The torpidity of Freddie Kissoon!

Oct 14, 2022 Letters

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Dear Editor,

The ‘Bluffing Bull’ has bellowed yet again, and yet again he makes little sense, and as is his wont, he is ‘more noisy than substantial.’ I am referring here to Freddie Kissoon and his ‘The visa delivery service of the UK, Canada and other embassies in Guyana.’ (Oct 12, 2022). In this self-defence piece, a response to ‘Freddie Kissoon speaks for himself alone’ (Sep 26, 2022), he further embarrasses himself, something he is immune to. So let me comment to get my message to the public, since I doubt the perspicacity of Freddie.

First, I emphasized that Freddie Kissoon is not the consensus voice on this matter. He has no support in terms of numbers, nor from prominent figures. All embassies of major countries have their ‘rules’ pertaining to visas. For example, there is no US Embassy or Consulate in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Then Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla and Barbados, etc., are all in the same category as Guyana, in terms of how and where to get Canadian visas. Freddie bawls out as though Guyana has been singled out by some countries for uncivilized and illegal treatment. This is not so. Even if this were so, Guyanese, by the thousands, will still leave this shore for North America and Europe. I add that it is normal for super nations to have their visa application centres within various jurisdictions, and not ‘here, there and everywhere.’ It is not logical nor economical. Simple logistics will suggest that ‘visa issuing’ offices be strategically located, and not one in every country.

Second, it is a time-wasting exercise to keep brandishing this man, as he is the ‘Master of the Scurrilous,’ and also keeps evading issues and instead descends to name-calling. My contention is not what obtains for visas, but the fact that there is no outcry from the masses here who want to leave; they comply, get their document and leave. I have never heard of people losing their passport, while visas issuance is taking place as well, although I am sure there has to be at least one. And, in a situation of a lost passport, during the process of a visa issuance, the onus is on that embassy/consulate to make restitution.   

Let me restate (I think) that Freddie Kissoon is not of great credibility. Apart from his repetition of subject matter and lack of evidence, he seems a victim of his own malady. For example, as Khemraj Ramjattan pointed out, the man swings from one extreme to another. A good explanation of this is captured in ‘Freddie is a hypocrite’ -Ramjattan | By Sherod Avery Duncanhttps://m.facebook.com › … › Videos. If you doubt me, check it out.

Then look at his attack on Anand Persaud of Stabroek News. Just read Robin Singh’s ‘My letters have been published in Stabroek News,’ October 12, 2022. According to Singh, “…  it first came to my notice via the mention of my name by columnist Freddie Kissoon who on 16.09.22 wrote ‘Mr. Singh made some good replies to the hypocrites in civil society that needed a wider audience. His analyses were in the ‘Chronicle only’ in asserting that my letters were not being published in the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News. I called Mr. Kissoon and made it pellucid that he was mistaken and assured him that I do not send my letters to the Guyana Chronicle very often and since the departure of Adam Harris from Kaieteur News I no longer have high regard for that publication and its offerings either. (Get this!) I gently told Kissoon that he should do at least minimum research before he writes and left the matter there. Others have not and there appears to be a deliberate campaign/attempt to besmirch the reputation of the Editor-in-Chief, Anand Persaud via Kissoon’s column and anonymous channels. It is ill-conceived and poorly advised.” Big LOL. No credibility in substance nor character.

Finally, concerning FK’s nonsense on names and bylines, he must know that writers’ reasons for pen names range from rules of their jobs, to wanting to protect their families, to their publishers simply wanting names that sounded better. Writers may even pick a name that’s more feminine or masculine to fit their genre- male romance writers, for example, often write under a woman’s name. There are many good reasons why artists use pseudonyms, including to create a brand, signal a change in style, avoid confusion with others of the same name, or even avoid controversy or prejudice. Some artists may want to keep their identities a secret. For example, Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name, George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian Age.

Let me repeat that this columnist is a man of spontaneity and extremity. There are myriads of cases that I can point to, and of course, readers are familiar with just about all of them. To me, it seems that his vicissitudes are rooted in his fluctuating emotions that are very pendular.

In closing, my take is that Freddie Kissoon does not speak for the people whom he claims he is complaining on behalf of. He is projecting his singular voice and position, mere perceptions, at that. Let me see his field work.

Yours truly,

H. Singh 

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