By Vanessa Cort

I WAS confronted by the spectre of sudden death when I learned last week that someone I considered to be a friend, though we had never met, had passed away.

James Paul aka Jaime Pablo and I came into contact when I joined the Guyanese Facebook group GUYASPON (Guyana – A Story in Pictures, Old and New) over two years ago.

He was a motive force in the group which seeks to promote a positive image of all things Guyanese, primarily through pictures, but also in words recounting memories, popular anecdotes and the like.

Learning that I am a journalist, who in recent years had begun to compose rhymes, he would encourage me to write short pieces and post them, along with pictures, on the group’s page. In this way I became actively involved in GUYASPON, happy to be a part of a group of proud Guyanese, both home and abroad.

Our friendship developed from there and it was cemented in our subsequent exchanges. A writer, poet and social media aficionado, Jaime was constantly posting his work on various platforms and I would comment, often responding in rhyme.

He recently ventured into the realm of dub poetry – Guyanese style – appearing at various venues in the US, where he lived, showcasing his unique style. I would read of his burgeoning success with joy and compliment him on his sterling efforts to spread Guyanese culture far and wide.

When he began Pablo’s Kreolese Korner, popularly known as ‘De Karna’ on YouTube in October 2021 -weekly and then bi-monthly- I became one of the “Karna Krew.” He used the show to bring Guyanese talent into the spotlight, through interviews with singers, writers, artists and others making a contribution to our rich cultural tapestry.

Talented “Karna Krew” members were also featured and would listen in via Zoom and comment or contribute to a stimulating and varied programme.

It was therefore with a sense of shock that we in the group learned of Jaime’s sudden death and registered our disbelief in posts in the “VIP KARNA KREW,” formulated by him on the messenger app. Some mentioned speaking to him that very day or shortly before that, with no inkling of any illness and no thought that they would hear such devastating news.

While I do not have the details, I understand that his death was heart-related and this immediately made me recall the words of so many medical experts, who tell us that diabetes and hypertension, or problems with the heart, claim the most lives each year.

The sense of loss at Jaime’s death was palpable, even after his funeral last Saturday, and I believe we are all still reeling from the news and, as with my son’s sudden death last year, I am still grappling with the ‘aftershock’.

As a leading UK psychotherapist, Dr Julia Summer, said during an interview on YouTube’s the Grief Channel, sudden death causes feelings that are complex and intense – with some people often thinking of it as “grief with the volume turned up”.

She declared that it can devastate people’s lives and feel like a physical assault, where the bodily sensation is one of fragmentation. In fact, she admitted to feeling shaken up just discussing the topic, in light of her many years dealing with bereavement.
Author of the book, “And this too shall pass’, Dr Samuel, referred to the shift from “everything being okay” to suddenly becoming “totally the opposite” and the “no chance to say goodbye ” feeling that many experience.

I am sure that friends and family are going through all of this, to a greater or lesser extent, with Jaime’s wife, June, feeling it so much more acutely. For she is about to embark on what the Alberta (Canada) Health Services video ‘Uncoupled’ calls, “an unfamiliar journey” suspended between “a past that is longed for and a future unclear”.

My sincere condolences to June and family as we mourn the passing of this vital and talented man with his heart-warming smile.