I will never understand this Burnham enigma

Jul 16, 2022 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Kaieteur News – One of Guyana’s respected and eminent citizens is Mr. E.B. John. Countless Guyanese in and out of the land will know Mr. John because he writes frequent letters in the press, all of which are interesting.

For a man in his mid nineties, like Eusi Kwayana of similar age (Mr. Kwayana is 98), Mr. John has a very active mind that will create envy around the world. Both Messrs. John and Kwayana have sharp minds and their focus is as smooth as the pen of any young person. What an achievement! I don’t want to live that long but if I do, I hope my pen is as pointed as these two Guyanese men.

Mr. John’s outputs are very intriguing because of his vast knowledge of the public service. Mr. John worked for decades in the public sector thus his institutional memory is phenomenal. It would put a dent in Guyana’s historiography if this Guyanese does not publish his memoir. I think all Guyanese would want to see his analysis of Forbes Burnham

I should inform readers that I spoke to former Opposition Leader, Robert Corbin, recently and he is still working on his memoir. The autobiography of Clement Rohee has not been commented upon as yet because people find it too expensive. I get request all the time about what book(s) I want from Guyanese visiting and I do offer a few names and have received them.

But I would not ask someone to pay 63 American dollars for Rohee’s memoir. No autobiography should cost 63 American dollars. Mr. Rohee is doing his country a disservice by retaining that exorbitant cost. There is no doubt at all that what he has to say about more than fifty years as one of the most important political actors in Guyanese history will receive widespread attention in Guyana.

If he chops off $43 from the selling price, I am sure that book will find an eager market in Guyana. Guyanese await the autobiography of Rashleigh Jackson, another eminent Guyanese who is in his nineties and who knew Forbes Burnham, up, close and personal.

Anyway back to Mr. John. I saw a short letter recently in the newspapers by Mr. John and the contents got me thinking. I decided that I would do a column based on a curiosity that was born out of that letter. Mr. John informed the nation that it was President Forbes Burnham who approved of the Enmore Martyrs monument.

I did not know that historical fact and I guess hundreds of thousands of Guyanese in and out of Guyana did not know that too. Don’t forget almost 75 percent of the Guyanese population is under the age of 45. The monument was created in 1977. That is 45 years ago. Burnham died 37 years ago. Against this factual backdrop, Mr. John’s announcement is good historical information for young Guyanese.

My curiosity about that letter centres on Mr. John’s knowledge. Just as Mr. John was eager to inform Guyanese of that positive contribution of Burnham, what negative acts and bad policies of Burnham would Mr. John like to mention? Could one use Freudian analysis to explain why those observations are missing?

I see this contradiction often whereby someone would remind us that Burnham created Muslim and Hindu holidays; that Burnham gave us the NIS; that Burnham gave us the bridge link between Region Four and Region Three; that Burnham gave us the Linden highway.

But the highway is named after him. He renamed Mackenzie after him. He named a village up the East Coast after one of his daughters – Melanie Damishana. He named a south Georgetown ward after another daughter – Roxanne Burnham Garden. He renamed the Parade Ground on Middle and Carmichael Streets after him.

I think it is perfectly correct to enumerate the positives of Burnham. You distort history when you obfuscate some of Burnham’s fantastic achievements. Surely, the NIS was superb thinking. So was the Canje Bridge, so was the multi-lateral schools, so was the contributions to the African freedom struggle, so was the birth of CARICOM, so was the opening up of diplomatic relation with Cuba, so was free tertiary education.

But history is not complete and history is distorted when you obfuscate the evil side of Burnham. You don’t take people’s children and send them deep in the interior of Guyana to do compulsory national service to be bossed around by military men who had not one ounce of understanding of other people’s cultures. No leader who was unelected should declare his party to be paramount to state institutions as Burnham did. I implore Messrs. John and Jackson, please give us your thoughts on the negative side of the Kabaka.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

 

 

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