Articles by Janet Jagan
Five Years After
by Janet JaganI can only guess that a person's worth after death will, to some extent say something of his worth while alive.
I remain, as I have since 1950, a member of the Central Committee (formerly General Council) and Executive Committee of the People's Progressive Party. These two committees are the governing bodies of the PPP in between Congress, which is the highest authority of the Party and which elects, on a delegate basis, in our Party's democratic elections for the Central Committee.
Since Cheddi Jagan's demise in 1997, I have missed only a few of these meetings. What I find remarkable and significant is that at most of these meetings (Executive Committee meets weekly and the Central Committee quarterly) Cheddi Jagan's name comes up frequently. For example, we may be discussing a matter like race relations and the setting up of a Race Relations Council. Members will remember what he said on the subject and the manner in which he would deal with the matter.
We might be discussing financial matters and the specific item of debt relief. Dr. Jagan's views on this would be recalled and we would be guided by his views and experience.
His ideas and thoughts continue to influence the PPP. But not in any dogmatic or slavish way. He always sought the widest opinions on vital matters and was never afraid or reluctant to ask the views of those least expected to be consulted by him. His mind was never closed to new ideas and this attitude has pervaded the thinking of the Party's leading members.
On moral issues, the Party leadership is constantly reminded of his solid standing and unwavering adherence to the principles of honesty and integrity.
At the more personal level, can I but remember him when I eat a mango from the tree he lovingly planted or when I pet the same dog he petted the very night he took ill at State House?
© 2001 Janet Jagan
Remembering Cheddi – March 6th 2005 – by Janet Jagan
We come together, again, on this day, the 6th of March, to commemorate the death anniversary of Guyana’s hero – Father of the Nation – Cheddi Jagan.
I wanted to share with you a beautiful reflection by our daughter Nadira, who presented her father with a stunning photograph of Kaieteur Falls which she had taken, with this inscription – “Dad, at 76 you are still strong and vigorous as the mighty Kaieteur, your presence as majestic. Your dreams have become a reality. Guyana has seen the dawn of a new day. Your ideals will live on forever, flowing through the lives of all whom it touches, just as the waters of the Potaro, will always flow into our mighty Kaieteur.”
A person’s worth after death, will, to some extent, say something of his worth while alive. Since Cheddi Jagan’s death in 1997, his ideas and thoughts continues to influence Guyana, and, of course, the Party he built and nurtured and loved. His writings and ideas are preserved at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre established in 2000 and used by many researchers and students. His major book “ The West on Trial” has now gone into its 6th edition and republished by his daughter.
His ideas and plans continue to influence the PPP. But not in any dogmatic or slavish way. He always sought the widest opinions on vital matters and was never afraid or reluctant to ask the views of a wider spectrum of people. His mind was never closed to new ideas and this attitude has pervaded the thinking of the Party’s leading members.
On moral issues, the Party leadership is constantly reminded of his unwavering adherence to the principles of honesty and integrity.
Cheddi Jagan never forgot his roots, was proud to be the son of indentured labourers bound to Port Mourant. He used to tell me that he felt refreshed when he went amongst the people, as he did frequently, always seeking ways of alleviating the poverty that so many endured.
He was a man with a vision, never defeated, never giving up. During the 28-years of PNC dictatorship, when to many the future was hopeless, Cheddi always knew that things would change. After the many rigged elections he said “We have been cheated, not defeated.”
Thus it came be, that in 1992, the PPP won elections and a new era began. We can all appreciate and respect this man who created a new spirit in Guyana and who led his people forward to a better life.
Today, we remember him and pay respects to this son of the soil who became the Father of the Nation!
© 2005 Janet Jagan
A Woman of Courage
by Janet Jagan (June 9, 2007
I have often wondered about the man who is soon to become Britain’s new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. He has been in the shadows of the flamboyant Tony Blair for ages, but, as time has shown, the British people and the British Labour Party have had enough of Blair and have asked him to depart. Thus, for all his flash and engaging personality, Tony Blair has lost the confidence of those who put him in charge of the UK government.
No doubt his constant support of the Iraq war and his reputation as Bush’s “poodle” destroyed whatever qualities that at first had endeared him to the majority of Britons. Former Labour Leader Lord Kinnock described Mr Blair’s close association with George Bush as a tragedy. Now the two leaders are sinking into the depths of the morass they created.
A man cannot be judged alone by what he writes, but this can give an insight to the character of the writer. On the eve of Gordon Brown’s take over of the Prime Minister’s office, he has written a book entitled “Courage: Eight Portraits”. One of the eight persons of courage described by Gordon Brown is reviewed in the April 27-May 3, 2007 issue of the British newspaper the Guardian, carrying the headline “A Woman of Courage.” It’s all about a tiny Burmese woman, Aung San Suu Kyi, opposition leader to Burma’s military regime. In this column, I have written about her on three occasions. Like Gordon Brown, I am a great admirer of this outstanding freedom-fighter, probably the most remarkable and courageous woman living in this present world.
Let me quote a paragraph from Gordon Brown’s book which gives a good picture of Suu Kyi and tells us something about the writer himself:
“The more I read, the more I wondered at Suu Kyi’s great courage, lonely and sustained; it had shaped her life and resulted in her becoming the world’s most renowned female prisoner of conscience. Facing one of the most tyrannous regimes in the world, she had demonstrated that courage by living under house arrest for most of the past two decades, far apart from the husband she loved and from her beloved children.
To understand Suu Kyi’s courage, we need to understand her devotion to duty – and in particular the influence of her father Aung San who secured Burmese independence from the British in 1948 but who did not live to see that independence come into force – and secondly, and most important of all, the strength of her underlying belief in democracy and human rights. Her courage has shown itself not in the fearlessness of impetuous confrontation, but in strength of character rooted in passionately held beliefs.”
Just recently, this Burmese heroine was sentenced by the military government to another year of house arrest. There were worldwide protests, including a resolution from the United Nations (and I cried when I heard that through what I call “sheer stupidity” the Guyana government abstained when the vote was taken!). It was while under house arrest that Suu Kyi had to make a cruel decision, a decision that almost tore her apart. Her husband and two sons were in England and at that time her husband, an academic, Michael Arls, developed terminal cancer. She sought permission to visit him in England and was informed that if she left she could not return to Burma. She felt she could not take the easy path, leaving her comrades and colleagues forever. Her husband died without the two seeing each other.
As Gordon Brown put it: “For me, Suu Kyi defines the meaning of courage … (she) represents the power not of the powerfuls but of the powerless: a woman, a prisoner of conscience up against a state with one of the worst human rights violation records in the world…”
Unlike some former political leaders who have sought refuge in England, Suu Kyi refused to take the easy way out. Only last week, the Thailand government ruled that its deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra could not be involved in politics for five years and dissolved his Party. He and a few other deposed leaders, including Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Bhutto, are safely in exile while the Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi refuses to do so. This is the rare behaviour of a genuine person of courage. She and her band of freedom fighters deserve the full support of all those who believe in freedom and democracy.© 2007 Janet Jagan
