Dear Editor,
I write to publicly congratulate President Irfaan Ali on his performance in his interview with the British reporter Richard Madeley. Our president’s performance was stellar; it reminded me of Nelson Mandela. Shortly after his 1990 release from Robben Island, Mandela toured the USA and was interviewed by Ted Koppel. Koppel thought that he had Mandela cornered when he asked about South Africa’s support for Cuba and at the same time professing to be a friend of the USA. Mandela retorted that South Africa does not subscribe to the doctrine of the enemy of my friend is my enemy.
President Irfaan Ali demonstrated the same calm and deliberation as he countered Richard Madeley’s rude behaviour and inverted the paradigm that Madeley was advocating: When Madeley asked President Ali why today’s generation should “carry the burden” for what their ancestors did, the president responded: “Oh, it’s not a burden at all. You are one of the beneficiaries of that slave trade, so this is not a burden. You should be concerned, and you should pay because you today still benefit from the greatest indignity to the human being, and that is the slave trade.”
All Guyanese should be proud of our president’s performance. President Ali demonstrated that, on the world stage, he is as competent as Mandela. My congratulations!!!
Sincerely,
Roger Ally
Fort Lauderdale, FL