Dear Editor,
Mr Aubrey Retemyer could go on sentimentalizing on the ‘greatness’ of LFS Burnham, as reflected in his letter ‘Burnham made the case for brotherly relations with Cuba’ (SN, August 15), but those of us who were not of this conjecture have seen this man in a much different light.
Yes, he did give support to Cuba, China and countries in Africa and other places. To his credit, he also initiated Caricom and had a hand in this and that. He was, in some ways, similar to Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez in seeking to demonstrate to the world how wonderful, strong and determined he was. The difference is that the Venezuelan leader has had pretty much the political and economic support of the nation.
While Mr Burnham was making all kinds of overtures overseas, the majority of Guyanese were under the brutal thumb of the leader. Guyana was the breadbasket of the Caribbean, but under Burnham, it quickly eroded to become the basket case of the region.
I was a teacher while still in my teens and do remember the oppression and suppression that we suffered. The man ruled Guyana with an iron fist; who can forget those horrific times – except those who enjoyed the spoils. Burnham had a noble quest to ‘feed, clothe and house’ the people by 1976. The great irony was the people were starving and desperate for basic household items around that time! And the few who were housed were only from a select group of people.
I remember vividly the times when Mr Burnham’s motorcade passed by on the road; everyone was petrified at knowing the dictator was passing by. One had to be way out of the way – literally! I remember stopping on the road to admire Mr Burnham’s house. Within a few seconds, the guard approached me with a gun and angrily shouted at me to go on my way.
Suffice it to say that Mr Burnham’s legacy was rife with political and racial discrimination. This letter would be way too long if I were to elucidate, except for stating that we should never, ever forget the Walter Rodney factor.
Two things I appreciated about Mr Burnham: First, I liked his ‘buy local’ push. Second, his idea of making the shirtjac the official wear was commendable. (I don’t know why people in hot countries feel that to look good and respectable, one has to wear the tie.)
Yours faithfully,
Devanand Bhagwan
