– at a fitting ceremony dotted with dignitaries
President Bharrat Jagdeo, PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar, Head of the Climate Change Unit Shyam Nokta, Head of the Guyana Revenue Authority Khurshid Sattaur, ministers of the government, Heads of businesses and other dignitaries set aside their pressing commitments to attend the funeral of veteran journalist Sharief Khan yesterday at his brother’s home, before his body was taken to the Vergenoegen cemetery for interment.
Former Editor-in-Chief of the Guyana Chronicle and consultant to the Office of Climate Change, Sharief Khan, died last Tuesday morning at his home in Ogle, East Coast Demerara, from what is suspected to be a heart attack.  He was 59 years old, having been born on the 26th May 1951.
Sharief, at the time of his passing, had also served in the Press and Publicity Unit of the Office of the President, where everyone was in a state of shock and disbelief at his sudden passing.
Khan, always very ambitious, pursued a career in journalism with a single-minded purpose.  He worked in several media houses until a unique opportunity was presented to him in November of 1992, when the newly-elected PPP/C Government needed an Editor-in-Chief for the State-run Chronicle newspaper.  Having obtained the appointment, Khan remained at the helm of the state newspaper until his retirement in February of 2008.
His dual appointment at the Office of the President subsequent to his retirement provided him greater opportunity to pursue his ambitions, although a triple heart-bypass in 1998 had left him frail and ailing.  He was trusted implicitly by members of the government and President Bharrat Jagdeo said in tribute that Sharief was someone who exemplified hard work and commitment to his job. At his funeral, the President eulogized him, saying that although he does not like to speak at such distressing occasions, he is sometimes constrained to, especially since Sharief was such a dedicated worker in the several areas in which he served.
President Jagdeo bemoaned the sudden loss of someone whom he described as being full of life and enthusiastic about his contributions in the work that he was doing in the Climate Change Unit and the Press and Publicity Unit of the Office of the President.
Recalling the difficult years when freedom of expression was but a phrase in Guyana, the president said that Sharief was always fearless, with the courage of his convictions, because he believed in freedom of expression and he always used his special skills as an outstanding journalist to advocate for a better society and the body of rights that Guyanese enjoy today.
Speaking of the tremendous benefits accrued to the two departments in the Office of the President that profited from his journalistic skills, President Jagdeo said that Sharief’s writings always put things in the right perspective in a society where bad journalism is the rule rather than the exception.
The Head-of-State revealed that he and other executives curtailed an executive committee so that they could attend Sharief’s funeral, which is an indication of the high esteem in which he was held. He also promised that a special programme to reflect on Sharief’s life and his contributions to the society would be scheduled within the near future.
Speaking at the funeral also were Rovin Deodat, Head of the Climate Change Unit Shyam Nokta, GNNl director Tota Mangar, and Mohamed Sattaur of NCN.
Brother Moen-ul-Hakh, who conducted the funeral rites, said that Sharief’s life and actions were a lesson to emulate, because he shared information for the benefit of others; and that sharing gifts that are entrusted by God is the best way to earn salvation in the hereafter, which Brother Moen said is a lesson imparted by all religious teachings.
The Moulana recited a doha from the Koran before the final Janazza.
Finally, Sharief’s body, lying in a simple white coffin, was laid to rest in the peaceful cemetery at Vergenoegen.