The era, zeitgeist, mores have all changed

Dec 08, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

The Stabroek News is celebrating 30 years of existence so it offers a daily snippet of its reportage back in those days. Last week, it highlighted the outrage of society against a statement President Hoyte made in the early nineties about some high profile Portuguese Guyanese who were vocal about the upcoming general elections. He used a derogatory, shortened version of Portuguese that, like all other ethnic slangs, found their way in the vocabulary of most, if not all Guyanese from the 19th century onwards.
We all made reference to these descriptions because we grew up with them and it was normal for us to use them in the homes, at private gatherings and in the company of friends. But once made public, then context changes and context is everything in life. In the context of the exercise of high office, these words must never be uttered even if one wants to get over a point.
There was a petition to demand that Hoyte disavow what he said. The petition was signed by eminent citizens. Those days are long gone. No one composes petitions about the official abuse of power anymore much less to sign them. No one could be bothered about a President’s insult if to another race or an entire civilization. Those times vanished eons ago. I think of Mary Hopkins’ beautiful song, THOSE WERE THE DAYS in which she sang the following words;
“Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely figure really me
Through the door there came familiar laughter
I saw your face and heard you call my name
Oh my friend we’re older but no wiser
For in our hearts the dreams are still the same
Those were the days my friend
We thought they’d never end.”
I am not so sure the dreams are still the same. Yes, we are older but how wiser are we, wiser to the wrongs of power. It must be heart-breaking to know that those days are gone and there isn’t even a spark of hope that they will ever return.
Dr. Joshua Ramsammy, popular activist and university lecturer was shot during an attempt on his life in downtown Georgetown. In days to come, some of the most prominent citizens formed themselves into a delegation and climbed the stairs of the office of the Police Commissioner. The names in that delegation consisted of the Catholic Bishop of Guyana, the Anglican Bishop of Guyana, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, the Bar Association Head, President of the Medical Association, etc
Ramsammy was not killed but Courtney Crum-Ewing was. There wasn’t even a one-man delegation to the Police Commissioner to demand an investigation. It is inconceivable that in today’s Guyana, the Vice-Chancellor of the University would sign a human rights petition much less form a delegation to go to the Police Commissioner.
When one compares what Hoyte said to what Jagdeo did as President, one yearns for the return of those days but one will have to keep on yearning and will die in despair. In Burnham times and during Hoyte’s reign the dismissal of a school teacher or a public servant would be met with tempestuous protest in which the roar of placard-bearers would reverberate throughout Georgetown.
Such was the courage of the times when the spirit of protest roamed freely. Long after Burnham and Hoyte were gone, nine security officials were dismissed because they failed a lie detector test whose validity is not backed by the laws of Guyana. That was followed by another wave of dismissals through lie detector failure. This time the victims were employees of the state-owned, Energy Authority. Could one imagine the chaos in Guyana if Forbes Burnham’s wife had told the nation that she was cruelly ill-treated?
Hoyte was confronted (and rightfully so) for the use of insulting remarks about one of Guyana’s ethnic communities. But that pales in comparison to what Bharrat Jagdeo told Guyanese in the 2015 election campaign. He warned them if the APNU party got into power, the homes of PPP supporters will be invaded; they will be robbed and killed. Where were the Bishops of Guyana and the Vice-Chancellor of the University?
One is fascinated to know if in the times of Hoyte, there was social media, Facebook and Twitter and the utterly sickening emotions that are poured out in those avenues, if Hoyte’s remarks about those Portuguese Guyanese would have generated such anger. The times have indeed changed but as a Guyanese, one is forced to ask; for better or for worse?

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