President Forbes Burnham
President Fidel Castro of Cuba with President Forbes Burnham
President Fidel Castro of Cuba with President Forbes Burnham

A Legacy with ‘Food For Thought’

By Francis Quamina Farrier

SOME say “Burnham”. Some say “Forbes Burnham”. Others say “Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham”, while there are those who say “The Founder Leader”. And in some cases, it has been rumoured that there are even some who say “The Dictator”. Last Monday, August 6, 2018, dozens of individuals and groups converged at sunrise, at The Place of the Seven Ponds in the Botanical Gardens in Georgetown, where they paid homage to the memory of a man who, along with others, including Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Stephen Campbell, laid the foundations for an Independent Guyana. It was the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the sudden passing, on August 6, 1985, of President Forbes Burnham; Guyana’s first Executive President.

Forbes Burnham (third from left) with Janet Jagan and Cheddi Jagan (at his immediate left), in Pre-Independence British Guiana.

Prayers were said by representatives of Guyana’s three main religions; Christian, Hindu and Muslim, which is one of the legacies of the late president. Verbal Tributes were paid. Floral Tributes were also laid. Those attending exchanged pleasantries and some of their memories of a man they loved. Not present, were those who hated Burnham with a passion. Some who were already born and old enough at the time of his death on August 6, 1985, celebrated his passing with drinking and song and dance. Those who loved him mourned his passing with prayers and tears and lamentations and thought of what Guyana would become without him as the leader. Such is the reaction to strong national leaders on their passing.

Last Sunday, the National Congress of Women (NCW), the women’s arm of the PNCR, held a Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Bust of their Founder Leader, President Burnham, in the compound of their headquarters at Lot 44 Public Road Kitty. Addressing the gathering were Party General Secretary Basil Williams and First Vice Chairperson, Volda Lawrence.

Since my own writing career commenced with my winning First Prize at a Schools National Essay-Writing Competition some 70 years ago, I’ve recently thought of the idea of an Essay Writing Competition, in which the Burnham admirers and the Burnham haters are invited to enter; the competition would issue two First Prizes of 10 million dollars for the best essay submitted about Burnham. My idea is that the competition will be in two categories: Those who love Burnham to a fault, will write what they think were his worst mistakes. Those who hate Burnham to the core will be invited to write a few things which they consider were his best achievements. The submissions will not be identified by the names or gender of the authors, but only by some other identification method.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India presents a gift to President Burnham

Although I consider myself a Guyanese patriot, I will recommend that all the adjudicators should be non-Guyanese. For example, Former US President Jimmy Carter as the Chief Adjudicator, with former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Basdeo Panday, former Jamaican Prime Minister PJ Patterson, former Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Lester Bird, former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissesser, former CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr Edwin Carrington and St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, should the other adjudicators.

Last year, my article on the death anniversary of late President Forbes Burnham, was embellished with photographs in which I was seen with the President: one in which I was presenting him with my first published play; another in which he was interacting with members of the Public Service Union Drama Group of which I was the Director. This year, I am including photographs in which President Burnham is seen with other Heads of State from three different geographical regions of the globe; the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

 

One of the most controversial acts by President Forbes Burnham was his banning of certain foreign food items; wheat flour, for example. Some Guyanese welcomed such a ban, even referring to it as a good economic policy. Others were in stark objection to what was taking place and even referred to the President as “Banam”. On Monday, July 23, 2018, while looking at the American TV Food Show, THE CHEW, the Chefs were making a dish and one of the ingredients they were using was Rice Flour. On Saturday, July 28, 2018, while looking at the American TV

President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, (at left) with President Burnham

Show “Family Feud” with Host Steve Harvey on Channel 5, I noticed that one of the answers was “Rice Cake”.

Forty years ago, the introduction of rice flour in rice-producing Guyana by President Forbes Burnham, was extremely controversial and was met with fierce opposition by many citizens. Some citizens even migrated to the USA, a country which now promotes Rice Flour on popular Food Shows, on National Television. That certainly is “Food for thought” and could be one of the issues included in my proposed National Essay-Writing Competition about Guyana’s first Executive President.

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