Dear Editor,
I take the liberty of offering a note of advice to one of your frequent contributors to the letter pages who signs his/her name as GHK Lall. In the use of language, the directness of analytical frames and situational assessments, this particular letter-writer has positively contributed to the understanding of the political inexplicabilities our masses need.  I must confess at times, his/her style will confound our ordinary folks but I, too, as a commentator, sometimes get carried away with some semantic shapes that could be avoided. On three occasions, GHK Lall has commented on anonymous writers, the latest being SN, January 28. This recent critique was devastating. I once read where he/she evanescently stated that he/she was not in anyway associated with the ownership of Kaieteur News.

In another item of correspondence GHK Lall informed readers that he/she was not from Berbice

Once GHK Lall took the step of castigating other people for using false names, then GHK Lall cannot do the same. It takes away from the good work GHK Lall has been doing. I hope GHK Lall knows that no amount of moral argument can be used to defend a position of rejecting fake signatures while the repudiator is doing the same. I honestly believe it weakens the superb intentions of GHK Lall.

I should note at this stage that it is not sufficient for the editor to say that GHK Lall is a real person. I doubt people would want to disbelieve the editor but as the saying goes, ‘Justice must not only be done but seen to be done.’ It would be best for GHK Lall to offer a definition of his/her status.

Yours faithfully,
Frederick Kissoon
Editor’s note

We sent a copy of this letter to Mr GHK Lall for any comment he might have wished to make, and received the following response:

“Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Mr Frederick Kissoon’s letter.

“First, I thank Mr Kissoon for the courtesy of his words.  I agree that I should shed light on who is “GHK Lall,” especially given my own condemnations of those who engage in deception through misleading identity contrivances.

“GHK Lall is my name. I was born in Campbellville, and my boyhood was spent on the East Bank of Demerara.  I attended classes at ‘Teacher Welcome,’ ‘Fenty School’ in Agricola, and Central High School. I have worked in the public service and for one of the state corporations. I have lived almost three decades overseas, and worked for private companies in the financial and legal fields, as well as that of regulatory arbitrage.  Along the way, I have swept streets, vacuumed floors, unloaded trucks, stacked boxes, and waited on people.  I am a remigrant, and have been a full-time volunteer at one of the local schools, and am involved in activities with the Catholic Church and a cancer group.  I have had to suspend temporarily those activities due to a family emergency. I hope – God willing – to resume my tiny contributions in the near future.

“I should remind Mr Kissoon that I was introduced to him, and the Editor of the Catholic Standard, early last year at the Oasis Café on Carmichael Street.  In addition, about five years ago, I paid courtesy calls on both of the then editors-in-chief of the Guyana Chronicle and SN at their offices during one of my annual visits. The latter editor-in-chief is now deceased; however, I am sure that Mr Sharief Khan might be able to recall that visit of close to an hour.  The purpose of those visits was the very thing that Mr Kissoon now calls for: to introduce myself, shake hands, and establish that I am real, and that GHK Lall is my name.

“Without going into too much detail, I have associations that go back decades with a couple of Central Executive members of the PPP; I have shaken the hand of the leader of the AFC; and shared a moment with PNC MP Basil Williams.  I am sure that all of these gentlemen will remember me.  Further, and for whatever it is worth, my school volunteer stint saw me acting as a late substitute for an absent speaker, which led to the airing of the presentation on two local TV stations, one of which was NCN.

“Most important, I have taken great care to ensure that the focus stays on the messages embedded in my writings.  Perhaps, I overcompensated in my firm belief that the messenger is unimportant in the struggle for change and betterment, as well as an interest in the maintenance of some privacy.  Also, it goes without saying that I have shared only those details that I think would address this ‘identity’ issue once and for all, and provide the appropriate level of enlightenment and comfort. “In closing, I express my appreciation to SN for the opportunity to respond and share.”