Remembering Cheddi Jagan
(A Tribute to Cheddi Jagan on the 7th Death Anniversary)
by Dr. Frank C. S. Anthony
Time has slowly moved on, trying like a flood to drown the anguish and hurt that we felt seven years ago. Indeed the inevitable march of time does not mean the inevitable erasure of memory. But like the proverb that says " absence makes the heart grows fonder", so it is with us that we are fonder of Cheddi. Jagan, and we often reflect on how he would have done this or that.
I have asked several persons, especially young people what it is that they like about Cheddi Jagan. And they all said he had a multitude of excellent qualities and virtues that made him a charismatic leader.
It is ironic that the word Charisma is used to describe him. Because this word evolved from religion and has a modified meaning. In ancient times to how some people believed in gods and spirits but few have ever seen a miracle, a tangible display of divine power. During that time persons seemed possessed by a divine spirit, speaking in tongues, articulating visions – these men stood out as one whom the gods have singled out. Charisma in those early times was a sign of god’s favor.
In present day leaders hold power not by divine authority but by votes and competence and lots of hard work and sacrifice. But despite these well-labored principles some leaders just stood out, by the sheer radiance of their personality and character. Cheddi Jagan was a man who commanded attention when he spoke. He had to many of us a larger than life presence and many attributed that to Jagan’s Charisma.
So what made Cheddi Jagan a charismatic leader? Max Weber explained, "Charisma shall be understood to refer to an extraordinary quality of a person, regardless of whether this quality is actual, alleged or presumed." In fact Weber has written volumes on the subject of charisma. More recently Anton Allahar wrote a book called " Caribbean Charisma – Reflections on Leadership, Legitimacy and Populist Politics" and in that book a whole chapter is dedicated to the charismatic leadership of Dr. Cheddi Jagan.
I have tried to dissect the anatomy of his charisma, and confect the ingredients that made him charismatic. And I have succeeded in compiling a partial list of qualities and characteristics. Throughout tonight’s proceeding many others would add many, more, but such was the man’s of inexhaustible potential ready to be discovered.
Cheddi was - VISIONARY – he had the art of seeing things invisible. He was able to create, embody and communicate a vision. This is what inspired people to mobilize, to act and to move as a united organization and ultimately to a united country. His vision is the fabric that clothe us with our common identity.
"The four cornerstones of our present needs - racial harmony, national unity, national Independence and peace and progress. Without racial harmony there can be no national unity, and without racial unity there can be no national Independence and without Independence there can be no progress."
In the nineties as the cold war thawed, and inequalities and injustices prevailed he started an advocacy for a New Global Human Order as a solution to relive the poor countries from this plight.
"I don’t think I have reached the pinnacle of my life, for the Presidency is only a means to an end, to attain the end is to attain a sane and safe world, to bring an end to exploitation, suffering and misery, to construct a New Global Human Order. The struggle will continue."
Dr. Jagan had
- sense of purposefulness. He did not falter to take action, when action was needed. And there is decisiveness, a self-assurance, a force of his character that made generations of supporters comfortable and secure in the knowledge that once Cheddi was at the helm we will prevail.
In the difficult times in the sixities he wrote in the " West on Trial ":
"Those who say that we are irrelevant, that we are finished, should be reminded that the same tune was sung after the dark days following the rape of our constitution in 1953 and the breakaway by the right and left opportunists in 1955 and 1956. But we won in 1957 and 1961. Today, though defrauded and cheated, we remain the strongest force in the country. Difficulties there will be; the battle will be long and hard. But win again we will. History and time are on our side!"
His strength of purpose was to prove decisive as he guided the party through many challenges, obstacles and sacrifices to victory on 5th October, 1992.
Cheddi Jagan had some
Saintly quality – he was a man of integrity. Most mortals are vulnerable to compromise saints are not compromised. Jagan stood up for his principles, and suffered for his believes but was nevertheless prepared to endure these hardships. In the end many still marvel at the injustices done to him, yet it did not deter him or compromise him. It made him stronger, and created a system of values and principles for which people were willing to fight and die for.
"I believe that my first charge is to raise my people from the mire of poverty in which, for too long, they have suffered. I have never made any secret of my views. I have been thrown out of office. I have been subjected to violence, indignity and jail. I am willing to face these things again, and gladly, in the fight to free my people and aid them. Here I stand. Here I will stand until I die."
Cheddi Jagan was an
Eloquent man – he knew words had power, and he used them to educate, to mobilize, to agitate and to bring change. He helped to inspire hope in the complex realities in which we live.
"Democracy can only prosper in an environment of economic, social and ecological development. Poverty atrophies the vigor and initiative of the individual and deprives the society of incalculable human resources. If left unattended, the expansion of poverty with hunger and the hopelessness it engenders will undermine the fabric of our civilization and the security of the democratic state, thus threatening world peace."
Cheddi was theatrical
I think it was difficult to imagine Cheddi giving a speech without moving his arms. He had the ability to use body language and hand gestures to aid the audience in conjuring a mental picture of the complex topic that was being explained.
Cheddi had passion
He was so passionate about the cause, that he lived and breathed that cause. It was part of his being and he did not mind taking his beliefs to the people, big or small. And at those meetings whether at bottom houses or rallies, he became alive, animate with gestures and literally lightening up as he explained his ideas to people.
Cheddi was a humble, selfless man
He was not extravagant or arrogant. He was humble and always willing to listen and originate solutions to people’s problems. This was the Jagan that we grew up to know, always practical, always pragmatic and always willing to give of himself so that other may be better.
He said of himself:
" I first wanted to be a doctor. Didn't want to be merely a specialist and craftsman and cure individual aches and ills. I wanted to cure the ills of society. I want to know that I have served humanity as a human being. All of us want recognition - I am not interested in recognition conferred on the basis of my bankroll. When I would have passed away, I would like it to be recorded that Jagan did his bit in the service of humanity."
Cheddi was an educator
Dr Jagan was indeed an educator; he was able to break-down the complexities of the modern world to simple language for the grassroots supporters to understand. In the early days it was not unusual for him to make charts and graphs to graphically represent some complicated problem that were contained in the budget. The charts were then used as teaching aids to explain the concepts. No bottom house or street corner was exempted, if there were a few comrades to meet and to discuss these issues.
Cheddi had support
His life partner was always there to share in the joys and to help in the difficult moments. This is what he said of Janet;
"My wife, Janet influenced me with a deep and abiding faith and caring for the poor, the disadvantaged and the handicapped, the oppressed and the marglinized, and she has a very deep commitment to honesty in politics. As a result I do not worry about anything. I work together with her very closely, we debate soundly without anything to worry about or anything to hide. She has given me peace of mind."
When Cheddi died the day was black with mourning; the Guyana diversity was unified in their loss. People sought each other, to comfort and console and the colors became blurred not by tears, but because deep down in our hearts we somehow felt a personal loss.
That personal loss, that despair felt was because this charismatic leader has touched each of us with his greatness.
Today, we can look back with a little less grief, a little less emotion to this great champion and try to heal the pain that we feel with ideas that he gave. The legacy of ideas is what Cheddi bequeathed to this generation and generations to come.
We have the grave responsibility to become acquainted with and to adopt them to suit our particular challenging circumstances.
If we don’t we run the risk of been accused of treason by the next generation because we would have squandered the wonderful treasure of wisdom that can help us out of this ideological and economic drought that is engulfing us.
So as we remember our charismatic leader who restored that luxury to hope, that luxury to dream of a better life in our country. The democratic freedoms that we all now cherish all came because Cheddi Jagan played his part to make Guyana better.
We in the PYO, WPO, PPP and indeed all Guyana are proud heirs of Cheddi’s legacy
Let there be no doubt, that disciples of Jagan armed with his indomitable ideas, are always ready to light a path through the world’s confusion to relieve the human conditions from suffering.
Let there be no doubt that our charismatic Cheddi will forever be remembered by all Guyana.