AS an educator, I teach students to be honest, mannerly and straight and to apologise when they are wrong. An apology is a sign of maturity and is harmless to the apologist. An apology is expected from someone who is wrong. So, I don’t understand why Mr. Freddie Kissoon or Ms. Sheila Holder doesn’t want to apologise for misstatements about Mr. Vishnu Bisram.

Kissoon said he did research and found that Bisram is not a teacher anywhere in the world. He subsequently confirmed that Bisram was teaching over 25 years in NY. He would have been smart to simply check with someone who knows about NY-based Guyanese to find out if Bisram was a teacher. He could have asked Moses Nagamootoo, Dr. Prem Misir, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, even Khemraj Rramjattan, or any other prominent person living in NY. They would have confirmed Bisram is a teacher. Freddie, Bisram is no ordinary Guyanese. He is one of the most prolific Guyanese (maybe Caribbean) newspaper writers in NY. He is among the most hard working Guyanese community advocates and organisers in the city. There is hardly a Guyanese activity in Queens that he is not a part of. And he also tutors students for free. What does it take for Kissoon to say he erred about Bisram and tender an apology?

NYC teacher Mike Persaud is right to describe Kissoon as belonging to “a lunatic fringe” for writing to the principal of the school where Bisram teaches to find out if he is a teacher. Which rational individual would do a thing like that? He should have accepted the confirmation from his KN colleague, Ravi Dev that Bisram teaches in NY.

Kissoon was also wrong about an OAS meeting in Miami in which he, using Sheila Holder’s gossips as a source, claims that Bisram’s poll was a subject of discussion, of all places, at the OAS. Is Bisram that important that Holder says the OAS discussed the man? The Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin, repudiated both Holder and Kissoon saying no such discussion took place. Two other participants, men of integrity, also rebuked Holder who now changes her story to say that the discussion on Bisram’s polls was private among a few panelists and not part of the official discussions. In short, she is basically saying it was gossip.

Holder and Kissoon should tender an apology that the gossip should not have been put in the public domain to give a false impression that it was an OAS sanctioned discussion. That is outright dishonest for which the OAS should take immediate sanctions against both Kissoon and Holder and perhaps the AFC for sending Holder to gossip at an OAS meeting.

Kissoon also needs to apologise about his unsubstantiated claim that NACTA does not exist and that NACTA is a one-man organisation. He now has confirmation about the organisation which has performed yeoman service to Caribbean people in the region as well as in the diaspora.

As I previously penned, Bisram is not the founder of NACTA but has donated generously for the founding of the organisation and its myriad activities and he remains a loyal and dedicated financial supporter of the organization’s activities.

Freddie, a retraction of your statements is in order since confirmation is made about your many queries. That is the minimum expected from an academic.
VASSAN RAMRACHA