Jonestown is once again in the news and is attracting widespread and serious comment. This article, from the paragraph below, was written by Roger Arjoon, a Guyanese, who lives and works in the financial industry in New York. He attended Yale and Oxford Universities and is a Rhodes Scholar. He continues to take an active interest in Guyana. I had this article in my archives, took it out, dusted it off, reduced its size and obtained Roger’s permission to publish it. It was first published on July 25, 2013, and is still very much relevant having regard to the issues being publicly debated. The impact of the lack of democracy in Guyana at the time, and how it facilitated the tragedy in Jonestown, is still to be explored. There was a memorial service and a panel discussion on 18 November, 2003, to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Jonestown tragedy. With time memories will fade and understanding will be lost. This would be an even bigger tragedy. Everyone affected by Jonestown and those who learnt of this atrocity, has a responsibility to help prevent its recurrence through education and the preservation of history.
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