CHAOTIC violence and political upheaval in Guyana ‘back in the days’ have significantly affected the life of Mrs. Shirley Veronica Edwards, now 73 years old.

She was beaten in the streets because she was an ardent supporter of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). Meet the woman who lost her job as a teacher because she refused to sign a letter resigning from the PPP. Meet the woman whose husband, the late Mr. Peter Edwards, was pressured into leaving her because of her political stance.
Mrs. Edwards shared, not her story, as hers would cover a sea of information, but she shared just a few of her life’s experiences with us during an interview a few days ago at the Guyana Chronicle at Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park in Georgetown.
Despite physical hardships and opposition, even from the Roman Catholic Church, where she loved going, Mrs. Edwards stood her ground and remained true to the party of her choice. Last January, she celebrated 50 years of being a supporter of the PPP.
Asked why she loves the PPP this much, Mrs. Edwards couldn’t provide a specific reason. All she knew was that she liked the party, and that it was her choice. In fact, when another political party offered to pay her a hefty $28,000 in those days just so she would leave the PPP, she refused the offer! And what did she get from the PPP after it learned that she had refused the money? No monetary gifts for sure!
The late President Janet Jagan was very kind to her, and took a special interest in her and her family. On several occasions, Mrs. Jagan assisted one of Mrs. Edwards’s daughters who was ill and needed medical care. Mrs. Edwards can vividly remember that Mrs. Jagan would not forget her birthday, and fine jewellery often made up her gift.
Although, Mrs Edwards could not really explain her reason for remaining with the PPP, she knew that she liked the party and could find no reason to switch to another. She likes being an independent woman and hates it when people try to dictate for her.
Now into social work, she is a member of the Guyana Relief Council (GRC) and strives to be involved in as much charitable work as possible. She formerly served as Finance Secretary with the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO), and has travelled to several countries, including Czechoslovakia, East Germany (Berlin), the Soviet Union, and Chile. Mrs. Edwards has also been a Member of the Guyana Parliament from 1992 to 2011.

Dream job
Mrs. Edwards grew up in Lodge, Georgetown, as an ‘ordinary’ person in a poor home. Her mother, the late Millicent Ishmael, tried to educate her as best she could. She attended Tutorial High School, where she obtained ‘Senior Cambridge certification,’ and    before long, she started teaching at the Mahdia Government School.
This was her first job, but the government changed, she recalled, and it was then that she received the letter requesting that she resign from the PPP. A month went by without her answering the letter, and her service was subsequently terminated. “I didn’t do it because I believed that no one should have dictated to me. So I was out of a job.”
Mrs. Edwards now had to do several jobs at a time to help support her family. In addition to losing her job, her husband also lost his job simply because he was married to her.
Furthermore, Mr. Edwards was pressured into leaving his wife because she was a PPP member, but this he did not do. However, the political tension caused problems in the family.
“We used to have big arguments, and eventually we separated. He wasn’t a party person, but he supported me. But he couldn’t take the politics, and after he lost his job, he became frustrated. We had constant quarrellings,” she related.
Mrs. Edwards said she starting trading, going back and forth from Guyana to Trinidad. During those harsh economic times, it was her mother and sister in England who really helped her to pull through. By that time, she had to take care of five children.
“I wanted to be a teacher since I was growing up, and sometimes I feel sad that I couldn’t progress in this field. This was my goal, but it was taken away from me,” she said.

Lurking danger
Mrs. Edwards spoke about some of the times she was humiliated verbally, and even physically. Sometime before the 80-day strike in 1963, when she would attend PPP meetings, other long standing PPP member Cyril Belgrave would have to drop her home.
“The people in Lodge used to keep vigilante, and when I coming home at nights, I had to expect to get licks. And they won’t allow him (Belgrave) to pass. They would block his car,” she said.
One day, a man who obviously supported another political party went up to her and called her all sorts of derogatory names, and went on to cuff her straight to her face. “I still have the mark on me. In 1992, I was beaten again, and they spat in my face. Don’t talk about the derogatory names they called me.”
The thing that mostly hurts her, though, was that the Catholic Church stopped her from taking communion. “I was a Catholic and the church was terribly against the PPP. So I kept away from church for a couple of years. And then I said, ‘hell, no! No one must dictate my life’, and I went back to church. I didn’t mind not taking communion. I still went back to church,” she recalled.
Going on to relate another experience, Mrs. Edwards talked about the time when she was working on the Berbice ferry while there was a big strike in the country at the time. While on the ferry, she heard a boat approaching in the river. The persons inside that boat climbed into the ferry and made their way down to the engine room. She already knew something was wrong and became very scared, because she was the only one there at the time.
The two sailors who were supposed to be on duty had told her that they were going out for a bit, and she didn’t mind, because there was police rank on the wharf. Little did she know that the individuals would come from the river.
“I ran out and told the police that I suspected they put explosives in the engine room.
They checked and then showed me how to deactivate it for further reference. It was terrible in those days, once you were a PPP. They had come to burn my mother’s house, but when they saw she wasn’t [of the race they expected], they didn’t bother. Many times I had to run with my big belly. I don’t even like to remember those things,” she said.

Pay off
Mrs. Edwards recalled that she didn’t join the PPP for any personal gain, and despite all that she went through, it definitely paid off for her.
At least, she is thankful that her children never had to go through many similar experiences in their lives. “They were never attacked. They all elevated themselves academically, and most of them are overseas. All turned out good. Three are in the United States and one in the British Virgin Islands,” she related. The last one has built a house in front of hers, and hence is close by. She now has 16 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.
Mrs. Edwards could remember the few dresses that she had back in those hard days, along with the footwear she owned. “Now I have so many that I don’t even know which one to wear; and (I have) shoes that I never even wear. My children keep shopping for me every time I go to the States, no matter how much I tell them not to. And I also get a gift on Father’s Day because they said I played both mother and father roles,” she fondly related.
As for those people who caused her much distress, Mrs. Edwards said she has already forgiven them. “Some of those same individuals come for me to do favours for them. They’re very nice to me now.”
Furthermore, she said, she gets a good pension and gratuity from Parliament. “I hardly have expenses now. So it paid off in the end, I guess.”