Dear Editor,
I have just returned to New York after a three-week vacation in my homeland, Guyana.
Last Friday I sat down at the famous beer garden at Puluch Junction (off the main highway) at Better Hope, ECD for a few beers and conversation. My remigrant friend Derek Kowlessar, Gerhard Ramsaroop, Fip Makeswar Motilall and his top American engineer, Osteen, sat at the table.
Derek says he is enthralled with Guyana; every day he makes a new interesting discovery: a new spot that serves up the best potato balls, plantain chips with tasty sour, dhal-puri with great chicken curry, and the list goes on and on – all at great prices. Derek even presented me with a gift bag full of these goodies.
On my second beer I said to my distinguished and celebrated audience: “Forget about the culinary delights and cheap places to eat. Every day of my short stay in this country I observe or hear of a new horror story.” I downed my second beer, started my third, and began the narration of my two selections:
On Tuesday, August 24, I stopped at the vendor’s cart located on the side of the road right in front of the beer garden to purchase a few water coconuts. The vendor, Paul Siwnath, was visibly shaken, unable to speak and almost in tears. Standing over him was a uniformed police officer and a Ministry of Works and Hydraulics vehicle bearing four other officials. They had just ordered Mr Siwnath to close his business. I intervened with the officer to let the vendor sell me just two coconuts.
Later that evening Mr Siwnath appeared at my house with his permit issued by the local NDC that reads: “Permission has been granted to you to sell water coconuts at the Better Hope public road (Puluch Junction) using a movable cart.” It was signed by SN Singh, Overseer. He also showed me a receipt as proof that his licence fee had been paid to the central government. Both documents were current for year 2010. His permit had not been rescinded.
Mr Siwnath had been operating at that site for 20 years. It is his only means of earning a livelihood, barely surviving. Now he is out of work. He is a broken man.
I asked my esteemed friends including the controversial Fip Motilall to figure out who or what is behind the removal of Mr Paul Siwnath.
On to our fourth round of beers, my audience now captive, the only interruptions being the sound of heavy container vehicles on the highway and the power blackout that lasted for ten minutes, I began my second horror story with the aid of a weak light coming from a lantern.
On Wednesday, Basdeo and Amina (not their real names) arrived at CJ International airport at 4 pm. Check-in time was 3.30. They were told they were late and the flight had been filled. They insisted they had confirmed tickets and reminded the airline clerk that the flight is 5.30. They stood there and watched – feeling angrier and angrier with every passing minute. Boarding time began. Lo and Behold! Basdeo and Amina watched as two ‘standbys’ were called and given their seats. If this were the only ‘meat and potatoes’ of the story, it would be simply one of a clerk cheating two confirmed seat-holders of their seats and selling them for a few dollars under the table.
The police arrived and arrested Basdeo. The beneficiary of Basdeo’s seat was a well-connected man. He had reported to the police that Basdeo had threatened to blow up the airport.
Would Basdeo have to sleep in the lock-up for the night? It has now become a tale of inflicting injury after insult and humiliation. Basdeo narrowly avoided having to spend a night in jail only because he hired a PPP-connected lawyer and Member of Parliament. Eventually Basdeo was given station bail and sent home. Next morning he appeared for his court arraignment. The charge: threatening to blow up the airport. His attorney interrupted the reading of the charge to ask: “Are we going to have a government witness to testify, Your Honour?” The magistrate quickly realized what was going on. The big-wig who reported the allegation did so anonymously, would never testify to what he heard if he did hear any threat to blow up the airport at all. He took the victim’s confirmed seat and flew out. The real culprits – the airline clerk and the man who made the false report would never be charged. Credit must go to the shrewd magistrate who saw through the corruption – all too prevalent in a corrupt state – and dismissed the charge.
This story tells a simple tale of how ‘bigwigs’ abuse the machinery of government. The victims are the little people. It is almost impossible to get justice in a state where the state itself is corrupt.
On Friday, I called Robeson Benn’s Minis-try to inquire who gave the order to deal what in effect is a death-blow to Mr Paul Siwnath. Both Mr Benn and his Permanent Secretary were out of office for the day.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Persaud
