Dear Editor,
I refer to a letter by Mr Mike Persaud (‘Bisram did conduct surveys in Guyana‘ SN, Aug 19) in which he stated: “Mr. Kissoon once sent an email to the principal of Transit Tech inquiring about the presence of Mr Bisram and the principal, Mr Kalvar confirmed it.” This is not true.
Years ago, I suspected that Mr Bisram was not doing professional polling with an organization named NACTA and was not a high school teacher. Also Mr Bisram was writing wildly about universities he attended and the dozens of top professors that taught him. I became more suspicious when he did two things. First he said that he cannot disclose where he works because he had an experience of someone trying to get him fired. It was a nonsensical response for a man who was boasting of all the Indian organizations he was in and the work he does all over the world.
Secondly, he promised my editor, Adam Harris, he would provide proof of his employment but never did. All of this took place about four years ago. Someone told me about a high school he may have worked at.
I honestly cannot remember the name of the school and the principal I sent an email to. It could very well be Transit Tech and Mr Kalvar. But I never heard back from the principal. Instead I got an email from Mr Bisram which read; “So you are trying to find out where I work.” Let me repeat. I never received an email from a man named Kalvar telling me where Mr Bisram works. I do not believe Mr Bisram is employed at Transit Tech. If Mr Persaud is true to his conscience, he should try to find out where Mr Bisram is on the staff. I don’t believe Mr Bisram is employed. Maybe he was originally a teacher. Mr Bisram wants to exist in the realm of public commentary and polling. But he feels he would not be listened to if he tells people that he does his own poll and has no official employment. Mr Bisram fears the inevitable – people do not respect those that are not employed. So he informs us that he is a teacher and he was taught by all these learned professors. He invented NACTA. If he says he finances his own surveys, no one will listen. So he seeks credibility by saying that NACTA employs him to do their field work. The clue to what Mr Bisram is was provided some years ago by a subtle passing reference by Ravi Dev. Mr Dev wrote about Mr Bisram’s success in real estate. Maybe Mr Bisram has properties with a good income but his obsession with social commentary makes him invents a fictional organization and a non-existent employment. As to his daily outpourings in the Chronicle saying all kinds of nasty things about me, I just ignore them and I hardly read the Chronicle. And his weekly responses in the Kaieteur News to my writings, I am not bothered by them. He has a right to express the way he feels about opinion-makers. What is totally unacceptable are his polls. The media should not publicize them because they are not done professionally.
Yours faithfully,
Frederick Kissoon