By Francis Quamina Farrier

LAST Monday, February 20, 2023, was the 100th birth anniversary of the late President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham. For Guyanese historians, or those interested in the history of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, it was a date of note. Professional historians tend not to become emotionally involved with the subject, be it an individual, group, or nation. They try as best as possible to be unbiased and to present the facts as best as they know. In this article, I am making every effort to report what I present, ‘straight up’, which is a term I sort of like since I believe that it is interpreted as being fair.

President Forbes Burnham was rather strong of character, and he did many things which pleased some of the people some of the time, but never was he able to do anything which pleased all of the Guyanese people all of the time, which is understandable.

Guyana is not a homogenous country, and with six races – some say seven, which includes the mixed races – it was no easy task for any political leader. Burnham promoted the “Egalitarian Society” which did not sit well with those who felt that there must be an “Upper Class,” a “Middle Class,” and a “Lower Class.” That is certainly no laughing matter, even though there is that calypso which tells the story that, “The Upper Class laugh, ‘Ho, ho, ho!’ The Middle Class laugh, ‘He, he, he!’” However, with the Lower Class, the calypsonian states that the laughter was very much letting it all hang out, so to speak; for it was “Waaaaaah! Oh laaaad, meh belly!” In any of these situations, President Burnham would be as comfortable as ever.

He was a “Man of the People” which, incidentally, was the title of a film documentary. That documentary was, to a greater degree than not, almost void of politics. One scene showed him taking a plunge off the springboard into the Luckhoo swimming pool. Actually, that plunge was more of what is known as a “belly-buss.” At the time, President Burnham was the ‘star’ in that film documentary. He might have been well over 200 pounds in weight, and so that ‘belly-buss’ splashed water high and far, and I am relating the incident from first-hand and wet experience.

He was born and raised in Kitty, which, 100 years ago, was very much a village with a village culture; everyone looked out for each other. Every adult had authority over every child and brought that responsibility to bear in a positive way. Forbes Burnham, a brilliant scholar and very handsome, was a ‘star boy’ in Kitty at that time.

Some years ago, I was interviewing a retired school teacher, who was one of Burnham’s teachers in his primary school days, and she told me of a rather strange situation between Burnham’s father, who was the headmaster of one of the two schools in Kitty, and Mr. F. Pollard, who was the headmaster of the other school. The professional rivalry between the two headmasters was so deep and fierce that teachers of the two schools were not permitted to interact with each other.

It was “Social Distancing” long before COVID-19. Young Forbes Burnham grew up in a home where he was the only boy and was treated “like a prince,” according to his teacher. “He was a brilliant student,” she told me. Even at a very young age, Forbes Burnham displayed the sparkle of leadership. For some, his leadership was welcomed, and he was adored. For others, he was looked upon as a despised dictator. For a third group of his fellow Guyanese, “He got some bad ways, but he making Guyanese proud to be Guyanese.”

The story is told of how a Guyanese cultural group, which had gone to Trinidad to represent the country, became stranded in the Calypso Island due to a strike by the airline on which they were booked. President Burnham sent a plane which was at his disposal to fly the group back home. Word of that spread all around Trinidad, and Burnham’s image as a president for his people soared higher in that country.

The history of Linden Forbes Sampson will be written differently by those who knew and experienced his leadership from their own perspective and experiences. It is known that many mourned when he died, as well as many celebrated his passing. That’s Life. That’s death. That’s history. Maybe history repeated itself on the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary.