TUESDAY last marked the 48th anniversary of the assassination of Michael Forde, tragically killed in a bomb blast at Freedom House, in Robb Street, Georgetown on July 17, 1964. The bomb, suspected to have been planted in the bottom flat bookstore, was discovered by the victim who worked there and, fearing that it may have exploded at any time and recognising the imminent danger in which it placed lives of the hierarchy of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) who were in the upper flat of the building, Forde, impulsively, picked up the device and was running out of the premises with it. However, within seconds, the explosion killed him instantly.
In recognition of his selfless and altruistic act which resulted in his death, so that the Party Leaders would live, the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO), youth arm of the PPP on Tuesday evening held a symposium at Freedom house to commemorate the life of the fallen hero.
Speakers at the forum included Minister of Public Communication and Works, Mr. Robeson Benn; Executive of the PPP, Mr. Navin Chandarpal; Chairman of the Grove/Diamond PYO, Mr. Omar Shariff and its Coordinator, Ms. Preeya Ruplall.
Chairing the proceedings was Ms. Esther Stephens.
Addressing a packed auditorium, comprising mainly members and its Central Committee, Shariff, who is Permanent Secretary, Office of the President, deliberated on the life of Michael Forde, recalling that his death dealt a devastating blow to the PPP.

Greater tragedy
He said: “Forde’s death was a great tragedy for us all, as PYO comrades.”
Shariff’s deliberations centred around how the PYO can better serve Forde’s memory and he said: “Coming today to a symposium, to a lecture is a very good thing. It is something very good in the calendar of things that we, the PYO will do and must do.”
He spoke of Forde’s militancy in protecting the freedom of his colleagues of the PPP; in struggling to ensure freedom in our country in the turbulent times of 1964 and before and also drew a parallel with the struggles and challenges of the present time.
Shariff remembered, with pride, that, over the last six months, members of the PYO have been engaged in activities which help to keep the spirit of Michael Forde alive and congratulated them for their militancy towards this end.
“Over the last six months, you have been  going house-to-house, touching the lives of the people of various communities; helping them by doing civic activities; helping the elderly; helping the young people to stay off the streets and to get involved in positive activities. We are keeping his spirit alive by struggling in the streets to help the working class people; to help those people who are less fortunate and who are in need of help in little ways.  You are struggling to ensure that we get back to the reality or to the basics of helping our working class. Those are your struggles, but they are also very important struggles and, in so doing, you are keeping his spirit alive,” Shariff remarked.
Some other activities in which the PYO youths are actively involved are the Pick-it-Up Campaign; blood donation drives; health fairs; mangrove planting; meetings, socialising with and joining members of various communities in community projects.
Shariff said that simple, though these activities may seem, in effect, they are building relationships, which is very important in the scheme of things.
“We are going back to our roots. We are going back to the working people; to the ordinary people of the communities. We are finding out what it is that they require of us; what they need as young people and we are trying the best we could to advocate their problems and forward these to the Government with a view to getting help,” he explained.

Seemingly simple
Alluding to the ripple effect of seemingly simple tasks and the importance of advocating for government and its policies, Shariff said that, by advocating for government and its policies, the PYO would be doing what Michael Forde would have done: his action of marching for freedom, by being there, standing up and being counted.
“If we advocate as we are doing in the simplest of forms and in a manner appropriate for this time, then we are struggling in the same way and we are sending a deep, strong, political message,” he posited.
He concluded by admonishing the youths to stay focused and to continue to be strong.
A poem written by Mrs. Janet Jagan, to the memory of Michael Forde, was read by Ruplall. Mrs. Jagan was among those in the upper floor of Freedom House when the place was bombed. Forde was an employee of the bookshop and was on duty on that fateful morning, apart from being an active member of the PYO and had participated in many freedom exercises, including the ‘Corentyne to Georgetown’ leg (some 115miles) of the February 1964 march.
Stephens noted that 1964 is recorded as one of the most turbulent years in the history of this country.
“It is during this period that the detractors went into swift implementation of what was described as the ‘Infamous X-13 Plan,’ she said.  According to her, Forde’s death was part of the execution of that scheme.
Such developments were attested to by Benn, who had first hand experience of the struggles and whose late father (Brindley Horatio) was one of the incarcerated persons in the era that the Freedom Marches were held.
Benn spoke on the life and times of Forde and relevance to the struggle today. He said: “I think that, in many ways, a discussion at this time, 48 years on the day after the event, is an apt programme.”
He admonished the youths to engage in some introspection as to ‘where we are now’ the struggle and the path that must be charted and continued. He said there is need to garner strength and courage and learn from the examples of persons like Forde, who sacrificed his life in defence of the PPP.
Minister Benn remembered that, as a child, Forde was a friend of the Benn family and the Party and a very beloved person, in terms of his youthfulness, his exuberance, his calm mind and method with respect to working and furthering the Party’s programme for the freedom and development of Guyana.

Two things
Chandarpal reminisced that the bombing happened at a time when Forde’s father had just died and arrangements were being made for his funeral. In retrospect, he reasoned, two things about Forde’s personality came out that day, which both speak to the selflessness of the individual. They are:
* He was not supposed to have been in the bookshop on that day, since his father had died and funeral arrangements were being made. He needed to be with his mother, but he decided that his responsibility at the bookshop could be fulfilled while he also helped his mother with the funeral arrangements for his father.    Thus it was a show of strong character, even though he had such a serious responsibility at home; he still made it his duty to be at the bookshop where duty called.
* On discovering the parcel which contained the bomb, Forde could have simply run straight out of the bookshop. Instead, however, he recognised the danger upstairs where party stalwarts were meeting, including Mrs. Janet Jagan, who would have been killed if the bomb had exploded exactly where it was placed.  He performed the noble act of picking up the parcel and trying to get it off the premises before it exploded and, in so doing, lost his life that others might live.
Chandarpal said Forde was a leading member of the PYO and was in the forefront of a freedom march for independence.  “And, therefore, all these qualities were tied to a human being with extremely high human characteristics,” he emphasised.
In this regard, he challenged the membership of the PYO: “No one is asking that you give your life, but all I think that is being asked, is that you channel your life to be one of service to the people of Guyana.”
Concluding, Chandarpal concurred with Benn that members of the PYO need to note the historical setting of the time when Forde made the sacrifice.
The bookshop was later named in memory of Michael Forde.