted, but get up and do your research”.
I am assured the results will not be as jaundiced as Rampersaud’s . Beware of “silly season”.
Vincent Alexander
Chairman
Forbes Burnham Foundation

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Rampersaud’s letter is riddled with the non-recognition of historical facts

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