Dear Editor,
It was a matter of deep sadness when I learnt of the death of Mohamed S. Nazim, in a vehicle accident near Lethem, on Friday, March 14. He was a friend, and on many occasions when I visited Guyana, I employed him as a driver (he was a registered driver at the Hotel Tower).
A few years ago, he was driver for several weeks for a film crew making six BBC documentaries on Guy-ana. I was consultant to the series and got to know Mr Nazim, and to meet his family.
There were many aspects of his character, which revealed the best of Guyanese society. Firstly, although always surviving on the breadline, he was utterly dedicated to his work, putting in many, many long hours so as to gain some extra money. It was my honour to have met someone who combined such a willingness to work, with qualities of courtesy and honesty.
Secondly, he was devoted to his family, and worked tirelessly to support them. He was shy to ask privileged people like myself to render whatever modest assistance we could to his children, but on occasions, he did so out of necessity. He never asked a favour or reward for himself, all his efforts were on behalf of his family.
He himself was uneducated formally, having left school at the age of seven or eight to sell vegetables in the market, but he was determined that his children should acquire formal schooling and qualifications.
Thirdly, he had a Guyanese way of laughing at his adversities, as if to say that some piece of unexpected luck, some lucrative driving job or the appearance of some benign stranger, would see him through. He worried about his future but never surrendered to despair or dodgy deeds.
Whilst hoping for some little miracle, he was realistic enough to apply himself to his work, and such was his entrepreneurial talent that he would have two or three projects to supplement his income from driving, mostly to do with small-scale retailing.
On the eve of leaving Guyana last year, he came to me with a tiny gold ring for my infant son. It was one of the best gifts I have ever received from Guyana; Mr Nazim’s generosity all the more shining because of his modest means.
He was a kind, caring and loyal person, a good and decent Guy-anese, and we who knew him will miss him terribly.
Yours faithfully,
David Dabydeen
