The Movement of Man (Part II)
(Extracts of a conversation on the movement of Man with Nalini Mohabir (NM) and Juliet Alexander (JA), Georgetown, Guyana, August 28, 2009. Mohabir, born in Canada of a Guyanese father and Trinidadian mother, is doing her Ph D thesis at Leeds University, UK, on the last return ship from British Guiana to India. Alexander, Guyanese-born UK-resident, has a Masters in Documentary Research, and more than 25 years experience in the print and broadcast media. Her dissertation is on the movement of enslaved Africans from the Caribbean to Australia. )

PP: FOR A long while, we were under the impression that our history, or the outline of our history, has been recorded, but more and more evidence is surfacing to discredit and rewrite that ‘history’.

NM: I want to reinforce what I said earlier, that the kind of work we [she and Alexander] are doing is really important, in that the history was set out within a colonial framework, and now the work we and others are doing is helping to uncover those submerged voices and movements which are beginning to bubble up to the surface and are now being uncovered, not only in the colonial documents, but in the living voices that are still with us who have lived through colonial times and post-colonial times.

And secondly, the point that you brought up is that our histories are interconnected; it is not just about Guyana. Guyana has always been very connected to the wider world, but our histories have journeyed and intercepted and crossed even on boats as we crossed the oceans. We could have literally, visually seen other boats crossing. Yes, we intercept at many places. For example, here in Guyana, the Indian Arrival Committee celebrates the arrival of Indian immigrants (I think is the term they use). It’s a bit deceiving, because it was not necessarily immigration, in that they could have chosen to go somewhere else, like say America or Canada -- those options were open to them right unto the late 20th Century.

In Guyana, there are shared spaces, shared commonalities. Not that they were the same; I am not saying that at all, but there were moments in time when emotions and feelings might have been shared. For example, although my focus is on the last return ship, in the course of my research, I have discovered that around that same period, there was an attempt to sail from British Guiana back to Sierra Leone; there was an attempt to charter a ship named ‘Cockteck’, and in the very year the ship sailed to India, there was a ship from Trinidad sailing to Liberia. So now we have, not a divergent history of Indians going back to India on the one hand and Africans going back to Africa on the other hand, but a sense of the kind of emotions, hopes, yearnings and feelings that the pre-Independence, post-colonial period might have rekindled.

PP: It is not that I am at sea, but I am sure you [Juliet] would want to come in here.

JA: I am absolutely agreeing that there is that commonality of experience that we still find here.

I brought my three English-born children to Guyana for the first time, and they are fascinated by the fact that the history they thought was only theirs or perhaps an American-born history is evident here as well. Young people are young people; they may express it slightly different, but they are young people. And this is the joy of history, the joy of travel, the joy of discovery: Finding out there are commonalities all the way through… which is really exciting.

PP: In a conversation with Prof. Vibert Cambridge, we were talking about song… work song, and we went on to explore commonalities in the oral tradition of Indians and Africans -- drumming, games, structures of storytelling (Nancy Story and Balglobin Story), rituals, healing and bush medicine…

JA: As you were talking, it reminded me of something: The first time I went to South Africa to train politicians for the first free and fair elections after Mandela was released. Some children were playing a game and obviously singing along, and I joined in [Alexander singing] and they stopped to ask how I knew that. Then we had an exchange on other games children play, and I found some games are common in childhood everywhere.

PP: Nalini, anything on the oral tradition in your research?

NM: All of this is interesting and fascinating, but I am trying to move away from using the colonial documents in my research, which is only one perspective in trying to uncover the voices of our ancestors and their descendants. From all of the interviews I’ve done, it seems that no-one has asked these people about that time, about going down to Sproston’s wharf to see the ship off, because it is incredible how their eyes lit up and the things that come forth at the mention of that event. We must remember that that ship sailed 54 years ago. I was in Wales [on the West Bank Demerara, here in Guyana] the other day and met with a woman some 85 years old, and when asked about the moment, she starting singing bhagans, the bhagans that relatives and friends were singing as they were boarding the ship preparing to go back to India. My aja, Chablall Ramcharan, said that while the ship was in mid-ocean, in addition to the bhagans they were singing -- which we would expect of Indians going back to India -- they were also singing calypso. At the time, there was a famous calypso by Lord Creator, so we can see here that their oral tradition was creolised, and that these people were changed by the time spent in Guyana.

JA: That is fascinating. A couple years ago, for Radio 4 [BBC], I did a series of programmes, going around the Caribbean: After sugar, what; diversification? Another was about a unique flower festival in St. Lucia and how tourism changed that particular culture of that country. The festival was about two groups of peoples representing the rose, and the marguerite would sing very lewd songs in patois. The upshot was that with the advent of tourists, the songs were watered down and began to lose their richness and texture. In a way, this speaks to that creolising you [Nalini] mentioned about the people on the return ship.

PP: Now, let’s go back to the ships and the movement of Man as we wind down this conversation, putting your research into context. You [Nalini] put the last return ship into context, meaning what was before that event: Indentureship. And the same goes for you, [Juliet], about what was before: Slavery.

NM: Indians were not the only ones to be indentured, as you mentioned, but Africans were indentured labourers post-slavery period and of course, the Portuguese, Chinese…

There were African return ships. The first return ship to take African indentured labourers back to Africa sailed in 1848; the first group of African indentured labourers came in 1840, and the first to return went in 1848. The Chinese indentured labourers never had the right to return written in their contract, which is one of the reasons why Chinese Indentureship ended. Guyana became known as the place from whence no one returned, which troubled the Chinese Government, so they put a stop to that. So there were return ships sailing back to Africa, and back to India, overlapping even onto the period of the 19th Century and mid-20th Century.

JA: It was a sad voyage that brought the enslaved Africans from Britain to Australia; there was no right to return element whatsoever. In fact, there were many protests in Australia itself. Whereas a common thief had to serve, I think, twelve years, in terms of the enslaved Africans, there was no right to return passage; there was no provision to serve for a period of time and qualify for something. The majority of enslaved Africans who were taken to Australia stayed there and married. Many, many stories abound, told by their descendants, some of whom are as white as they come with the bluest of eyes…

PP: Thanks for adding to the discourse of the movement of Man, the birth of our cultural histories, and thanks for giving voice to our ancestors.

To respond to this author, either call him on (592) 226-0065 or send him an email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com

Tales from way back when…
(A look at some of the stories that made the news ‘back-in-the-day’ with CLIFFORD STANLEY)

Should Married Women Accept Employment?
THIS will be the subject of a debate on June 10 at Friendship Methodist Wesley Guild. The proposer will be Mrs May Providence, and Mr GST Hodge will oppose.

The Rev SWC Crosse will preside.
(Guiana Graphic: June 4, 1948)

(2)
NOTICE
I hereby beg to notify the general public that I will not be responsible for any debt or debts contracted by my wife Kathleen Haley Joseph (nee February) she having left my home on 17th December, 1947.

SGD: Antonio Haley Joseph 17 Broad and Lombard Streets; 4th May 1948.
(Guiana Graphic: May 5, 1948)

(3)
Money Lost And Found
MR Boodram of No 64, Courantyne went to New Amsterdam on Friday, May 21 with $1,800 to deposit in the Savings Bank.

He visited Wreford’s Store at the Strand and dropped the money there.

An hour later, he returned to the store and was handed the money by Mr Wreford.

The wallet was found by Mr MJ Rodrigues, well known rum-shop proprietor of No 19, Courantyne, and given to one of the clerks at the store.
(Guiana Graphic: May 30, 1948)

(4)
A Snake Went To School
ON Wednesday, April 28, a six-foot snake entered the lower flat of Ruimveldt Anglican School.

Miss Hunt, assistant teacher, was sitting at her table preparing some needlework for the children when, suddenly, the children began shouting.

At that time, the snake was climbing the chair on which she was sitting.

She ran from that spot, and the snake went on the table, coiling itself on the needlework.

Mr Bagot, another assistant teacher at the school, killed it with a stick.
(Guiana Graphic: May 5, 1948)

(5)
Flour
FOR FAILING to keep correct record of flour, Ramkellawan was charged by PC 4279 Isaacs, and was fined $10 or a month’s imprisonment.
(Guiana Graphic: May 12, 1948)

(6)
Woman dislocates elbow in attempt to board train
JULIA Newton, a 58-year-old huckster of 202 Camp Street, was admitted to the Georgetown Hospital yesterday, having sustained a dislocation of her right elbow when she fell in an attempt to board the 12:30pm train from Berbice.
(Guiana Graphic: May 11, 1948)

(7)
Captured
LIONEL Grosvenor, who eluded the Wismar Police for four days, was captured in hiding at Christianburg on Wednesday, May 5 by a squad of policemen and taken to the station, where he was indictably charged for brandishing a weapon at his paramour.

No bail was granted, and he was removed to the Georgetown gaol pending the hearing on May 27 before Mr RS Miller, Magistrate.
(Guiana Graphic: May 11, 1948)

(8)
Basra’s boatswain hurt
TOMMY Williams, boatswain employed on the SS Basra, was injured aboard ship when the ‘Basra’, making its weekly run to New Amsterdam from the Upper Berbice River, stopped at Coomacka, about 100 miles up.

Williams, it is stated, was posted at the steering wheel of the ‘Basra’ when it attempted to moor at Coomacka, and as a result of the sudden jolt of the ship against the stelling, he was struck in the face by the wheel.

First aid was rendered him by the skipper, Captain McKenzie, who was nearby.

On the arrival of the ‘Basra’ at New Amsterdam yesterday morning, he was removed to the New Amsterdam Hospital and warded.
(Guiana Graphic: May 13, 1948)

(9)
Miss Ruby Holder secures 11th place in the world
NEWS HAS just been received that Miss Ruby Holder of ‘Marycot’, Plaisance has been placed 11th in the Stenographer’s Division at the 35th Annual International Gregg Shorthand Contest held in New York.

Miss Holder is the first in British Guiana to rank in the list of prize winners in this contest.

Besides a prize awarded, she has already received a gold pin, and will also receive a yearly subscription to the ‘Gregg Writer’.

This contest is by far the largest shorthand contest in the world.
Thousands of persons from all over the world take part.
(Guiana Graphic: June 6, 1948)

(10)
Philharmonic season opens on May 27
UNDER THE distinguished patronage of His Excellency the Governor, Sir Charles Woolley, KCMG, the BG Philharmonic Orchestra will commence their first musical season for 1948 on May 27, and end on May 30.

The entire season will be held at the Town Hall.

On Thursday, May 27 at 3:45pm, the first performance will be held. This will be followed by a similar performance the next evening at the same time.

On Sunday, May 30, there will be a matinee performance at 4:445pm to conclude the session.

The Orchestra, which is now about 10 years old, will be under the command of Major SW Henwood, and the numbers to be rendered will include the works of some of the world’s best music masters.
(Guiana Graphic: May 14, 1948)

(11)
500 lb pound turtle captured
WHILE Messrs John Peters, Isaac Peters, Latchman and Somesh were fishing at Whim foreshore on Tuesday, May 18, they came up with a sea turtle five feet in length and weighing more than 500 pounds.

The turtle was brought through the Whim sideline and conveyed by cart to Bloomfield, where it is on show.
(Guiana Graphic: May 20, 1948)

(12)
A cow had its way… until
PEDESTRIANS and vehicles were held up at the Huntley Public Road on May 24 for about 90 minutes when a dark brown cow denied the public the use of the road.
The ferocious animal was eventually urged from the public road by Mr Dunson.
(Guiana Graphic: May 30, 1948)

(13)
Good news…
Soap arrives
THE general public, housewives particularly, will rejoice at the news that soap has arrived.

Yesterday, the SS Arakaka brought 3,052 cases of the Capstan Sunlight and Clock brands of soap from the United Kingdom.

At the same time, a shipment of 1000 cartons of Windmill brand soap arrived from Trinidad by the SS Alcoa Polaris.

For some time now, the short supply of this item caused grave concern in BG, and many homes were without domestic soap, or were obliged to buy expensive toilet soap.

Another large shipment of soap is expected to leave the U K by the SS Enid, which is due to arrive at month-end.
(Guiana Graphic: June 2, 1948)

(14)
Canje Swing Bridge under repairs
EXTENSIVE repairs are being carried out to the Canje Swing Bridge.
The work is being done by the Public Works Department.
(Guiana Graphic: June 4, 1948)
Clifford Stanley can be reached on any of the above at cswcb@yahoo.com or 592-657-2043.

The HIV/AIDS mailbox…
Young wife in sero-discordant union wants to have a baby
Dear Shirla
I AM a Person Living with HIV (PLHIV) in a sero-discordant relationship (a union where one partner is HIV-positive and the other negative) for several years.

After being on the antiretroviral treatment (ART) for more than two years, my immune system has rebounded, and I am definitely enjoying an improved quality of life. In fact, I look so remarkably well, there is no way one can look at me and tell that I was even HIV-positive. When I was first placed on treatment, my CD4 cell-count reading was less than 200, and today it is above 500.

But I must confess that even though it was initially very demanding to adhere to the drug regimen, I am a disciplined person and eventually conditioned myself to taking the drugs exactly as my doctor advised me.

My one concern, however, is that I would now like to have a baby and discussed it with my doctor, who thinks that at my present health status, I can take the chance. I am all excited about it, and I trust the Prevention of Mother-to-Child PMTCT) programme being rolled out locally, and cannot wait to have my baby.

However, on returning from the doctor, I discussed this with my husband, and he tried to convince me that it is not the best thing for us to do. The first argument he advanced was that having made such a dramatic recovery, I should not do anything that would place a tremendous strain on my body and immune system, for fear that it could become compromised once more. He thinks we should give it time, and that I should stick to the treatment plan and not let reason go out of the window. But deep down, I want to believe that he is scared of having unprotected sex with me, because we have always used condoms, and the only way I can conceive is by having sex without the condom.

You see, I love my husband very much, and even though we share a very good union, I just feel that if we have a child together, it will bring us even closer. I read in your column, following the AIDS 2009 Pathogenesis, Care and Treatment Conference in South Africa earlier this year, that recommendations were made during that meeting for the development of clinical approaches which would allow for sero-discordant couples to have babies.

I also read recently about the breakthrough made in coming up with a vaccine which has the potential to prevent HIV. I commend the initiative, and would like to know: Are scientists/researchers anywhere close to coming up with an invention for sero-discordant couples to have babies without the uninfected partner becoming infected in the process? In the absence of this, I think that having sex without a condom for the sake of having a baby would be the kind of risk my husband does not want to take.
Young wife, anxious for a baby

Dear friend
As a PLHIV on antiretroviral therapy, you have certainly demonstrated the kind of discipline required for consistently sticking or adhering to the treatment plan, to the extent that it appears to be doing wonders for you. Keep up the good job. It’s a good testimony.

I note, too, your husband’s consistency at condom use, and the all-round support he seems to be giving you to ensure your AR Therapy is a success. Kudos to him also.

However, it is not for me to attempt to get between or add to the decisions made by your husband and doctor. You requested information on whether there are clinical approaches which would make it possible for a sero-discordant couple to have a baby without posing any serious health risks to both parties.

Unfortunately, I have received no further communication on this topic following the Cape Town Conference in June, and I do not know what are the chances for artificial insemination locally. I shall, however, seek to get a comment from the local HIV experts and communicate that to you some time soon.
Good luck
Shirla

Note:
We at the Guyana Chronicle’s HIV Mailbox are very concerned about the potential for HIV treatment failure and ultimately, the development of drug-resistance, which could be brought on as a result of non-adherence to the treatment regimen.

For this reason, we feel that the importance of the PLHIV taking his/her medication ‘EXACTLY AS PRESCRIBED’ by their doctor, cannot be over emphasized, and certainly it will not defy good reason to bring you this information many times over.

Therefore, just in the event you did not get it before, read the following information, commit it to memory and share it with others where possible.

Before a person commences using antiretroviral treatment, commonly referred to as anti-HIV drugs, it is important for him/her to be seriously counseled about the importance of adherence to the drug in order to derive its full benefits. Unless they can adhere to the instructions for taking the medication, it would perhaps be better not to begin taking them in the first place, or they will do the user more harm than good.

Rules of thumb for Drug adherence
The term ‘adherence’ means taking the drugs exactly as prescribed by your doctor or clinician, and these include:

• taking all your medication at the right time - consistently

• ensuring regular, adequate and nutritious dietary intake

• ensuring there are no interruptions to taking the medication

• ensuring the person has access to adequate supplies of the medication, so as not to run out of supplies before being able to get back to his/her doctor

• ensuring there no interactions with other drugs being taken or through the use of alcohol, coffee, high acid foods, or certain herbal treatments.

• Using only pure water to drink your medication

If the treatment instructions are not followed, it will lead to treatment failure, leading to serious short and long-term consequences. These include an increase in viral load (the amount of the virus present in the blood), and the risk of developing ‘drug resistance’.

For the persons on ART, the most pleasant and reassuring thought in the scheme of things, is that the primary goal of antiretroviral therapy (using anti-HIV medication), is to keep viral numbers in the blood as low as possible, through maximal suppression of viral replication. Consequently, it results in the restoring and preserving the function of the immune system and an improved quality of life for the person. This is something that has already worked for literally millions of people and your PLHIV can benefit too, by doing what their doctors tell them to do.

If you experience any problems, get back to your doctor as soon as possible.
As usual, we urge that if you have any further questions, or would like to share your experiences with us, to please contact us at waronhiv@yahoo.com, or send your letters to: HIV/AIDS Mailbox, Guyana Chronicle, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown.

Consumer rights at the supermarket
By Norman Faria
For behind Centre: Please find appropriate photo and use/probably of a well-stocked supermarket or from GuyExpo

THE RECENT holding of the 15th Meeting of the Council of the CARICOM Regional Oganisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) in Barbados has prompted me to put pen to paper over a difficulty I had at a Barbados supermarket.

Two weeks ago, I opened a large plastic container of detergent power that I had bought from the establishment. I found that the top of the contents was about two inches down from the rim. I thought it should be right to the top. After all, on the basis of looking at the container on the shelf, one reasonably expects that is what you’d be getting: A full container. You get this situation with other items such as certain cereals.

I phoned the supermarket’s manager, and an official there said the operative factor in this case was the weight of the contents. Did it correspond with that stated on the container? I replied in the affirmative, saying that that may be legally true. The other defence was that the detergent powder may have settled after it left the manufacturer (in this case, Trinidad).

That may be true, too. But the overriding fact is that the average supermarket shopper buys on the basis of impressions and impulses (aside from the prepared list). The average shopper does not carry around a weighing scale. Packaging and advertising should not be misleading. For what its worth, I think in this case it was.

There are other difficulties at some supermarkets. One is the way some types of meat are packaged. If you buy a package of four lamb chops or other types of meat for example, do I have to ask which ones they put below the others in the packaged stack (out of sight)? The ones below are usually the smallest, and with more fat or bigger bones.

In Canada, there was a big scandal during the 1970s when some supermarkets were spraying mince meat on display with red colouring to cover up the white fat in the meat. The idea was to make ‘Grade B’ look like ‘Grade A’ . Fortunately, there have been more consumer-friendly legislation and consumer awareness to prevent such misrepresentation today, but some may still go on.

Generally, Barbadian retail outlets like the one in question usually have properly prepared and priced consumer items on sale. There is a National Standards Bureau, and a Fair Trading Commission (attached to a government Ministry) has a consumer complaints hotline. I must say, too, the manager at the supermarket, Mr. Geoffrey Edey, was most kind and co-operative in the matter with me. But there are still some areas, as in the case with Guyana, especially with the more widely used outdoor markets, where the Barbadian consumers have reason to complain.

Apparently, such complaints have forced the Commission to run ads on the island's only (government- run) TV station. The latest one is a notice stating that all retail firms must offer refunds or exchanges for justified reasons such as damaged items.

In Guyana, there are probably (though I stand corrected) still some stores which post deplorable signs such as ‘Check receipts and items before leaving because NO refunds or exchanges will be given’, or ‘All sales final’. Guyana is progressing, and our business sector, including the manufacturing sector, has improved over the last two decades. But there is still some training and education to be done, including making consumers more aware of their rights.

I was privileged to visit the offices and testing laboratories of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards at the Sophia exhibition grounds a few years back. We must give credit to the hardworking staff there, and the relevant ministry (in this case, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce on South Road).

As the Barabdian supermarket manager correctly told me, the feedback from shoppers is a significant way for the system to work effectively.

Several of Guyana's retail and manufacturing firms will be exhibiting at this year's GUY-EXPO being held this weekend. This is another indication of the ongoing development, progress and democracy in Guyana. I have visited almost every one of the exhibitions over the years, including visiting booths of Barbadian firms showcasing their products or services. We extend every best wish to another successful show, and commend the hardworking minister, staffers and all others who put in so much work behind the scenes.

As usual, the Bureau of Standards will have a booth there, and a visit to it will be worthwhile.

In our ongoing efforts to keep on the cutting edge of technical developments and procedures of national standards systems, as well as general networking with other similar bodies, Guyana was represented at the meeting in Barbados.
(NORMAN FARIA <nfaria@caribsurf.com> IS GUYANA'S HONORARY CONSUL IN BARBADOS)

Judge’s misdirection causes confusion in jury’s mind
-Murder accused goes free
– To face new trial
IN 1960, the Federal Supreme Court in its Criminal Appellate jurisdiction allowed the appeal of murder accused, Baldeo Dihal on the grounds that the trial judge’s misdirection on the law as it related to the facts was likely to cause confusion in the jury’s mind.

The accused, who was found guilty by the jury, was sentenced to death. He appealed.

The Federal Appellate Court, constituted by Justices Rennie, Archer and Wylie, allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction and death sentence, but ordered a new trial in the interest of justice.

The appellate court held that on the trial of a person charged with murder, the judge should relate the law to the facts in the case.

It was pointed out that when dealing with the question of provocation, mention should not be made of cooling time, if the evidence clearly shows that no time elapsed between the provocation and the retaliation, and more so, where any such mention of cooling time may cause confusion in the mind of the jury.

The appellate court ruled, as it allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial, that it is the duty of the judge, in his summing up, to deal adequately with the evidence relating to self-defence.

Attorney-at-law, Mr. Stanley Hardyal appeared for the appellant, while Mr. W Persaud represented the Crown.

Delivering the judgment of the court, Justice Rennie declared that at the close of the argument, they allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction and set aside the sentence.

According to him: “The grounds of appeal are numerous and somewhat wide in scope, but, with the exception of the ground of misdirection, we saw no merit in any of them, and for that reason, refrain from making reference to any ground other than misdirection.”

He said “exception was taken to the form of the directions when dealing with the questions of self-defence and provocation,” and that it was submitted “that the law was laid down in one compartment, so to speak, and the facts were referred to in another.” No attempt was ever made to relate the one to the other, Justice Rennie said, adding: “The directions do seem to deserve this criticism. The law of self-defence was meticulously explained as a lecturer might well explain it to a class of students.”

He, however, stressed that nowhere in the directions is the jury told what facts they should take into account when considering this aspect of the case, and that the nearest they ever came to having the facts related to self-defence is the statement that when considering self-defence, it would be relevant for them to compare the wounds on the body of the deceased with the injuries on the appellant. The statement at reference, however, deals with only one factor of self-defence, and that is whether there was the necessity to use such force.

On the issue of self-defence and the direction concerning it, Justice Rennie said: “We shall have more to say at a later stage of these reasons, but now return to the matter under consideration.”

According to Justice Rennie, the jury was told:

“If in all the circumstances as a reasonable man, he feels that he is in danger -- serious danger -- he is entitled to take steps to defend himself, if necessary to the extent of killing, but though he can do that, it is his duty to retreat if he can reasonably do so in all the circumstances.

“You may think that it is not a very manly thing to do to run away if a person is attacking you or threatening to attack you. But it is the law.”

Noting that nowhere in the directions were they told what facts they should take into account in determining whether or not to retreat was reasonable, Justice Rennie said: “The evidence I accepted would seem to suggest that retreat was not possible, and it must be confusing to a jury in such circumstances to be told that although it may be considered not manly to retreat, the law nonetheless requires it if the person attacked can reasonably do so.

“As in the case of self-defence,” he said, “so in the case of provocation; no assistance was given to the jury by relating the evidence to the law. We can see a possibility of some confusion being caused in the minds of the jury by this failure to relate the one to the other. Such a confusion could have been caused by reason of their being told:

“If there was time for cooling between the time that the provocation was given and the time that the killing was done, then, of course, you cannot get the benefit of provocation to reduce the offence from murder to manslaughter.”

These directions, Justice Rennie said, were given in spite of the fact that the evidence, if believed, showed that no time had elapsed between the provocation and the retaliation. “In another case,” he said, “such an excess of direction in law might not have confused the jury, but in the present case, where evidence was given of the relationship that existed between the deceased and the appellant’s mother as a motive for the alleged offence, the jury might very well have found themselves in the position where they would ask themselves the question: ‘What did the judge mean when he referred to cooling time? Had he in mind the relationship between the deceased and the appellant’s mother?’ There was nothing else in the case, apart from the encounter, that might have affected the appellant’s mind, and if there could have been no question of cooling time with regard to the encounter, the jury must necessarily have wondered why they were told about cooling time and, more-so, when they remembered that they were told that it is important, and still more-so, having regard to the fact that the directions on provocation ruled out the relationship between the deceased and the applicant’s mother.”

In noting that apart from the criticisms at reference of the directions that there is also a serious misdirection on the question of self-defence, this being the evidence of the attack which the appellant said he repelled, Justice Rennie said: “That evidence, shortly put, is to the effect that the appellant was held by the neck, choked, and when he fell in the swamp, was being stifled.”

Justice Rennie noted that the choking and stifling seemed to the court to be of far greater consequence and amounted to a serious misdirection.

The appeal was allowed, conviction and death sentence set aside, and a new trial ordered.

Abstract Art and Our Human Identity (Part VI)
A NUMBER of new international problems emerged since the end of the Second World War and its Cold War after-effect in the 1950s and 60s: New nuclear threats to the world, the break-up of old colonial empires and the beginning of underdeveloped marginal ‘Third World’ nation states, the rise of new megalomaniacal dictatorial regimes, the struggle against racial inequalities in the USA and worldwide, the insensitive Capitalist manipulations in foreign nations ,and nostalgic memories of Communist authoritarianism, the damage to the world’s financial systems, etc .

What all this tells us is that mass Man, or Mankind as an impersonal biological specie was still a selfish, savage, belligerent beast capable of using horrible psychological strategies, as well as vaporous and metallic weapons against fragile human flesh, despite the heights of calm, reasonable, and sensuously joyful creative standards he had soared to by the 20th Century.

The ability of small powerful groups of humans to influence and plunge nations and whole populations into tragic wars and conflicts became a sobering existential fact Post-War Man had to admit to himself, and make resolutions to prevent or curb.

In comparison to such crucial social scenarios, of what importance and value is the abstract artist across the world today?

One fact remains common for all the arts -- visual, literary, musical, cinematic, etc -- and that is that their value is based on the civilized cultivation of each individual mind, since all social problems start in the mind of individuals, who only secondarily comprise a group.

Perhaps, the first point to ponder involves what abstract art IS NOT. As the world changed, for better or worse according to the individual apprehending it, so too did the styles and functions of abstract art. But ever since the publication of Kandinsky’s book, ‘Concerning The Spiritual In Art’, first in 1911, then translated in English in 1914 by his English friend and patron, Michael Sadler, a more clarifying understanding of the goals and value of abstract painting in particular was put forward.

Abstractionism
Such painting concerns us here. Later in 1958, with the publication of the important assessment, ‘Art Since 1945’ by ten of the most perceptive European and American critics of art in the Post-War modern era, Marcel Brion, in his essay on the so-called ‘School of Paris’ (a term he called meaningless, since it comprised artists of any nationality living in Paris, and because the pictorial vocabulary of our era is more universal or international than ever before), defined the value of abstraction brilliantly as a quest “to arrive at the very soul of the universe through inner emotion and plastic expression, without representing the objects in which it was traditionally contained.”

The abstract form, Brion goes on to say, “expresses the sacred, the divine, all the more completely because it has shed its material garb, the weight of the body, the opaqueness of faces.”

This non-representational quality of abstract painting is what continues to annoy those who seek to exploit art for utilitarian or pragmatic purposes alone. The abstract painting which we will consider here seeks, on the other hand, to address, cultivate, strengthen and exercise the imagination, the emotions, and most all the source of all our human activity, the mind.

We can locate exactly how abstract painting fortifies our mind and our human identity against the relentless stress of the world, and the fickleness of our material condition. We will look at a few important European and American abstract painters, and the handful of currently known Guyanese abstract painters.

The entire enterprise of important abstract painting always involves a philosophical or conscious attitude towards whatever style is arrived at, as well as premises for perceptive educational essays, books, and discussions on such art by insightful and knowledgeable critics, writers, or even other artists.

This is not painting as simple-minded entertainment, or simple-minded recognition of visible ‘reality’. For example, immediately after 1945, one of the first European abstract painters to shock the world was Karel Appel, of the Cobra circle of painters (Cobra is so named after the European cities of Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam, from which most of the painters came).

What shocked the entire art-world, except for a few bright critics and wise old painters, was the emphasis on spontaneity; the rejection of academic rules, taboos, conventions, and repetitive formulas by the best of these painters, such as Appel, Corneille, Alechinsky, and Asger Jorn, who would go on to success and world fame, despite the fact that their art was at first ridiculed as capable of being done by a monkey or child.

What human meaning, therefore, lay behind the decision of these artists to paint in such a style? Karel Appel, the Dutch artist whose abstract paintings evoked the human figure from its formation as primitive organic matter, and who laid on paint with throbbing human vitality by using his fingers, the palm of his hand, and spatula, mentioned as his guiding logic that during the Second World War, he was studying art in the most classical European civilized manner, drawing the human figure perfectly from Greek sculptural models etc, when the Dutch city of Rotterdam was almost completely leveled to the ground by Nazi bombing, and most citizens were living homeless out in the open in the cold, scavenging meals from among corpses and rubbish heaps.

It was then that he realised it was hypocritical and dishonest to pretend that such European art was an absolute standard bearer of civilized human values. His abstract paintings emerged from the creative premise where we as humans would be stimulated to build our lives from zero again with fresh optimism and physical enjoyment, as well as fresh optimism in our collective human identity.

Appel’s abstract paintings were like biological figures appearing to emerge from the genesis of the cosmos. A similar philosophy was further developed by the now famous abstract expressionist American painters of New York, such as Pollock, de Kooning, Kline, Gorky, Gottlieb, Frankenthaler, and the wonderfully unique Sam Francis of tropical San Francisco, who found huge acceptance in Paris and Tokyo.

These American abstract expressionist painters, many of whom were immigrants born outside of the US, made North America famous for the first time as a location for new abstract painting.

Such fame was justified, based on their stylistic and formal mastery of the fast brushstroke asserting the element of chance, memory, experience, and the act of ‘doing’, which involves spontaneous development out of risk. All this came to be recognised as a creative metaphor for our human identity’s refusal to surrender to the world’s social turmoil, its stress caused by insensitive change, bad news, and pessimism.

Such painting perennially keeps alive our human faculties, our human will to overcome blows to our psyche; their visual power fortifies us spiritually in our homes, at our jobs, in public museums etc, against the erosion of our spirit, in the same way that ‘primitive’ human cultures fortified their identity against hostile nature with aesthetic forms.

The Guyanese factor
What does the Guyanese-born abstract painter have to contribute to our human identity via such art? First, we should acknowledge that prior to Independence in 1966, British Guiana was already the first Anglo-Caribbean colony to produce abstract painters. We have already spoken of Aubrey Williams. Donald Locke was the first to experiment with material sewn to the canvas and built-up surfaces in an abstract manner, before he moved mostly to sculpture.

Basically, two tendencies in Guyanese abstract painters prevail: Those who use thick surfaces, and those who use thin, richly fluid expressive surfaces. Cletus Henriques, Frank Bowling, and Arlington Weithers belong to the first category. Derek Callender and myself prefer thinner, buoyant surfaces. Younger upcoming potential abstract painters like Ohene Koama and Merlene Ellis seem still undecided, but are loose and fluid. Bowling, originally from Bartica, and still influenced by terrain he saw there, achieved genuine recognition in London and New York ever since he did something exceptional; unlike many abstract painters who received their first influences from non-Western art forms, Bowling advanced the material surface texture lessons of the two greatest English 19th Century landscape painters, John Turner and John Constable. Not surprisingly, he recently received an OBE honour from England.

Bowling made his paintings evoke the thick richly organic nature of the Guyanese landscape: Mud, canal water, tropical botany, etc. In essays he wrote for New York’s ‘Art Magasine’ in the 70s, he shared his philosophical premises for such an approach to abstract painting by mentioning he read philosophers like Kant and Locke.

Cletus Henriques, on the other hand, came back from Brazil in the late 60s and became an instant success in 1970s Guyana, where his abstract exhibitions were sold-out affairs at their openings. Henriques mastered the use of the bright palette-knife impasto effect against broad backgrounds of thin poetic colour, which brought out the mineral and cosmic qualities of Guyana’s remote interior.

Arlington Weithers, based in New York, also mastered surface texture. His paintings are made with paint emulsion and sand, and a keen control of bright colour combinations, balanced depth, and free-flowing shapes. Weithers has had many artistic residence positions and exhibitions across America, and recently Mexico, as well as at the Guyanese art Gallery, ‘Ajira’ in Newark, New Jersey, founded by the well-known figurative Guyanese painter, Victor Davson, and the best known Guyanese-born art critic and freelance curator in America, Carl Hazelwood.

Both Andrew Lyght and myself have been the only Guyanese abstract painters to win monetary awards from the Canada Council in Ottawa, and also have works purchased by its innovative Art Bank.

Lyght began in Guyana as an exciting hard-edge abstract painter, then moved on to assembled works, involving folded canvas on bamboo sticks, hung up like kites. Lyght’s work came to be represented by one of New York’s leading modern art galleries.

My abstract paintings and collages, on the other hand, developed stylistic forms based on surprise and ideas about the other arts. These abstract works are based on a smooth distillation of multiple influences, from prehistoric and cosmic impressions, as well as aesthetic sensations and forms that have absorbed comic-book graphics, modern literary composition,, cinematic sequences, jazz-fusion rhythms, and tropical eroticism.

My philosophical premise is a projection of a cosmopolitan Guyanese cultural attitude which evokes our human identity.

Derek Callender, in contrast, is an amazing colourist who combines an imaginative whimsical touch with spiritual ecstasy. For all of us, however, it is how active and interesting, in a relaxed spontaneous and physical way, we can make the surface of our paintings. Such Guyanese abstract paintings by individual artists make a vital contribution of civilized sensitivity to the non-racial aesthetic of our collective human identity.