Dear Editor,
The fabled El Dorado that Sir Walter Raleigh envisaged never quite panned out but now, a substantiated version, Oil Dorado, in billions of barrels of oil, is starting to roll in. John Mair, perhaps better known to some as former columnist Bill Cotton, has produced his third iteration of the book, “Oil Dorado?” subtitled “Guyana’s Black Gold”. Editor, first, please allow me to disclose that I contributed a chapter, “Looking through Guyana’s Fossil Window” and a poem, “Song of Oilivia of Stabroek” to this edition, so I will refrain from making further references to them. May I also re-assure your readers that I do not receive any royalties or payment of any sort for my contributions.
This third edition is anchored by the introductions of John Mair, enhanced by new material from eleven contributors. John is joined by Lance Keeble as an additional editor. There is a short foreword by David Lammy. Poems by famed Guya-nese poets, John Agard and Grace Nichols, both winners of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, serve as jeweled bookends to the text. The new chapters are from: Terrence Blackman; Anthony Bryan; Sanjeev Datadin; Geoffrey DaSilva; GHK Lall; Sally Gibson; Janette Bulkan; Ivelaw Griffith; Riyad Insanally; and Chris Bennett. Additionally, some material culled from previous editions are included. They are from: Christopher Minster; Indranie Deolall; Moses Nagamootoo; Christopher Ram; Robert Persaud; Bobby Gossai Jnr; Simon Flowers; and Mark Lammey. As you might suspect from looking at that ‘metemgee’ of writers, there are a lot of views presented, environmental risks highlighted and many diverse perspectives offered.
The variations in tone and the dissonances in perception reflect the spirited debates that roil discussions among Guyanese, both at home and abroad. They range from optimism, to deep cynicism, animated by a pervasive fear of lurking corruption. The book is rich in caution, perhaps bred by years of serial disappointments. Corruption is a thoroughbred, stabled by successive crops of eager riders, ever ready to saddle up and push their way to the winners’ purse. While some people have the wherewithal to try to make the world a better place, one person at a time, the leaders of Guyana now have the unparalleled opportunity to lift up all 800,000 Guyanese, everyone at once. Editor, I remember clearly, the then President of Guyana sitting directly across from me over lunch at the home of Ambassador and Mrs. Ronald Godard on June 16, 2001, explaining that he had bookshelves full of studies, analyses and action plans, but he lacked the funding to trigger them.
Over the next thirty years, Guyana would have received tens of billions, or more likely, over one hundred and fifty billion US dollars in oil and gas revenues. I pray that this book, “Oil Dorado?” drops the question mark by the time the next edition comes around. I hope that many, many Guyanese take the opportunity to read this edition, understand the difficulties and the obstacles, rejoice in the opportunities before them, determine how each can help; and I pray that they join their leaders to construct a better Guyana.
Sincerely,
Tulsi Dyal Singh