This week we asked the man and woman in the street their opinion of President Bharrat Jagdeo’s description of some media workers as carrion crows and vultures.
Jamal Gilbert- IT Consultant
`It was an interesting remark. For one, Guyana has a very interesting political landscape and for the President to make such remarks as well as some of the other remarks I’ve heard him make, it really does not speak well of his character or the party that he represents, but obviously as the president, I’m sure he is entitled to do as he wants but that does not give him a free licence to insult people and I do not agree with him. Me, personally, I believe in freedom of speech and the freedom of the press.’
Andre Vincent- Private Sector
`Coming from a person of his standard, he shouldn’t have said that. I think that it’s wrong because it’s media workers and they tend to be in a lot of places at a lot of times and we should give them the benefit of the doubt. He shouldn’t have done it in the first place because media workers are the persons who issue the news and make bulletins and make people generally know what’s happening in and around town. If it had come from anybody else, they would have deemed it wrong and they would have tried to penalize them for it… if it was a remark made against the president.’
Aubrey DeJonge-
Self employed
`I definitely think that that is not true. The media have their job to do and that job is to bring anything, whether good or bad, whether people like it or not, to light so that other people could have an idea of what is happening and what is going on. I think if it wasn’t for these people, which is the media, we would not have been aware of a lot of things that are happening, public-wise and also in private places so I don’t think that they are vultures or carrion crows. He as the president should not get into things like these or make comments like those on national television. We should respect each other in every sense, especially in high places like that.’
Tishwania Andrews-
Private Sector
`He shouldn’t have said it because I mean coming from somebody like that, I don’t think it’s politically correct to say that the media are like vultures and carrion crows. He should’ve used a more diplomatic way of saying it…I don’t agree with it. Even if he wanted to say something like that, the way in which he put it wasn’t correct.’
Ambika Lorrimer-
Private Sector
`I don’t think it’s true that some media are like vultures and carrion crows because the papers
that he was referring to are the ones who speak the truth and most people enjoy reading their newspaper because they don’t cover anything up unlike other media. Also, I think it was immature coming from him. It shouldn’t have come from him. He should have never said something like that because he is now sounding like everyone else in the public.’
Ramlochan Rajkumar- Tailor
`I don’t agree with the President calling some media personnel vultures and carrion crows because according to what they saying, everybody got their own right to say what they want to and then he went and
make a big issue. I really don’t think what was said was true. Everybody, as a Guyanese, have their right to talk so I don’t feel if a man put something in the paper he should carry on like that. Also, as a president, that’s a bit too low for him to be talking.’
Donna Moore- Self Employed
`People talk about other people every day and well he got the cup in his hand so he got to know if that is right or wrong because the whole Georgetown is messy so why he don’t talk about that?’
Jamal Andries- Private Sector
`I don’t think it was fair for him to consider some media as vultures and carrion crows because everyone has a life and a job to
do and if that is what is required at your job, then you have to do it. He, also, as a president should not be saying that because first of all, he is not providing a job for everyone and if people go about finding jobs for themselves then he shouldn’t be saying that sort of things, with it being mostly the private media especially because I think you guys are doing a good job as private media.’
Collis Augustine-
Private Sector
`I think it was a disgrace to the media because knowing that the media is a set of people that put people where they are today because we can’t live without these publications,
whether it’s private media or public media, it’s the source that puts people there. Without the media, you’re no where. The media makes up for the people who make you or break you and I think that he should apologize for it. He was even depending on the media to put him out there and show that remark.’
Nomalto Stephens-
Communications Student
`Being a communications student, I think that the statement is demeaning to future journalists and journalists. I’m being taught that information should be delivered to its rawest and everybody should get a perfect picture of what the journalist is trying to
say so if he is basing his statement on journalists bringing the news raw, then I think he was wrong. He doesn’t understand the media and their purpose completely. The role of the media is universal and that is to get information out to people and if Jagdeo doesn’t want information to be revealed about himself and other persons within his party, then I would think he has something to hide.’
