PRESIDENT David Granger, patron of the Guyana Veterans Legion (GVL), is seeking ways in which he can provide greater support to the men and women who have given great portions of their lives in service to their country.

During a recent edition of Guyana Chronicle’s online programme Vantage Point, GVL President, Lt-Col (Ret’d) George Gomes, said President Granger is conducting an assessment of the fees being paid by veterans at the National Veterans’ Home with the aim of providing much-needed relief.

Gomes stated that in the years ahead much more will be required of the Legion as the number of veterans in Guyana will increase.

On the programme, Gomes explained that Guyana became independent in 1966, and as such, military service prior to that period was considered “service to the crown.”

It is only now that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), established in 1965, is beginning to see its first set of veterans around the age of 70. This is apart from those who were forced to leave the force because of injury or sickness.

“It is now that we’re seeing the cases of stroke, arthritis, diabetes, blindness, the whole gamut. As a matter of fact, we have presently a list that we call the ‘Shut-in List’ and it has 111 old soldiers,” Gomes said.

“It is our duty. We visit them, we get donations from Food For The Poor; we have a chapter in the United States; we have a chapter in Canada and they send in pampers and everything that these people need that they can afford. But, we cannot boast that we’re experienced in dealing with people with these types of ailments,” he added.

Meanwhile, some veterans are being housed in the National Veterans Home, construction of which commenced in 2006. The project was spearheaded by Colonel (rtd) Carl Morgan and wasn’t completed until 2011 with government support.

Gomes said the realisation that a home for veterans was needed came after he and others observed that people who had fought for their country were not being properly looked after by the government or its citizens.

Recounting the events, he said: “We found that soldiers were in the Dharm Shala; soldiers in The Palms; soldiers sleeping on the road. These are people who would have given their youth in service to the country.”

Today, the Veterans’ Home can hold 26 persons and currently houses a little less than its capacity.

Gomes revealed that –at one point—the fee to stay at the home was more than the pension paid by the former administration.

“At one point, the fee for staying there was $25,000 a month and that is more than the old age pension that these guys get,” Gomes lamented.

In the 2011 budget, former Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh had announced that seniors can expect to get $7,500 a month as of February 1, 2011.

In 2012 the administration announced a $600 increase and later changed this to $2,500 following a meeting between then President Donald Ramotar and then Leader of the Opposition, President David Granger.

Gomes referred to the old soldiers throughout the times as “warriors” who seldom let tough situations get the best of them, as they prefer to “battle it out.”

“We had a meeting and these guys approached me. They said “Sir, the prisons in Guyana got thieves; the prisons got rapists; the prisons got murderers; all the bad people in society, thousands of them and the government feeds, clothes and houses them every day. Why can’t we get the government to look after 26 veterans?’” Gomes recounted.

After the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) took office in 2015, President Granger, in 2016, ordered that a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) be launched to investigate the living conditions of veterans.

It examined the conditions and circumstances facing veterans of the GDF, the Guyana People’s Militia and the Guyana National Service (GNS).

Gomes said that the high fee being paid by the ex-soldiers was amongst several issues raised. The outcome saw a number of recommendations which the GVL President noted needed substantial finances to become a reality.

While some veterans still pay, Gomes said: “We’re looking to make that Veterans Home free of charge so that we can look after our old soldiers who gave their youth in service to Guyana. I whispered a word to the President [on Remembrance Day] and he told me to drop him a letter and I’m looking forward.”

Gomes also noted that there were other occasions in the past when the President assisted the Legion without request when he noticed that some areas needed help.

The President donated $1M to the Legion on November 10, which amassed over $3M in total from other pledges.

Added to this, the GVLA president said that 2019 is the first year that the National Veterans Home became a special line item in the budget; this relieves the Legion from having to piggy-back on the finances of the GDF.

Through representation by the GVL, this year, the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League sent a grant which takes care of two meals a day for World War II veterans and the widows of those who have passed.

Also, in comparison to the past– and benefitting all pensioners in Guyana — the 2015 old age pension of $13,125 has been steadily increased over the last four budgets by 55 per cent. Most recently, in 2019, the pension was increased from $19,500 to $20,500.

“I would hope for the day when every veteran…could be in receipt of a State pension,” Gomes said, noting that the same takes place in Barbados.

He also hopes that more Guyanese–including historians and the History Society at the University of Guyana–will take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and history which lies within their veterans.

While some might hold the opinion that, apart from Guyana’s World War II veterans, these soldiers have not fought wars, Gomes reminded of the 1969 Rupununi Uprising and the New River Triangle.

“Without the GDF, the Rupununi would not have been part of Guyana and similarly with the New River Triangle…we were able to take back the New River Triangle from the Surinamese,” he said.

“Those weren’t wars but they were major military engagements, skirmishes and with serious national implications…it needs to be taught to children in school,” he added.