When Mr Sharief Khan passed away on February 22 he bequeathed a corpus of work that very few journalists here can match in terms of the variety media and capacities he functioned in and years of service.
Arguably his most important work may have been during his tenure at Stabroek News between 1986 and 1992 when he helmed this newspaper’s coverage of the campaign for the restoration of democracy.
That period represented the transition between the brutally repressive rule of President Burnham and the opening up of the economy and media by President Hoyte. Yet, it was never easy and various types of pressure were applied on journalists. Sharief was however indefatigable and single-minded in his pursuit of the details of every effort to ensure fair elections. He saw this as a means of empowering the ordinary man and woman and was unrelenting in his quest.
One of his proudest moments in his work at this newspaper was his reportage on the night of October 5th, 1992 amid the siege of the Elections Commission on Croal Street, the disorder in the streets and doubts about whether the counting of votes would proceed. Despite all the turmoil and upheaval he was able to put together his authoritative lead story with the Shariefesque headline `Violence fails to stop elections – count on’. His masterful and descriptive openings delineated the contours of the story as follows “Marauding bands of thugs who attempted to carve a swathe of terror in the city yesterday failed to derail the first possible free and fair elections in 28 years and Elections Commission Chairman Rudy Collins last night announced the counting of ballots was on”. He was immensely gratified that the efforts of the free media had helped to end the albatross of rigged election and open up endless possibilities for Guyana’s development.
Having contributed to the efforts at Stabroek News he then left for the Guyana Chronicle where he was to be later appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper.
He never tired of admonishing and coaching young journalists on what was expected of them and the need to stand up to those in authority and to expose their transgressions. He would constantly enumerate the trials and travails of Woodward and Bernstein in their pursuit of Watergate and revel in the quest for a local version of `Deep Throat’ in the various beats that he assiduously covered. When time permitted he would convene his own classes for inexperienced journalists in the editorial department of Stabroek News and many learned from him over the years.
Amid all that he did and no matter how oppressive the atmosphere might become, the burden was always lessened by his inimitable humour. He was possessed of a wit that was impish, saucy and scathing. It was what made him Sharief and endeared him to many.
Sharief spoke often and darkly of the Burnham years and the threats to his safety in the period of the murders of Walter Rodney and Father Darke. He also railed fiercely against the manner in which the state media had been enlisted as the hand maiden of the rulers in the covering up of their foul deeds and in blotting out what they felt uncomfortable with. Among the techniques employed during that period were the regular visits of a senior government official to inspect and shape the copy at the state newspaper before it was transferred to print. The shenanigans of that period left an indelible impression on him in relation to the Guyana Chronicle’s coverage of the Jonestown mass suicide and the murder of Father Darke.
He left the state media in a disillusioned frame of mind but through his unremitting efforts as a stringer for CANA, the BBC, Reuters and later his work with this newspaper he was able to witness first-hand the triumph of democracy over a legacy of rigged elections and stark repression. He fulfilled an important part of his mission as a journalist.
While his passing finds sections of the private media in defiant mood and continuing to resist the excesses of the authorities, it is troubling that many of the things that he complained of in the state media during the Burnham/Hoyte period have hardly changed. As has been the case with the Constitution, successive PPP/C governments have become enamoured of the unbridled power and authority conferred by iron-fisted control of the media and other parts of society. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in the state media which now functions to promote unabashedly the fortunes of the government and the ruling party, to tear down critics of the government and to attempt to fashion a false reality.
While the techniques may be different, in many ways this government’s trampling and occupation of the state media is worse than its predecessors in the pre-1992 period. They operated in an undemocratic environment. This government was brought to power by free elections but has abused the privileges conferred upon it by the people. So much so that today there is still only one radio station and the promises of access to information and broadcast legislation remain broken. Alarmingly, the government has also employed measures such as the withdrawal of advertisements to punish certain media houses. It has also favoured its friends in the private media. This is a far cry from what was expected of it in 1992 and troublingly there is no indication that 19 years in office has made it wiser where these matters are concerned.
