Dear Editor,
It is disheartening to learn that American Senator Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with brain cancer with the prospect of successfully battling it almost to zero. Kennedy has a special place in my heart and in the hearts of almost every Guyanese. Kennedy has played a dominant role in immigration reform since the 1960s that has helped hundreds of thousands of Guyanese to gain legal status in America. He is largely responsible for the restoration of democracy in Guyana and I am sure they would join me in offering special prayers for this great soul to overcome his illness.
I remember in 1989 Kennedy addressed the global convention of people of Indian origin at the Sheraton in Manhattan; many prominent Guyanese including Ravi Dev, Dr Jagan, Dr Baytoram Ramharack, Ramesh Kalicharran, Yesu Persaud, one of the Kissoon’s (furniture giant) boys (I don’t remember his first name), and myself were attendees at the convention. Dev and I assisted with the planning and organizing of the week long convention. Joey Jagan brought his father to the opening banquet. Dev, Ramharack and I had placed the issue of human rights abuses in Guyana as a priority for debate and discussion. And later on, Dr Jagan and I appealed to Dr Thomas Abraham, chairman of the convention, to raise the issue of fraudulent elections and human rights abuses in Guyana with Kennedy. Abraham did. Also, we urged Abraham to raise the matter with the late Ron Brown who was then the first African American Chairman of the Democratic Party; Brown had previously served as Manager of Kennedy’s office in Washington. Shortly after the convention, Kennedy called for the restoration of democracy in Guyana and that got the ball rolling down a faster lane that would lead to the first free and fair election in independent Guyana. The National Democratic Institute and the Carter Center took a deeper interest in Guyana. More members of Congress, with intense lobbying from our small group in NY, issued statements calling for free and fair elections. The late Arthur Schlesinger (my Doctoral History Professor) issued a statement on Guyana. The Bush administration (Papa Bush) was pushed into pressuring Desmond Hoyte to free the country. Thank you Senator Kennedy. Without your timely intervention, we might still be languishing in Guyana with fraudulent elections.
Kennedy is one of the most effective legislators in America’s Congress. Although a Democrat, he has a knack of working with Republicans; they respect him because he is an honourable man. He means what he says and speaks from the heart. Since his first day in Congress in 1963, he has fought for justice for immigrants and his efforts have led to the passage of laws beneficial to immigrants. Over the last two years, he has been in the forefront to grant a limited amnesty to illegal aliens.
As one columnist penned: “Kennedy has been the most respected Democratic senator for so long that no one comes close to his influence. He has also been one of the most energetic, always prodding and pushing his colleagues, undiverted by any other political ambitions or concerns since his one failed presidential campaign ended in 1980. On issue after issue, but particularly on civil rights, health care, labor law, Vietnam and Iraq, immigration or education for the poor, Kennedy has set the direction for his party and mobilized the necessary support. Even when the cause seemed lost, that bullhorn voice summoned Democrats to battle — and more often than seemed plausible, they achieved at least some of their goals.”
America cannot afford to lose a 76 year young Kennedy. He has a lot more to offer the US, Guyanese and the world. I hope the Bush administration would boost funding for research to find a cure for cancer and that no effort would be spared to assist Kennedy to live longer than what the doctors say.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
