In this current “information age” in which we live in Guyana, surrounded by four daily newspapers, round-the-clock online sources, a bundle of radio stations, social media, personal electronic mail, etc., it is astonishing how often we can be almost clueless about the sterling contributions citizens of Guy-ana are making, or have made, to the national fabric.
I first noticed the difference when I lived in North America, that the citizens in developed countries are regaled with a stream of information about their past achievers. It comes in several forms (statues; mementoes; place names; media features; even commercial products) so that young people grow up fortified by knowing of the examples of excellence that preceded them. It’s a notion that led to a song – Where Are Your Heroes, Caribbea – but every now and then something in the media reminds me.
Just this past week, there was a classic example of it in the Sunday Stabroek in a riveting column by Ralph Ramkarran, following the sudden passing of Miles Fitzpatrick. While I speak for myself, I suspect that most Guyanese are like me in that while I was aware of the esteem that many adults expressed about Miles from time to time, I truly had no idea, country boy that I am, of the span and the extent of the contributions that this Georgetown lawyer made to our society.
In my defence, I hasten to point out that I have found it to be generally true that Guyanese, whether countryman or town fellow, are often unaware of the many stellar folks in our past, especially with regard to the details, and Mr. Ramkarran’s trenchant column triggered the thought in me that this is an omission we should correct. It will add substantially to our pride in nation among adults and bolster the self-confidence among our young people as they become aware of the achievements of their ancestors.
Obviously, it is fundamentally an educational thrust that should operate in our schools, but since that development may take some time, I am suggesting perhaps the creation of a monthly feature in our local media, print and electronic, to fill the gap. Going in, I am aware that the existing annual Golden Arrow of Achievement (GAA) award is already putting the spotlight on significant Guyanese contributions to the nation, but it doesn’t meet the focus I am proposing. The GAA has a very wide ambit and the information it provides, in its annual appearance, does not generate the impact of the kind of more sustained and detailed dissemination that is needed. However it is packaged, the scope of the information on our stalwarts should be wide, as was Mr. Ramkarran’s column on Miles, and be available in our schools but also in our various media outlets, and while we must leave it to the technocrats as to how that is achieved, such must be the exposure to acquaint the population.
Also, the nature of the exercise requires that the umbrella of subjects should extend to covering any singular contribution – be it art, politics, business, literature, music, dance, theatre, medicine, sport, architecture, etc. – with the information coming as reading matter or spoken word or video. A working title for it could be “Guyanese Icons – Then and Now”, and apart from the purely political leaders, some of the more obvious subjects would be Clive Lloyd, Laddie Lewis, Rudolph Dunbar, Martin Carter, A. J. Seymour, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Philip Pilgrim, Ian McDonald, Aubrey Williams, Bill Rogers, Edgar Mittleholzer, Lord Canary, Sonny Ramphal, Phillip Pilgrim, Phillip Moore, Lionel Luckhoo, John Trim, Bernadette Persaud – one has to pause for breath – what a wave of achievers we have had in our history. Ralph Ramkarran himself would belong in that category of “stalwart.”
Indeed, a few days after Ralph’s column, I got another nudge in that direction from the excellent video presentation by Daniyal Harris-Vajda of the Urban Garden film crew from the UK highlighting the contributions of Yesu Persaud – a classic example of stalwart Guyanese.
The kind of information wave envisaged here could come in various ways: possibly through some arm of the Government – perhaps the Ministry of Culture – or through regular features in our print media; the organisation involved could be a government unit or a special Commission charged with the dissemination work. And it must be in a sustainable form so that the work is continuously being carried out, over time; as new populations come into being the fostering of national pride continues. As with mankind everywhere, Guyanese must be living our lives knowing that section of our history labelled “Knowing Our Stalwarts.”
