Remembering the period of banned goods under PNC misrule January 3, 2015 By GuyanaTimes Dear Editor, The holiday season is a time of the year when people do a lot of baking and cooking. It is a time when they look forward to eating apples, grapes, pears, walnuts, dates (cajoor), chocolate, imported candies, tasty canned cookies, Dutch head cheese, and chestnuts, among other exotic delicious goodies. It is a time when we send out greeting cards and dress up the home and around the yards to reflect the yuletide season – wreaths, trees, and fancy colorful lights of all designs and shapes. It is a time when there are colorful and fancy table cloths, napkins, window blinds, and other decorations reflecting the season. It is a time when homes have unlimited supplies of toilet paper and gift wrap. It is a time when we enjoy dhall, channa, bara, phulourie, samoosa, phera, gulab jamoon, rasmalai, and other Indian delicacies. It is a time when there are unlimited supplies of toys for children and exchanging of gifts. It is a time when people drink cydrax, peardrax, Sherrey wine, and other tasty imported drinks. We are accustomed to plentiful supplies of spices (curries and massala) for food preparation and we look forward for tasty curried dishes. Food is very plentiful and everyone enjoys a hearty nutritious meal. But this is not how it was during the period of PNC illegal rule (1968-92). For those of us who lived through the era of PNC misrule, the season brings back bitter memories of poor diet, hunger, starvation, lack of basic ingredients for meal and dessert preparation, and shortage of basic foods and drinks. Under the PNC, we were denied the so many lovely tastes of the season. Before the PNC came into Government in December 1964, everything one gets today was available in the shops. But right after the PNC came into office, basic foods and ingredients were taken away from us by the PNC during its period of brutal rule. It was hard times under PNC rule, worse than it was in Cuba or the East Bloc countries during their hardest times. As I discovered in my study on the East Bloc countries and Cuba during the one-party communist governance, the people still got bread, cakes, cheese, fresh fruits, all kinds of nuts, candies, chocolates, dried fruits, and drinks associated with the season. These were also available throughout the year. But in Guyana, the PNC banned most foods and drinks associated with the season, making it a crime if found with or caught consuming banned goods. A basic item like toilet paper was banned and or virtually unavailable. Matches to light a stove or Chula were scarce; some people resorted to rubbing stones for sparks a fire going. Spices and massala were scarce to prepare a nice curried dish. There was improvisation of materials to make curry powder. Ghee, essential to Indians for various forms of worshipping and preparing the dead, was not banned, but it was unavailable. Tea was not banned but it was in short supply and very costly with only the wealthy affording tea daily; the working class turned to bush tea. It was not accidental that spices, curry, massala, ghee, massala were scarce – basic supplies utilized by Indians. They supported the PPP. So why should the PNC make available items for Indians to enjoy a comfortable life? The dictator, Forbes Burnham, associated all imports with imperialism. He described the consumption of imported foods, fruits and nuts as “white man” and imperialist foods and drinks. But Burnham had plenty in his home. When he consumed imported drinks and foods and shared them with his friends and family members, that was not as “white man” and imperialistic. It was only imperialist when the working class wanted to consume them. Those who worked at his castle related how they got to take home nice cheese, apples, grapes, cookies, nuts, etc to their homes for their family members. Some staff talked about how good Burnham was when he gave them banned goods to take home – they forgot that others were not allowed access to those goodies. Everyone wanted to work at Burnham’s castle so they could get goodies for the season. The top bureaucrats and Ministers and the top officers of the security forces also got access to banned goods. Today, many of us take the presence of homemade bread and cakes of the season and imported foods for granted and we enjoy the taste that come with the imported fruits and nuts in the mix. But during the time of PNC misrule, it was most difficult to bake the kind of cakes that we enjoy today. Flour and butter – two essential items needed for baking – were banned. Biscuits were unavailable. Cakes were made with ground cassava and rice. Channa, dhal, lentil, potato, garlic, onion were placed on the banned list. Dhal was made with black eye and yellow dhal was called “white man” soup. Also banned were all kinds of imported nuts and fruits. Dried fruits needed for baking like raisins, currants, cherries, prunes, citrons, etc. were included on the banned. Corned mutton, corned beef, ham, sardines, and other canned food were added to the banned list. Imported milk was disallowed; there was no condensed milk, Carnation Milk, hot chocolate, Milo, or Ovaltine. If caught with the banned items or eating prohibited goods, the penalty was stiff – a long time in jail and heavy fines. Imagine it was a crime to eat roti, dhal and alou – basic foods, staples of Indians and others. Sweet drinks were also very scarce – and there was a time when one was lucky to get a Pepsi or a Coke because they were also imperialist drinks by imperialist “whites”. Peter D’Aguiar (Banks DIH) was described as the head imperialist and efforts were made to undermine his business empire. Life was miserable under the PNC. People contracted wapia, rickets and white mouth; their eyesight blurred and their knees were shaking from weakness associated with poor diets. Hospitals were overwhelmed with the sick, meek and weak that resulted from poor nutrition. Basic medicines and health supplies to address treat the sick and disabled were non-existent. Even bandages and plasters were in short supply. People improvised with a piece of cloth or home made medicine to address their ailments or broken bones or cuts. And when people died, there was hardly any coffee and tea or biscuits for wakes. People had to drink sugar water and eat cassava – oh yes, that was the period of progress we had under Burnham and the PNC. But people found clever ways to overcome shortages and banned items and evade the food Police. Those who came from overseas brought flour, alou, dhall, bread, apple, grapes, and other banned goods – it was illegal but the food Police looked the other way once you gave them a “lil” thing. Also, goods were smuggled from Suriname, Venezuela and Brazil often in ‘coffins’ (and were there plenty ‘coffins’ traveling from Skeldon to other parts of the country carrying flour, sardines, alou and other banned goods). The price for these banned items was prohibitive. But people had no choice if they were going to eat a healthy meal and avoid malnourishment. Some were caught eating or selling imperialist food and spent time in jail or had to pay bribes to avoid jail. Women submitted their bodies to the food Police to keep their children or husbands from jail. Hosts of Jhandis, Koran Shariefs, Christian services and weddings found creative ways to disguise puri, dhal puri, channa, bara, sirni and mohanbhog. Curried alou was hidden under the rice and eddoe. Bribes, a hearty meal and bags to take home to their family members were used to keep the food Police at bay. At times, delicious foods were dumped in the latrine when the food Police insisted on carrying out an inspection of the premises for banned goods. Imagine in the middle of a prayer or wedding, a family had to rush to dump food in the latrine! What a nightmare! How could we forget it? That was life under Burnham and the PNC which was described as great by the then rulers. God help the nation if there is a return to that era! Vishnu Bisram
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 05:20:59 +0000
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