– PPP General-Secretary Donald Ramotar talks about Fazal Ally

QUOTE: ‘Dr. Jagan trusted him implicitly and made him his confidante, which he considered high honour indeed, because he hero-worshipped the founder of the Party. Dr. Jagan appointed him on the Board of the Guyana National Co-operative Bank so that he could look after the interests of the farmers within that financial institution, because Dr. Jagan was very conscious of the vulnerability of the farmers and he wanted a representative who would ensure that they were not disadvantaged – and who better than Fazal?’

I have known Fazal Ally since we were both in the PYO, although I was older than he was. I remember him picking me up on a motorcycle after I had crossed the Demerara River on the ferry to take me to a meeting of the Canals Polder branch of the PYO, so I have known him for quite a long time.

Fazal has always been an extremely militant and dedicated comrade, and his struggles on behalf of the working-class people made him a target of the regime, like all of us in the PPP, so they locked him up for a long time on a trumped-up charge of murder and tortured him while he was imprisoned at the Georgetown gaol.

He was eventually freed, but the experience did not cow him, although it is my opinion that the imprisonment and torture was an effort of the oppressive regime to frighten and discourage him from political activities, but this only made him more determined to fight for the cause of the vulnerable and the restoration of democracy in the country.

Coming from a farming background – his parents were farmers in Canal No. 1, it was a natural progression that he joined the RPA, because the farmers were also targets of the then administration and needed strong advocacy and vibrant representation.

RPA and GAPA provided that platform. He worked diligently and with absolute commitment, in association with comrades like Pariag Sukhai and other Party stalwarts who served in the RPA in various capacities, even before Pariag, to attempt to alleviate the suffering of the farmers and to build the organizational strengths of the RPA, although the odds generated by the PNC regime often proved too overwhelming.

Years later, after the GAWU was recognized as the union for sugar workers, Fazal was transferred to that union and attached to the LBI Estate as a field-Secretary, where he had built a reputation as being a very strong representative of the working class, taking up their causes and their cases.

He used to visit the workers in the ‘order line’ very early in the morning and listen to their concerns, after which he made representations on their behalf to address their situations, so he also contributed immeasurably to their social issues.

He was always in the thick of things. His personality was of such that he was always in the center of activities and I remember him as a very courageous and hard-working young comrade growing up and developing in the PYO and in the Party.

After serving the sugar workers for several years, Fazal returned to the RPA at the invitation of then General-Secretary Pariag Sukhai, who badly needed help because he was practically running that farmers’ representational body alone.

Fazal had grounding in agriculture. He knew the lives, the sufferings, and the struggles of the working-class people and the farmers, and he was very active with young people as well, mobilizing them into undertaking constructive initiatives within their various communities across the country. His social awareness and conscience were very strong.

One of the many things that distinguished him from his contemporaries was his willingness to venture into the most difficult and dangerous situations.

I remember once when the regime was demolishing poor people’s shacks on the railway embankment without making alternative provision, because the PNC administration had no housing programme, Fazal was one of the militant persons who stood up and fought with the PNC regime on their behalf, strongly defending them at great risk to himself and his family, given the penchant of the oppressors for terrorism and bullyism, and this is merely one example of his courage and his ingrained social conscience.

While promoting the Party’s activities his political and social consciousness was also being developed in tandem.

The Party subsequently sent him to study abroad and this sharpened his focus on important issues of the day and expanded his capabilities to address those issues in a holistic fashion, because the PPP and its strongly committed membership were fully in support of the vision of Dr. Jagan, who always fought for working-class solidarity and empowerment, and an equitable survival paradigm within the national framework.

After he returned home Fazal moved up rapidly in the organization. He became a member of the Central Committee of the PYO, then of the Executive Committee of the PYO, and then later he was also elected into the Central Committee of the PPP, where he served the Party for many years; so he was working at two levels – on the political front, and as a champion of the farmers.

He was continually strategizing to strengthen the RPA and GAPA. He was a dedicated and fearless worker, who struggled consistently to better the lives of the oppressed and vulnerable.

Not too long before he died, there was an armed robbery taking place somewhere in the La Grange area. He received a call for help at approximately 2.00 a.m. and immediately jumped into his car and sped to the rescue of the victims, even while the robbery was in progress, and this is one incident that exemplified his courage.

Dr. Jagan trusted him implicitly and made him his confidante, which he considered high honour indeed, because he hero-worshipped the founder of the Party. Dr. Jagan appointed him on the Board of the Guyana National Co-operative Bank so that he could look after the interests of the farmers within that financial institution, because Dr. Jagan was very conscious of the vulnerability of the farmers and he wanted a representative who would ensure that they were not disadvantaged – and who better than Fazal?

His delivery style was memorable and I clearly remember many presentations he made at public meetings at which we appeared together and in the Central Executive of the Party, and especially his fiery deliveries in Parliament.

His last contribution to the Central Committee of the Party was particularly passionate and the interests for which he advocated was very expansive.

His political acumen was phenomenal. He did not care much about speaking correct grammar, or the social niceties, but he was a very powerful orator and he certainly got his point across. When he spoke one had to listen, because of the manner and the content of his presentations. I think that he was one of the best communicators that I have ever known.

I remember, also, the difficult days just prior to the 1992 elections, when Fazal spoke at a meeting alongside Dr. Jagan, Ashton Chase, Bishop George and others on the GUARD platform at the Parade Ground, and he held his own with all the highly-educated presenters and made a very brilliant and courageous speech that enthralled the audience, just at that very uncertain and difficult period on the eve of the restoration of democracy in the land.

Generally I would say that he was a comrade who had developed as a young person, who showed an interest in the welfare of people and who had a strong social conscience, and who worked very hard with other comrades on the basis of his convictions to establish equity and peace in the land.

His passing was a major blow for us in the Party, and of course for me personally, because Fazal was not only a member of the Party at the leadership level, but he was also a dear and great friend who had an unswerving loyalty to friends.

The last conversation I had with him, just the morning of his death, he said that he was leaving to deal with some farmers’ problems in Mahaicony, but that he would send some meat for me, because Christmas was just two days away, but I had already bought meat, but he wanted to look for good quality meat in Mahaicony; so to lose this caring friend was a really big blow.

Fazal was known, liked, and respected throughout the country, and he knew the country throughout. He has been sorely missed in and out of this country – for his strong advocacy, for his representations, for his fight for farmers’ rights and better working and living conditions for working-class people.

His popularity could have been gauged by the overwhelming crowds who thronged Freedom House during his funeral, with persons travelling from all over the country, and from outside of Guyana, to say farewell to a young man who had made his mark in the political and social dynamics at a fairly young age.

Dr. Jagan had already died, but Mrs. Jagan was very cut up over his loss, because she loved him like a son. After Dr. Jagan’s death he was always visiting her and taking interest in her welfare and his death broke her up, although she did not display her emotions in public.

As a young militant he was extremely popular, especially among the grassroots people and the farmers, because he knew their struggles and he is still missed very greatly, within the Party and the country, generally. I think when we lost Fazal we lost a gem. Almost every day I think in one way or another about him, because he was absolutely irreplaceable.