The inevitability of death in no way constrains the trauma of losing someone like Fazal from the landscape of effort and achievement shaped by the real heroes of Guyana’s struggles.

Most of these heroes are unsung- men and women struggling, fighting at various fora, relentlessly and committedly for a better life for their fellow Guyanese. Most often these efforts are unappreciated and the task thankless; but this proves no deterrent to those striving to effect justice for the powerless and helpless.

Fazal’s documented struggles centred among rice farmers, but his real fight started long ago under the guidance of Cheddi and Janet Jagan, whom he loved dearly.

Second only to Minister Harry Nokta, perhaps, there is no one who knows Guyana as Fazal did. Every village, every town, every community was as familiar to Fazal as his own backyard. His popularity was boundless.

He excelled as a raconteur. I remember arriving in Corentyne, Berbice with Fazal for a meeting which started at 7:00 pm and ended at approximately 12 midnight. For the rest of the night he enthralled me with an endless flow of stories that poured from him – always with that twinkle in his eye that Donald Ramotar remembered so fondly during his funeral ceremonies.

His energy was boundless and his courage phenomenal. He risked his life on many occasions for the things and people he believed in. A phone call for help in the dead of night sent him racing to a scene where fully armed bandits were terrorising a family, and a scar above one eye brow was a memento he received while fielding a stone meant for Dr. Jagan.

Fazal Ally was loved. Strong men and women broke down and cried for such a painful loss. Some people live for self; others live with caring extending beyond self. Fazal was one of the latter. His loyalty was strong and his commitment to causes he believed in was unswerving.

While it is true that no one is indispensable, some people are irreplaceable. His able lieutenant and current General-Secretary, Dharamkumar Seeraj is just as committed and loyal as Fazal was to the struggles of the farming community; but even Seeraj admits that Fazal’s personality and style were inimitable. One does not need a picture to remember Fazal; he was larger than life – in more ways than one- and even his opponents liked him and were saddened by his death.

With so many homeless, hopeless derelicts wandering aimlessly around, it is the height of irony that someone who gave so much to this country and his family – a caring human and a loving devoted father and husband, should die in such a senseless manner.

Mitra and her boys have been well looked after. Fazal’s family were never allowed to go in want: but never again to experience that all encompassing love Fazal showered on his family is a harsh reality for them to live with.

The farming community has lost an indomitable champion and the country has lost a worthy son.

Many charlatans emerge from the woodwork after the real struggles have been fought and proclaim themselves heroes. But talk is cheap. Anyone can jump up on a bandwagon and declare themselves champion of the people.

But it is Fazal Ally and his kind who have been constant,day after day, year after year, unrelenting and dedicated, in trying to collate the spectrum of Guyana’s socio-economic landscape into a cohesive whole that would translate into national prosperity.

They have succeeded immeasurably so far, and while they have been constrained to make short-term compromises in order to achieve long-term goals, they never lose sight of that larger picture where their charges can one day be relieved of the maladies currently plaguing the several areas of industry in the land.

In Fazal’s case it is the farming industry, and someday the wheel of good fortune he has set in motion on the farmer’s behalf will spin full cycle and reach his objectives. The Government and the RPA have committed to this, and Fazal’s hard fight has not been allowed to go unrewarded.