THAT the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport organised a public symposium, on Monday June 25, 2012, to coincide with the life and works of the late Dr Desrey Ceasar Fox 1955-2009 at the Umana Yana, Kingston, should not have been a surprise. That’s because the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and Dr Raquel Thomas-Caesar are paying the kind of tribute the woman herself would have appreciated.
She would have regarded the event-and the venue -as most eminently appropriate.
Representatives of her families and friends of Guyana were meeting to discuss the contribution of one of their kind-albeit it is almost certain that her genuine modesty would not have allowed her to permit them to laud her– had she been actually around; but the families and friends advocates were meeting to bring their intellects to bear on an analysis of patriotism.
I have had the honour and privilege, on several occasions, to meet and talk with the great patriot and intellectual.
I was always moved and deeply touched by the sincere way in which she expressed her beliefs in the education systems and the handicapped children.
She acted and spoke the way she did because she was the daughter of a poor Amerindian family. She divorced her husband Terrence Fox Snr. many years ago and never re-married. Desrey came from a family of seven siblings, four boys and three girls and was the best friend of Dr Raquel Thomas–Caesar. Three of her brothers have lived in Venezuela for the past 30 years.
On 11th December, 2009, the Ministry of Education and the Amerindian communities suffered a great loss when it’s Minister within the Ministry of Education Dr Desrey Fox died by accident.
Desrey as she was popularly called was also a member of parliament and a stalwart who championed the causes of the poor and downtrodden. She was well known both locally and internationally for her works in the history and culture of the Amerindian people of Guyana.
She fearlessly represented her country and the Amerindians at countless meetings overseas. She was indeed a true patriot to this country. She was called upon to serve the Ministry of Education under the former President Bharrat Jagdeo’s administration.
The late minister had a sound knowledge of the Education system in Guyana, especially in “No Child Left Behind “initiative which was implemented in the United States.
She believed that repetition was directly linked to high dropout rates, especially among males in the education system.
And in keeping with international findings, our research clearly showed that students who were made to repeat were far more likely to dropout than those who did not. In addition, she encouraged the ministry to work to orient teachers towards adopting a more student-centred, competency-based approach to education, especially for those students who are at risk of failing.
In her own aggressive and indomitable style, she has touched the lives of those who worked or associated with her in some way. She will be remembered by all as a fighter, all the way, in the interest of education.