Articles by Janet Jagan
Myth and Reality -The Two Guyanas
When I read some of the print media or look at some of the TV stations, I see two Guyanas, one pure myth and fiction, and the other reality.
When I read Stabroek News, for example, read the sharply slanted stories and the three or more pages of outrageously biased letters, I just have to wonder. When I look at the markedly one-sided, distorted information coming out of at least three of the TV stations, it gives cause to wonder wherein lies the truth, or more specific, is anyone interested in the truth?
When I meet people or go from place to place, I see another Guyana - so different from the pictures the media promotes so assiduously, with almost frightening hatred and malevolence. I often wonder if it is like this all over the world, or is Guyana unique in the bitterness, offensive and frequently disgusting words and attitude one sees, mainly propagated by the distortions of the media.
I move along the railway embankment, built by the PPP/C, and can see, even if I take off my eye glasses, going up on both sides of the road, mostly lower income houses that start small, but grow as the owners save money for improvements or extensions. I’ve lose count as I go by, there are so many. I go into one of the new development areas and see many, many new houses going up or just completed - both middle and upper income houses. But I read that all the people were moving out, no future in Guyana, nothing to stay for. So why are all these people building new houses? I think everyone would be surprised at the total number of houses built in government housing schemes and outside.
I look out of the window at Freedom House on Robb Street, Georgetown and see five, yes five, huge buildings going up -- 3 and 4 storey structures. But I hear that business is bad, no investments!
I go by the country and city markets. Business is brisk, hundreds buying and selling. But what are they selling? It looks like most of the sales are of locally produced items - beef, pork, chicken, mutton, many varieties of fish, pumpkin, bananas, rice, sugar, peanuts, pasta, great varieties of fruits, any amount of provisions. Carts are selling locally produced snacks - channa, shave ice, candy, phularie, patties, pine tarts and so on.
But Guyana is falling apart - a lost country - no future according to the letter writers and the news broadcasters. But isn’t it true that fish and shrimps are being exported, that pineapples and other fruits go to Trinidad and Barbados and our rice and sugar, furniture and timber, etc. have good markets overseas?
I go to the Public Hospital. What a change has taken place! My friend is in the open ward. It used to be a calamity of uncleanliness, broken beds, broken windows, unpainted for years etc. But now, the open ward - free for patients - looks pretty good. Even the beds look comfortable. The sheets are clean, the walls are painted.
Having read so much about migration of Guyanese, I would have thought that Water Street and Regent Street would be short of customers - but no way - it’s busy, busy, busy. Someone is spending money and it’s not a few but many and some are certainly making good money.
Reading incessantly about migration, it dawns on me to look at who of my friends and associates have migrated. I start by looking at my friends and close acquaintances. Am I alone, an unusual person? All of a sudden, as I list my friends, I note that eight with whom I am close happen to be returnees. I never regarded them as returnees, just friends. All have returned at some time or another over the years, from living in North America.
Then I start thinking about acquaintances, people I see off and on, and without going deeply into the matter, I find seven names, all but one a returnee from North America, one from UK. Am I the only one who knows so many returnees? I doubt it. The miserable letter writers, mostly from USA, (how many use their real names?) write endlessly in Stabroek News about how awful it is in Guyana, and press this migration issue.
But isn’t it a fact that there has been greater movement of people all over the world - from country to country? Doctors from UK go to Canada; Canadian doctors go to USA, and Indian doctors go to Guyana. Guyanese go mainly to North America, for many reasons: better jobs, higher standard of living (if they’re lucky) joining families, looking for a different life style, adventure, slipping out of a broken marriage, fear of crime (and they bump into much crime on the streets of New York), and so on. Migration isn’t limited to Guyana, by any means!
There are two Guyanas - the one we live in which is growing better every day, but obviously, with faults. So what is perfect in this world? There is another Guyana, the fictitious one created by the politically ambitious, the politically bitter opponents who “wanabe,” the perennial grumblers, those with chipped shoulders and the plain enemies of change, the clones of the CIA intriguers of the 60’s.
May 2005
© 2005 Janet Jagan
An Inside Look Into Electoral Fraud
An interesting letter appeared in Stabroek News of May 23, 2005 written by Llewellyn John, correcting a S/N report that Mr Corbin, leader of the PNC, was reported to have made. Mr Corbin apparently noted that Mr John had exercised the right to leave the PNC, as Mr Trotman was then in the process of doing. Mr John refuted that remark of Corbin’s and wrote: “After the PNC won power in 1968 there were jealous elements in the party that could not stand the acclamation. I received from the masses who knew that I had laboured incessantly in the promotion of such issues as proportional representation, the overseas vote, double citizenship and the ambit of proxy and postal voting.I was ousted as a result of the machinations of a clique...”
Now, let me say as a prelude to my remarks, and this is common knowledge, that I have been the object all through my political life of constant attacks, vicious slander, unbelievable rumours and gossip, physical abuses including blows, stones and rotten eggs, and so on. To survive throughout the decades, I have mostly forgotten the specifics of these, and like the document I am accused of throwing over my shoulder, these too have gone in the same direction.
However, one or two were more difficult to forget, and my memory is sharply clear on the dreadful verbal abuse and scorn dumped on me at the meeting that was held at the then, Home Affairs Minister Llewellyn John’s office sometime before the 1968 elections. General elections were the responsibility, at that time, of the Minister of Home Affairs.
I was appointed to represent the PPP on the Elections Commission in preparation for the 1968 elections. Also on the Commission were Mr Desmond Hoyte for the PNC, I forget the name of the UF representative and the Chairman was Sir Donald Jackson, handpicked for the occasion.
I was the lone objector to all the machinations going on to rig the 1968 elections. I was constantly protesting to the deaf - no one listened to me, but I was exposing all the fraud in its early stages - not that I was so bright - anyone who could see, could see, if they wanted what was going on.
I talked, objected, tried in every way to convince the other three that they were assisting in a terrible wrong. After a while, Sir Donald got fed up listening to me and finally agreed to a proposal I made to discuss the election irregularities (my word) with the Minister of Home Affairs. That is how we visited his office.
That was quite an event! I cannot really describe the harshness and rudeness of the treatment which Minister John heaped on my head - only to say that it was so intense that I carry it in my psyche decades later.
But read his letter more closely - there is no regret in his pride of promoting the overseas vote, proxy and postal voting - all key elements in the electoral fraud that pervaded Guyana through four elections and a referendum. He forgot to mention another of his successes, the padding of the voters’ list which also included the disenfranchisement of thousands of potential PPP voters. The PNC were and still remain masters of that technique.
I don’t know if it is necessary for me to go into details of the overseas, postal and proxy votes, so well known are these. But a recent formerly secret document released by the USA shows that the PNC received substantial sums of money for the 1968 elections and that US authorities were fully aware that the overseas vote would be used to build up a PNC majority and that the electoral lists would be padded.
I will give you one more experience I had on the Elections Commission. When I examined the overseas list of voters, I was certain as I perused it, that it was filled with false names. I raised the issue over and over at meetings of the Elections Commission, finally irritating Sir Donald so much that he agreed to my proposal that we visit the Registration office on High Street (next to the old railway line) to see some files. The place was apparently taboo - no one except employees were allowed inside, but I was accompanied by Sir Donald, so I was allowed that one time to enter the portals of fraud.
I had the overseas voters’ list in my hand and had ticked off a number of names that looked particularly suspicious. I was allowed to give some of these names to a clerk who then, one by one, showed me the registration card for the person. I was allowed to scrutinize each for a very brief period before the card was snatched away. I very quickly wrote down the person’s date of birth, place of birth and names of parents. I also noted what was so obvious, the signatures looked phony - most with an obvious slanted way of writing. I was allowed to see about 12 such cards and then hastily hustled out of the highly protected area.
I put my findings together, including the names, addresses, dates and places of birth and names of parents of some 12 overseas voters and asked the Elections Commission to send these to the office of Births and Deaths Registry, requesting birth certificates of those named. Over and over I asked if a reply had been received, and finally, the answer. The Registry was unable to locate any of those so named because I did not provide sufficient information! Not one Commissioner or the Chairman batted an eyelid and the matter was dropped. No one would listen to me. They were all part and parcel of the colossal electoral fraud and should be remembered for what they did or did not do!
June 4, 2005
© 2005 Janet Jagan
