I ignore the narrow-minded mandarins in Guyana; I always will

Jun 04, 2017 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

This week, the Office of the President issued a press release on an event at Cara Lodge. It was the launching of the latest book by history professor, Sister Mary Noel Menezes. Here is what the release included; “Past students include former UG Vice Chancellor, Dr. James Rose, former Registrar, Dr. David Chanderballi, former Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Mr. Carl Singh, former Dean of the School of Education and Humanities, Mr. Tota Mangar, UG’s first Master’s graduate, Dr. Basdeo Mangru and, of course, President Granger.”
If you check that list there are very few, and I mean very few, persons in Guyana and outside of Guyana that would know that these names were students of Sister when she taught history at UG. Take the former Chancellor, Carl Singh. Because of the nature of his job as first, a judge, then Chief Justice then Chancellor, I doubt he wrote letters to the press outside of the area of judicial functionalism. I never read any letter in the media in the past thirty years by Justice Singh about anything other than the judiciary. So how would one know that he was a student of Sister?
Then there is the name Basdeo Mangru. Dr. Mangru left Guyana over forty years ago and is not known at all in Guyana and to most people in “active” society. But he is listed as one of Sister’s students. Also named is the former Dean, Mr. Tota Mangar.
I hate to do what I am about to do, but I am doing it so the young generation of this country can know of the morbid narrow-mindedness of those who in government and other high places in this country since self-government more than sixty years ago.
Of all those names mentioned there, I have written more articles than I recall on my relationship with Sister Menezes and her greatness, the latest being February 16, 2016. The authorities in the Office of the President and the UG administration would know that I was a student of Sister. Yet my name was not mentioned. Should I yell at my exclusion? I am glad it has happened, so I can write to inform the young generation of this troubled land what type of people inhabit this country
Here is a large extract from that column; “Sister Mary Noel will always remain one of my favourite persons in this life. I met some good people in Guyana and other countries that had a profound effect on me; Sister Marty Noel Menezes is one of them. I first met her in 1974 as a history freshman. Her class was the “philosophy of history.”
I was already madly hooked on philosophy before I went into UG and Sister’s class increased my immersion. She took a liking to me and despite my loudness, left-wing radicalism and philosophical existentialist mind, as a Catholic nun, she never let my opposing philosophy deter her in her quest to help me.
From 1974 until the time of writing, I had a very strong bond with this lady. Her teachings and character traits effectively molded me into who I subsequently became. It was under her strong influence, I accepted that people must be treated fairly without regards to their views or philosophy.
Sister taught me that people were entitled to justice irrespective of how you feel about them. She knew I was not even distantly religious, she knew my views of God and she knew I was essentially left-wing. But none of that mattered to her. She told me that she saw in me the potential of a fine historian and she wanted me to realize that potential.”
I could go on to quote more columns in which I mentioned my relationship with sister. When my daughter was born, Sister gave her a stuffed baby elephant. Readers would not believe it, but it is the truth, and my daughter can tell you; she has slept with that elephant at her bed head since then, and my daughter is in her twenties.
Why my name was left out and others included? I wasn’t even invited to the book launching. The answer is simple, and I mean very simple. It does not strain the imagination to find the answer.
In one of my columns or maybe more than one, I may have written unflattering sentiments about the kings and queens in the APNU+AFC’s corridors of power and in the power establishment at UG. But to deliberately leave out my name shows we are certainly dealing with some ugly, petty minds with authority, power and status in this land that time forgot about.

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I ignore the narrow-minded mandarins in Guyana; I always will

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