TOTALLY AGREE WITH FREDDIE KISSOON........GUYANA HAS GIVEN THESE 2 GENTLEMEN MUCH.....AND THEN THEY TURN ON GUYANA Ian McDonald like Sir Sridath Ramphal badly disappoints the younger generation DECEMBER 19, 2014 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER LETTERS Dear Editor, I refer to two passages in the Stabroek News editorial on Ian McDonald of December 5, 2014. The first one says; “…the University of the West Indies at St Augustine last week received the collected papers of Ian McDonald. It is a pity that Mr. McDonald’s papers could not remain in Guyana, so much has he contributed to our literary and cultural landscape and so lovingly has he written of this beautiful but frustrating country, where he has lived since 1955. Unfortunately, we just do not have the archival facilities to house properly such a collection.” In another section, the editorial went on; “His writings have encompassed life and its enjoyment, love and, more recently, a serene contemplation of ageing and death. He has drawn from a life well lived and eloquently shared his thoughts, tinged with a certain Romanticism, on globalisation, sugar, sport (particularly cricket), literature, history, culture, Guyana and the West Indies, not necessarily in that order. And even when he ventures into social and political issues, he does so with straightforward commonsense and philosophical equanimity, elegantly avoiding the pitfalls of polemic.” I will offer an analytical observation on both passages then an interpretation of Mc Donald legacy if any. Mr. Mc Donald needs to say why after living in Guyana since 1955 and has benefited in everyway from his Guyana residency has chosen UWI to donate his papers to; why not UG or the national archives? In that very editorial, Stabroek News offered an explanation. I quote it above, I repeat it’ “Unfortunately, we just do not have the archival facilities to house properly such a collection.” Why Mr. Mc Donald who writes a weekly column has not stated why UWI as his choice? Why does the Stabroek News have to say it for Mc Donald? Surely, his silence contradicts the following description of the editorial about him cited above which I will quote again; “And even when he ventures into social and political issues, he does so with straightforward commonsense.” For the giant of a Guyanese man that the editorial paints so effusively paints him to be, one would expect some straightforwardness from him on why he ignored Guyana as the shelf for his papers. I know why and I support his decision. But he must be the giant the editorial says he is and tell Guyanese why. Well he has. In a reply to me, he wrote that in relation to the UWI Special Collections Division; “I do not believe, even with all the efforts being made, that Guyana has a matching facility.” This is where I think people like Mc Donald and Sir Shridath Ramphal have failed the younger generation of Guyana Why couldn’t Mr. Mc Donald simply say, “Guyana hasn’t got comparable facilities” and leave it at that? Which efforts is Mr. Mc Donald talking about? Educational facilities and educational services continue to decline in Guyana. In his long career, Ian Mc Donald has never uttered one line about Guyana’s congenital tragedy. In a letter on Ramphal that the Kaieteur News published in its December 7, 2014 issue, I stressed that Ramphal owe this country an obligation to submit his explanation for a process that should have led to better governance in Guyana of which he was a protagonist and which was an ignominious failure. For Ramphal to publish his memoirs and avoid any reference to the Herdmanston Accord is a large indication of Ramphal’s convenient approach to Guyana. I honestly feel the same way about McDonald so I will now comment of the second quoted passage You can literally count on your fingers the times out of the thousands of times Mc Donald has written a column when he mentioned Guyana’s political issues. I know of two only (I stand corrected). One is his perception of Dr. Jagan being a genius. Now in all straightforwardness, that is highly nonsensical but Mr. McDonald is entitled to his opinion. The congenital tragedy of Guyana that I alluded to above was the creation of Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham. I am not sure a genius goes about destroying a country The second political reflection of Mr. McDonald was when the Stabroek News had suffered from the authoritarian decision of President Jagdeo to withdraw advertisements from the newspaper. In denouncing that decision, Mr. McDonald had done the right thing. But his silence since then on so many similar acts by the PPP Government of Guyana may be a reminder that Mr. Mc Donald avoids comment on political issues just like Sir Shridath Finally, my interpretation. As a literary personality, Mr. McDonald stands tall in Guyana. But it begins and ends there. It is like a great surgeon. A great surgeon is a great surgeon. But to lift them outside of their context and attribute extraordinary national status to them over and beyond their particular contribution may be misleading. I think Shiv Chanderpaul is one of the greatest West Indian batsmen. But that is what he essentially is; nothing more nothing less To take Chanderpaul out of cricket and make him a Guyanese par excellence may be going too far. On the other hand, Harry Belafonte is not only an outstanding artist but an extraordinary American and Black man. He contributed more than just films and music to the US. He stood tall in asserting Black dignity and civil rights in the US. Let me end with the prediction – Ramphal and Mc Donald are in their eighties and I doubt whether we will ever see any straightforwardness from them on why Guyana became a tragedy, why it remains a tragedy and how it can become a viable nation Frederick Kissoon.....
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 15:15:39 +0000
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