The Story within the Story… A paved Linden/Lethem Road and our Henry Rodneys

Jun 26, 2016 Peeping Tom

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By Leonard Gildarie

Friends of one of Guyana’s most enduring faces, Henry Rodney, gathered last night at the National Cultural Centre for a benefit concert. The comedian/actor/poet/folklorist is facing one of toughest roles yet…an unknown illness that has left him almost immobile.

With local doctors unable to determine what exactly is wrong with him, his friends and family are now looking to send him overseas for medical help. It will not be easy.

Artistes in Guyana are facing tough times because of little copyright protection for their work. In turn, the respect they should have commanded is simply not there.

We like the songs and would hear them as the opening acts for local shows, but rarely do we see them featuring as the main act.
Where are the slots on local TV that should be dedicated to locals? The Broadcasting Authority will do well to look in this direction. Do we have plans to introduce programmes that will see at least 40 percent being local talent? Maybe more?

Save for the National Cultural Centre and Theatre Guild, our actors are facing an uphill task to make ends meet.

I am amazed at our singers- the Mystics; the Poonam Singhs and the list goes on.

It is about time to not only move swiftly to pass legislation to protect the work of our artistes, but seriously think about a fund that can be dipped into to nudge them in the right direction.

Someone in the crowd will, of course, yell out that there are programmes at the Department of Culture.

Yeah right. How well has that worked? Who has benefitted?

I remembered in the ‘90s when Rodney had Guyana glued to the telly with the locally produced sitcom, ‘Agree to Disagree’. I loved it. We have listened to him over the years, telling his stories and even acting in movies.

Rodney’s work with taking folk songs to another level may be unknown to the younger generation, but his voice and style are quite familiar to lovers of that kind of music.

Sad to say, it appears to be a dying art.

I have spoken to a few businessmen already, as it is intolerable that we would stand by and allow an icon to suffer. We will be helping. I am hoping that we can trigger a wave of help also from corporate Guyana when it comes to comes to all our Henry Rodneys.

Speaking with him, I could not help but feel a sense of resignation. We are a better people than that.

I could not also help but feel this week that it is time that the authorities pay attention to our artistes and their contributions. We see so many unknowns who have been given national awards, yet our artistes continue to be overlooked.

This past week, also, there has been news of the Linden/Lethem road and our cooperation with Brazil. It will be recalled that Guyana and its neighbour had signed a cooperation pact to develop the road, and build a deepwater harbour and a major hydro electric dam somewhere in the Mazaruni, Region Seven.

However, Brazil is facing tough times. It is about to host the Olympic Games in six weeks’ time and seems to have overextended itself, and is unlikely to see returns on its massive investments.

Brazil has reportedly budgeted US$20B to hold the games.

With a host of corruption scandals and top Brazilian figures being implicated, it is unlikely that Brazil will be able to anytime soon to climb out of the hole it has dug itself into.

It will have implications on our cooperation with that neighbour. The last thing they would want to do is spend money outside the country.

Recently, outgoing Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy, Bryan Hunt, insisted that the Linden/Lethem road should be a priority for this Government. I agree. The current road, unpaved, is a key link from the coasts to Lethem, a border area with Brazil.

Along the way, it links up with many hinterland villages.

Developing the road will not only open the hinterland, but has trade implications for Guyana. The reasons are simple. Guyana is at the northern tip of South America, with easy routes to Africa, North America and Europe.

Brazil would cut days of delays by using the highway and a deep water harbour project that are being proposed. Gas stations, restaurants and a host of other businesses will spring up. The possibilities are endless.

Of course, there will be worry about the influx of visitors from Brazil and other places, and even the breaching of our gold-rich and forest areas.

The problem with that argument is that development comes with challenges. We will have to find the resources to deal with these when they surface.

One can look to Lethem and dream of when it would rival Georgetown for business.

That is what we should be looking for…the creation of more Georgetowns in the outlying areas. The challenge will be focus and determination. We will have to dig deep.

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