Dear Editor,
He called to say he had had surgery. Then the news came fast, perplexing and saddening. Eshwar Vevakanand Persaud, Vic, to all of his friends, had been hospitalized. And then shortly thereafter he was no more. My friend of more than fifty years had gone to the shades. His death forced me to reflect on the fragility of life. Does it have a meaning? Certainly his life answered this question. Vic Persaud gave sixty of his eighty three years to the service of his country and its citizens. He lived a good and full life. Images remain of him: a big man with a ready smile; witty, gregarious, and courteous. He was always elegantly presented. Vic Persaud seemed blessedly free of the torments, hatred, obsessions and pettiness which disfigure the lives of too many of us. Indeed, if our Republic had a few more Vic Persauds our racial dilemma would have withered away. To have successfully served nine Presidents is a feat in itself. To have done so with Presidents as varied in temperament and outlook such as Presidents Burnham, Hoyte, the Jagans, Sam Hinds, Jagdeo, Ramotar, Granger, and Ali is truly remarkable. It is measure of Vic’s quality as a public servant that not only did he serve these Presidents well but in the case of several of them he became friend, colleague and confidant. Vic Persaud’s skill came from his years in the Foreign Service. Having joined in 1967, he was posted to our Consulates in New York and Toronto. Vic also saw service at our Embassies in Washington and Moscow. What was interesting about him was he came from the accounting stream in the traditional public service but quickly mastered the arts of diplomacy. By the time I met him in the seventies he appeared not only to relish the practice of his profession but also seemed particularly suitable for its protocol dimensions.
The Office of the President was created in 1981. Many new public service positions had to be created, including that of Director of Protocol. The Chief of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs functioned as the Chief of Protocol to the President or certainly an adviser. Indeed, there was some confusion on some occasions when both the Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs both had a “Chief of Protocol.” It was President Burnham who ended the confusion. He instructed that the person doing his Protocol work would be designated the Director of Protocol. That person would be responsible for all protocol matters affecting the state. Winnie Agard first performed the duties of Director of Protocol. But she was in the autumn of her years. She was succeeded by Neville Burgess, a longstanding member of the Foreign Service. But after the preparatory phase of his visit to Brazil in 1981, President Burnham decided that he wanted a new Director of Protocol. President Burnham gave specific instructions that the person he wanted was Vic Persaud. Vic was at the time serving in a senior position at our mission in Moscow. I recall when he was reached and told that he had to come home immediately and become the Director of Protocol. He was not exactly a happy man.
Vic Persaud had not too long before been cross-posted to Moscow. But Vic was one to answer the call of duty. Being recalled to Guyana can be a trying exercise for a Guyanese diplomat, even if it is of a temporary nature. When Vic reported for duty he had to find permanent accommodation and build the Protocol Division from scratch. He was fully supported by his wife Carol, who remained in Moscow and helped to get Vic ready for a reposting to Guyana. She later returned with Vic when he finally came home. Carol was to render strong support and freed Vic to undertake the challenges of his new job. By the time of President Burnham’s death and the accession of President Hoyte, Vic had succeeded in getting the Protocol Division off the ground. He did not do it alone. At various times he was supported by Kendrick Philadelphia as his Deputy and Audrey Yansen. Let’s pause here to offer this clarification. Vic Persaud’s long tenure as Director of Protocol was not a seamless success. There were ups and downs. There were mistakes and errors, which occasionally drew a sharp rebuke from a President. But Vic Persaud was resilient. He learned from every error and mistake he made so that he could be better at his job. Also, being a true professional he would never hesitate to ask his contemporaries or his superiors for advice to correct what might have gone wrong. There has been a lot of commentary on Vic’s service to nine Presidents. But it must not be forgotten that his temperament and character allowed him to win the respect and admiration of the Heads of States he had to greet, especially those of the Caribbean Community and the Commonwealth. He had become the positive and acceptable face of Guyana’s diplomacy. There are also many ministers, current and former, who worked along with Vic Persaud who would tell you what a top flight public servant he was; how equable was his temper; how his interactions were marked by courtesy and charm.
About our friendship for over approximately half a century, I do not need to say much. He was a tried and tested friend. He was almost like an extension of my family. When I returned to the Foreign Ministry in 2015 and Vic found out he immediately paid me a visit. On that occasion, followed by many others, we talked a lot about our years in the Foreign Service and the personalities that we served with or under. We spoke of SS Ramphal, Fred Wills, Rashleigh Jackson, Noel Sinclair, Harold Sahadeo, Sydney Saul, Elizabeth Harper, Willie Jugdeo, Peter Denny, Neville Burgess, Elsa Mansell, Neil Storey, Lionel Samuels, John Carter, and Pat Brummell, among many others. We would also recall the newer recruits such as Jimmy Matheson, David Hales, Elaine Jacobs, and Rawle Lucas, among notable others. I do not list these names for any future historian of the foreign ministry or our foreign policy. I list them because whenever I met Vic in my office we engaged in mini seminars on the health of our Foreign Service and the range of the quality of the people who served. Beneath Vic Persaud’s bonhomie, sense of irony and understanding of human weaknesses, was a penetrating mind. Yet he never uttered a negative word about a foreign minister or a diplomat. His focus was on their strengths and achievements. Truth to tell, diplomacy was not only Vic’s favourite subject. He loved jazz and could and did talk about it for hours. The death of a close friend is always the occasion for deep sadness. However, when that friend has lived a full and productive life and has brought happiness to many, such sadness is justifiably tempered by a sense of happiness. Vic Persaud was one of those beads on the necklace of our national life which even death cannot destroy.
Sincerely,
RM Austin
