Region Two Chairman calls for Museum

By Indrawattie Natram

In memory of Region Two historian and former Member of Parliament (MP), Isahak Basir, Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt is calling on the Government of Guyana to establish a museum in honour of the deceased.

Eighty- four-year-old Isahak Basir aka “Tabarak” formerly of Jacklow, Pomeroon, died on February 1 at the Suddie Public Hospital after suffering from heart failure.

During a moving funeral service held at Basir’s home on February 6, Ramdatt called for an area to be used as a museum to display all of Basir’s work. He said that the historian had a wealth of knowledge on the history of sugar estates and landmarks within the region, and as such, his works should be displayed as a way of remembering him.
Speaking on Basir’s dedication, Ramdatt said that he was a visionary who had the people’s welfare at heart. With that in mind, he said, the people of Region Two will forever miss his contributions especially during historical programmes, events and activities. Ramdatt said, he vividly remembered Basir volunteering his time to speak to school children and even residents within the county, on the arrival of Indians to Guyana.
“Essequibo will surely miss a great soul but in remembering his work we must build something that will be here for the longest while, and that is a museum,” Ramdatt said.

After hearing the chairman’s request many of those who attended the funeral service were in agreement.

“Mr. Basir was a man who knew good history, he had a lot of documents he wrote, and also documentaries he did, we can use same and make our history richer,” a well-wisher who attended the funeral said.
At his funeral, he was described by Prime Minister Moses Nagamotoo as a healing soul and a man who touched thousands of lives.
His funeral service was attended by hundreds of persons, including representatives from Government and non-government organisations (NGOs).

Basir was a former Member of Parliament (MP); a former Chairman of the National Congress of Local Democratic Organ (NCLDO); Vice President of the Rice Producers Association (RPA); Chairman of Guyana-Libya Agriculture Company; a social worker; a historian and a dental technician by profession. His body was buried at the Lima Sands Cemetery- a place that was dear to him.