A LONG time ago, I was working with a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded, capacity building project supporting several NGOs, including the  Rice Producers’ Association. The results of the project, with regard to this organization, were spectacular, enhancing the RPA’s service delivery in particular, something that sadly was reversed when the agency’s  headquarters  fell victim to a fire during the election season violence some years ago.

One of the good things coming out of this, however, was the friendship I struck up with the late Fazal Ali, then General Secretary of the RPA, and in between the discussions about the project, we would talk about less official stuff.  A member of the PPP, and a political activist, one of Mr. Ali’s favoured topics was his personal interactions with the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan. 

These discussions were always interesting to me because, like the vast majority of Guyanese, I grew up knowing most politicians – the other significant type of prominent citizen in this society, the most prominent businessmen – only by reputation. 

QUOTE:‘…like the vast majority of Guyanese, I grew up knowing most politicians – the other significant type of prominent citizen in this society, the most prominent businessmen – only by reputation.  One heard about them on the radio, read about them in the papers, or even heard anecdotal information about them from someone talking but there was no real portrayal of their personality outside of their assumed political context, as ordinary people, away from the manager’s chair or from the soapbox.’

One heard about them on the radio, read about them in the papers, or even heard anecdotal information about them from someone talking but there was no real portrayal of their personality outside of their assumed political context, as ordinary people, away from the manager’s chair or from the soapbox. 

I guess my point is this: politicians wield such an inordinate influence on the lives of the rest of us, there ought to be ways in which we can get to know them better than we currently do.  How many people know their average parliamentary representatives outside of the ten or so most prominent newsmakers?

In the realm of business, I’d like to learn more about the other side of some people, for example the late Peter D’Aguiar, who was both a business as well as political leader; Clifford Reis, and Yesu Persaud, among others. This is partly out of my own interest and partly out of my conviction that there may be an obligation on the part of some people to make a significant part of their personal history and personalities known to the general public by virtue of their stature within the society and the fact that their actions have repercussions for so many people.

QUOTE:‘There is the saying that ‘Man is by nature a political animal’, but that only speaks to one dimension of the multi-faceted nature of the average human being and the last time I checked, politicians didn’t come from outer space.  I feel the average person deserves to know as much about their political leadership – from the legislative to the executive – as is possible without breaching reasonable standards of privacy for public figures.’

Granted, while the case for publicizing  the lives of private sector icons is debatable, less so is the case of publicising the personal facet of the lives of our politicians, something that we seem to shy away from here in Guyana, unless of course, there is some enormous associated scandal.

Even now, although I occasionally deal with politicians as part of my official work, I rarely have the time – or admittedly, inclination – to socialize enough in general, to get to know them in any sort of meaningful way, outside of professional matters.  

And even if I did personally, it would be with the understanding that familiarity with these politicians came about due to the sort of privileged access that is not afforded to the average person.

After finding out the website for Parliament (and yes there is one) I checked out “The Members of Parliament” to see if I were familiar with some of the less known MPs or if there was anything about the ones that I do know that was different.  Many of them only have the basic requirements of their name and the party they represent, while others have all the available fields filled out.

That said, even a complete profile does not adequately capture certain things.  Do they have children for example?  What was their upbringing like?  What’s their religious background?  I don’t have the scientific evidence to support it, but I’m convinced that once people know more about the politicians when they’re not being politicians, it  is going to enhance the political credentials for most of them.  I’d be in support of the man whose vacation habits I know, the man I can identify with, even disagree with, in his movie watching choices, his taste in food, his methods of coping with stress – in short, his humanity.

I remember a few years ago, I believe it was Stabroek News  which ran a series of articles on Parliamentary backbenchers, something that made good reading at the time, but I can’t think of any media initiative since that which brings our politicians to us.

There is the saying that ‘Man is by nature a political animal’, but that only speaks to one dimension of the multi-faceted nature of the average human being and the last time I checked, politicians didn’t come from outer space.  I feel the average person deserves to know as much about their political leadership – from the legislative to the executive – as is possible without breaching reasonable standards of privacy for public figures.

The solution of course lies with the media, and all it takes is the will of media owners and editors to come up with ways of executing this. 

We know Robert Corbin’s political views, for example; the task now would be to interview him away from Congress Place, at the home setting, for instance, where he goes back to being an ‘ordinary person’ as opposed to ‘Leader of the Opposition’. 

The same can be done for his counterpart in the PPP, Donald Ramotar; in the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan and Raphael Trotman; and Everall Franklin and Ravi Dev from GAP-ROAR.  I’d like to even see what Speaker of the House, Ralph Ramkarran does when he’s not officiating over Parliament.

And in the case of gaining perspectives on the personal side of our politicians from yesteryear, there is no better source than the persons who dealt with them closely. 

I’m sure if you were to get someone like Richard Van West-Charles, for example, to talk intimately about some moments he would have spent with L.F.S. Burnham, in the same way that Alli described to me his encounter with Jagan, it would be a way of getting to know Burnham, the real man, instead of Burnham the political icon or myth as the case may be.   

Finally, in an upcoming article, I intend to explore what can be considered to be the flipside of this, our political leaders getting to know some citizens better, more specifically, persons recommended or selected for senior public service positions. 

After all, it’s only fair – if you’re going to make the case for the public getting to know thei
r politicians better – to propose that there should be mechanisms in place for the political leadership as a whole, meaning parliament, to know what they’re getting when someone is placed to manage a significant aspect of the affairs of the state.