Dear Editor,

I HAVE been reading in the print media of Mr. Jagdeo newly-found-love for Afro-Guyanese. I wrote a letter last week, providing the census statistics and outlining the reasons for Mr. Jagdeo’s new obsession. The fact is that the PPP base has significantly dwindled either due to migration out of the country or migration away from the party as a result of the PPP policies and rampant corruption.

Mr. Jagdeo is now requesting to have a debate on his-story with Afro-Guyanese with Dr. David Hinds and Mr. Eric Phillips. I cannot tell these two intelligent brothers what to do. If it were me I would have ignored his desperate attempts for attention and recognition. If they do decide to debate him, I would humbly suggest two simple conditions. Let him answer these two questions. Why this obsession with Afro-Guyanese in 2019? Why not 1992? Why not 1997? Why not 2002? Why not 2007? Why not 2011? Why not 2015? Why not when the Indo-Guyanese population was peaking at 52 per cent? Why not when they were in power with elective dictatorship and could have bribed the voters. The second condition I would humbly suggest is that he attends the debate alone. The fact is, if he is allowed to be accompanied, he would have a few historically blind window-dressers Afro-Guyanese with him to “defend his record”, giving the misimpression that the PPP has always been inclusive of blacks. This is his main aim. Having a genuine debate is just a side show.

I have always been fearless and outspoken. That’s in my DNA. Any of my university lecturers can allude to this. I recognised injustice under PPP and I spoke about it. The fact is that I was not associated with any party. I was just the kind of person, if I see wrong I would not remain silent. Anyway, while I was in medical school I was doing well up until my fifth year. The reason is that our exams were mainly written during the first four years and it was difficult to discriminate against any candidate since the evidence was in writing.

In my final year it was different. It was mainly clinical which, is essentially your word against the examiners’ word. Also, compared to the first four years where the credits per course were four, in the final year it was 25. A candidate who performs poorly in the final year would find their GPA plummet. In our final exams, what the PPP agents did was to severely under-mark certain students including myself, while those with political connections were boosted by positive marking. It was so obvious since those who were previously doing well for the first four years did very badly in their final exams, while those who were below average became scholars overnight. When I got my grades I was shocked. I went to the Dean’s office, Dr. Emmanuel Cummings in tears. In his office was Mr. Blackman, one of the administrative staff who was very much involved in sports in Guyana. They both tried to console me. I was inconsolable. A few of my colleagues appealed. The PPP agents were omnipresent. Appeals were lost. The court was the only option. One of my colleagues employed Joe Harmon as his attorney. Mr. Harmon found the story unbelievable so he spoke with Dr. Robert George, one of the few independent lecturers. He confirmed my classmate story and our horror story. The court case was fought and won. The university appealed and here is the shocker. The case file disappeared.

What about me? After medical school I went to live in Victoria, East Coast Demerara. I spent close to two years there. Dr. Emanuel Cummings also lived in Victoria and he and I developed a close friendship since I lived a few houses from him. On many occasions we talked about the experiences of black students, including myself in the medical school final exams.

The PPP’s motive was to inhibit the career of black doctors. Let them remain in Guyana with no career progression. Anyway, I did my internship and remained outspoken. I could not help it. I continued to be victimised. After my internship I applied to work in the Internal Medicine Department as a GMO. I was denied that despite being one of the best candidates, if not the best candidate. I was told that I will work in orthopaedics, despite I hated it. That was another punishment for being outspoken. I requested a meeting with the Director of Medical Services, Dr. Madan Rambaran, who bluntly told me that working at GPHC is a privilege and not a right, and I will work in orthopaedics or resign if I’m not happy.

I then applied to the medical council to get full registration. Unknown to me, attempts were made to deny me that. Dr. Fawcett Jeffrey objected on the grounds that no concerns were ever made about my clinical work. As a matter of fact I was an excellent doctor. The only concern was that I am outspoken. The PPP-aligned medical council was forced to register me. Dr. Jeffrey then shared that experience with me and advised me that I needed to be careful. Soon after, I left Guyana.

I migrated to the UK. In about 2010 I saw an article with Dr. Emanuel Cummings glorifying the PPP as the best party on the planet. I felt betrayed. I wrote about and it was published in the printed papers. Anyway, in the UK I set out on one mission, to be the best. I completed my MRCP postgraduate examination in record time, one and a half years. The British medical graduates on average take three years. International graduates take an average of five years. My batchmates took much longer to pass their exams while I breeze through mine. I then became the first from my batch to become a specialist, the first to work as a substantive consultant, the first to earn my fellowship (FRCP) and the first to be made an MRCP PACES examiner. I am probably, the only, ever, Guyanese to be made an examiner. All of this I achieved despite ill health, and having to be off sick on many occasions.

I was driven by my experiences of discrimination under PPP. It still hurts even to a day like today. Many of my batch-mates still struggle to deal with their own experiences. Because of those experiences I never set foot on UG again, despite 18 years have passed, and despite I have received multiple invitations to give talks to doctors and medical students. Going back to UG will just bring back those mental pains. After 15 years I visited GPHC in 2017 and it was only because my brother was an inpatient.

So when Mr. Jagdeo says that the PPP is pro-black I feel deeply insulted. Can Jagdeo provide the racial breakdown of senior staff at GPHC during the PPP 23-years reign? Can he provide a racial breakdown of those receiving fellowships and scholarships under the PPP 23-years reign? Can he provide a breakdown in terms of race for career progression of doctors under PPP during the 23 -years reign? Can he provide the racial breakdown of the medical council during the 23 years of the PPP? Mr. Editor, those are some of the issues I raised while I worked in Guyana and as a result I was hated and victimised by the PPP. I would leave it up to my brothers Dr. David Hinds and Mr. Eric Phillips to highlight other cases of discrimination against Afro-Guyanese by the PPP. I just thought I should write for the millionth-time about my experiences and hence once again putting a face to them.
As I said before, I was hated by the PPP. In all likelihood I would have been dead if I had remained in Guyana. To my QC buddy and good mate, Courtney Crum-Ewing. RIP. They shot the sheriff, but they didn’t shoot the deputy.

Regards,
Dr. Mark Devonish MBBS MSc MRCP (UK) FRCP (Edin)
Consultant Acute Medicine
Nottingham University Hospital
UK