Emile Mervin’s letter in SN on February 13 (‘If there are no reforms within the PPP and PNC…’) is not even worth replying to as he is obviously engaged in AFC propaganda. I wonder if the AFC will live up to their word that in the next election, the rotating leadership concept will be enforced and Ramjattan will be the presidential candidate. Let’s see how many votes they’ll get with his presidential attempt. Maybe Mr Mervin could explain the AFC’s involvement in the destruction of the opposition coalition which was being constructed to contest the 2006 elections; that would explain the AFC’s position against shared coalition governance.
Since it’s the Valentine period, I would like to let the readers know about this true story which occurred in the USA. In 1941 this couple from a small city in the USA became engaged, and the man bought the wedding ring he had saved for over a long period. Unfortunately, World War II intervened and the young man was drafted and sent to Europe, where survival was the name of the game. Some months after he got to Europe, the engagement was broken off by the young woman because of her mother’s influence in convincing her that the young soldier was not the one to make a good marriage. The soldier was demobilized in 1945 at the end of the war, and he returned home to find that his former sweetheart was now married with her first child. He eventually got married and ended up with three children, while his former fiancée also ended up with three children. They stayed in touch with each other occasionally over the years, until 50 years later when they were both 75 years old. At that point the wife of the former soldier died and his former sweetheart called to offer condolences; six months later, the husband of his former fiancée died and the 75-year-old former soldier, called to offer his own condolences. This was 15 minutes after he heard of the death, at which time he proposed to the widow, telling her that he still had the original wedding ring he had purchased in 1941. Subsequently they were married and now they have been together for over 15 years – they are both 91 years old. At the end of the piece on this loving couple, the cameras focused on them dancing to a song from the 1940s – a ragtime song with three steps forwards (or backwards) and then a quick hop. It was amazing to see this couple dance in a crisp and flowing movement, holding each other in a loving embrace. A true love story.
Yours faithfully,
Cheddi (Joey) Jagan (Jr)
