Dear Editor,
When I saw in the Stabroek News of December 31, 2011 a photograph of Philip Moore, Guyanese artist extraordinaire who recently celebrated his 90th birthday being honoured by the National Gallery, the picture of the Cuffy monument during the APNU rally came back to me. Before reflecting let me first express belated birthday greetings to him for attaining the age of 90.
During the elections compaign at one of APNU’S largest rallies held at the Square of the Revolution, one of our dalies carried a picture of Cuffy with a crowd of enthhnusiastic supporters; not only did they embrace and mount him like they did the Trojan Horse, they went further and sat upon his head! When I saw that picture, immediately Philip Moore came into focus.
Not so many years gone, I attended the African Holocaust Day observances at the sea wall after which there was the unveiling of the cornerstone for the construction of an African Holocaust monument there to be designed by our celebrated sculptor Philip Moore, who of course was also present.
In a conversation with him he expressed his concerns and uneasiness about the spot chosen by the sea wall for the erection of the monument, since according to him, it was too far out of sight, and from what he had seen done to Cuffy, it would been treated in like manner if not worse: “Look friend, people na know wha deh do.“ He said that he had pleaded with Forbes (Burnham) to place Cuffy in a predominantly black community, preferably Linden, where he felt there would likely been more propitious acceptance and it would have been better guarded.
It would have been treated with some level of decency and accorded the recognition for what it truly symbolized – a defiant African spiritual force. “Look,” he exploded, “the last time when me pass deh by Cuffy meh shame! If yuh see condom wha deh pon Cuffy, meh seh, ‘lawd wha dis!’ Same thing meh bin ah try fuh tell Forbes, god man hmmmmm!“
And so I wondered aloud at the reaction of my dear big brother the devoted African spiritualist, creator of the 1763 Berbice slave uprising monument when he saw that picture of Cuffy at the APNU rally. Was he pleased that Cuffy had been incorporated into that rally, a silent witness and inspiration to primarily young African youths caught up in a political movement and exhibiting revoluntary zeal? Did he lapse into a spasm of fits? Or did he with a deep sigh of resignation quietly say to himself, “Forbes nah bin want fuh tek meh advice.” I really would like to know what his thoughts were.
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe
