Guyana Chronicle Pepperpot Epaper 08 18 2019

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Success after hard work CAPE Top Student, Shanomae Milling is grateful

Eighteen-year-old St Rose’s student Shanomae Milling is Guyana’s 2019 top-performing student at CAPE (photo credit: Shanomae Milling)

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

The demand for Reparations for enslaved African descendants intensifies

Barbadian Sir Hillary Beckles, with folded arms, being introduced to the audience

by Professor Dr. Ivelaw Griffith in January. (Photograph by Francis Q. Farrier)

By Francis Quamina Farrier

IN Guyana and beyond - the United States included - there is a growing demand for Reparations for descendants of enslaved Africans. Victims of the African slave trade were made to give forced free labour to build up many lands- the United States of America, Canada, Brazil and others. Here in Guyana, emancipated Africans had to pay huge sums of money to buy many former plantations where they had given of

their blood, sweat and tears for centuries.

Villages such as Victoria, Beterverwagting and Plaisance on the East Coast Demerara, as well as Queenstown on the Essequibo Coast, were all bought by emancipated slaves who paid with monies which they had saved during their years as slaves.

That money was earned from work during their few ‘free’ hours of enterprise such as poultry rearing and subsistence farming.

Even in slavery, they viewed self-employment and entrepreneurship as worthy for

self-development.

Lands which should have been given to them at Emancipation as Reparations for centuries of forced free labour, they were made to pay exorbitant fees for. But they did anyway. However, their descendants are now rightfully demanding Reparations.

The irony is that the former slave owners were paid handsomely. Twenty million pounds sterling was paid to the former slave owners as Reparations by the British Government when it abolished slavery in 1834.

Those former slave owners claimed that they had lost their “property” (the emancipated slaves) by the Act of the Abolition of Slavery and so were handsomely compensated.

The good news is that on August 1, 2019, the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the University of Glasgow in Scotland, have signed the first-ever agreement for slavery Reparations for slavery in the Caribbean.

The amount is 20 million pounds sterling. It is the first such payment to benefit the descendants of African slaves in the Caribbean

ies, radio and television stations, community parks, bridges, well-paved streets and sidewalks in Maori Communities and other community-based properties. I was interviewed on one of the Maori radio stations. No money was doled out to Maori individuals as Reparations.

After the Second World War ended in 1944, Germany and Italy were made to pay out Reparations to several nations and peoples who suffered at their hands because of that bloody and destructive war. The millions of Jews and their children who were victims of the Holocaust in which millions of Jews were systematically killed by the Nazi Regime in Germany, received Reparations.

Germany also paid out US$23 billion to the Allied Forces. Italy paid out about US$125 million to Yugoslavia and US$25 million to Ethiopia in Reparations.

In the New York Times of June 21, 2019, a report by Adeel Hassan states, “A series of Public Events signalled the arrival of a new cultural movement, one in which Americans

A ‘Buffalo Soldier’ who fought with the Union Army in the American Civil War, with his Family. Reggae superstar Bob Marley sang about the Buffalo Soldier.

since emancipation over 180 years ago. The terms of that agreement are for the University of Glasgow to provide that 20 million pounds sterling to fund research to promote Development initiatives to be jointly undertaken with the UWI over the next two decades. But this is just a start. Reparations in Guyana are still a far way to materialise.

West across the Atlantic from Scotland to the United States of America, history reveals the broken promise by the authorities to give the freed slaves 40 acres of land and a mule. Even former slaves who fought in the American Civil War - the fierce Buffalo Soldiers who Bob Marley sang about - were not given any Reparations or even human or civil rights such as freedom to live where they so desired, attend schools of their choice, or be a dignified part of the extended American space for which they worked and helped to build without financial or other rewards.

The demand for Reparations is not exclusive to the descendants of enslaved Africans. While on a visit to New Zealand in April 1993, I saw some of the Reparations received by the indigenous Maori people of Aotearoa (the indigenous name for New Zealand), for their unfair sufferings brought about by British colonists. The Reparations received by the indigenous Maori People of New Zealand was paid in the form of librar-

are ready to discuss past sins.” Those sins referred to by the journalist, are the many atrocities visited upon the enslaved Africans over the centuries, as well as the blood, sweat and tears of the enslaved who worked to enrich others while they received nothing in return. Here in Guyana, it is a historic fact that the hundreds of miles of canals dug by enslaved Africans was never addressed in the form of Reparations. Imagine Georgetown and the rest of the coastlands of Guyana without canals. One of the greatest sins suffered by the enslaved Africans in the USA was the breaking up of families. Just imagine a wife or a husband or parents and children being sold off to different slave owners and taken away in different directions, never to see each other again. Imagine the wailing; the emotional pain. That deep anguish which has had lasting negative effects on those enslaved Africans. While delivering a lecture in Georgetown in January, Sir Hillary Beckles related the story of a slave in the Caribbean who had escaped, but later returned because he had so missed being with his family.

One of the other sins committed by slave owners on the enslaved Africans was the suppression of their culture, and even the taking away of their African names.

Turn to page VIII ►►►

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

III

Success after hard work CAPE Top Student, Shanomae Milling is grateful

Shanomae Milling (second from right) with her mom, Drusilla Wilson (left); Aunt, Lizzani Brown (right); and sibling Shaneka (Alva Solomon photo)

By Tamica Garnett Topping the country at any of the national examinations is a matter of grandeur and not something that Guyanese students take lightly, especially given the amount of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice that is behind such an achievement. Many aspire to it but only few can attain it.

That’s why not even the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) little mix up of Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) results announced earlier this week could cast a shadow over the pride and joy felt by 18-year-old Shanomae Milling, her friends, family, teachers and other supporters, on her achievement as the country’s top performer at the 2019 CAPE. With nine grade ones and two grade twos, the success of the aspiring doctor was announced on Thursday after she was not named as the top student when the results were originally announced on Wednesday.

In a moment reminiscent of Steve Harvey’s 2015 Miss Universe announcement, the MoE had a royal mix up in the CAPE top performers list and on Wednesday named the wrong students as the top performers. Feeling robbed of a moment that she worked hard for left Shanomae in tears, however by Thursday the glitch was quickly fixed and she got the honour she worked so hard to achieve.

OVERWHELMED A naturally bubbly person, the St Rose’s High student was a good sport about the mixup and was nothing but smiles on Thursday morning after an apology was issued by the Ministry and her phone was ringing off the hook with congratulatory messages and calls.

“I think that they handled it in a good way. They apologised and clarified the issue

so I’m thankful for that,” Milling commented on the situation.

She was too busy enjoying her glory to think much of the mix-up, topping the country just left her speechless.

“I feel excited. It’s just… I just feel so excited, I am lost for words. I didn’t expect to do this great and it’s just amazing, the feeling is just amazing. I had to wipe my eyes and look at those results again and again. I am thankful for it. I am thankful for all of my teachers, friends and family who helped and supported me, I am just so, so grateful,” she gushed.

Her smiles are non-stop matched by the smiles on the face of her aunt, Lizzani Brown, who is bustling around videoing, chatting and blissfully announcing the news to family members and friends far away. Brown has raised Shanomae since she was a child. Shanomae also shares the moment with her mother, Drusilla Wilson and her sister Shaneka.

“I must say I am overwhelmed. My daughter, she made me proud, she made me a very proud mom,” comments her mom.

She adds: “I know she had the potential because of the passes before, at CAPE last year, she topped her school, and at CSEC she topped her school; so I know she always had the potential. Since at five, I started with her. After she went to live with my sister, she continued.”

HARD WORK Brown recalls a lot of hard work and long nights going into Shanomae’s accomplishment.

“She always has had this ability- she studies, studies, studies,” Brown relates. “I always like my breakfast table laid nice, but when I come home I would see she put aside my stuff and is share books on the table. Sometimes I have to move everything and put it on the

CAPE Top Student Shanomae Milling was always a star pupil. Here she is pictured in 2017 at her graduation ceremony. She achieved 11 Grade Ones and two Grade Twos at CSEC, and was her school’s best graduating student that year.

floor and fix back my breakfast table. Sometimes at night when I wake up the lights still on when I look she fall in a doze with the book on her chest. I have to go and turn off the lights. She even had to go to [early] lessons so I would make sure I get up, prepare her lunch and so.”

Notwithstanding the huge amount of work that had to go into it, Shanomae found a way to put some balance in her life.

“I have this strict policy with school work up to 20:00hrs. During the day I would do school work and help my friends with school work, whatever questions they have but as soon as [that tme] comes they can’t ask me anything pertaining to school after that time because that time is just to relax and to my social life I devote that time, then later in the night I would get up and put in some more work,” She shares.

An Upper Six Form student at St Rose’s, Milling attained Grade Ones in Physics Unit 1 and 2; Applied Mathematics Unit 1; Pure Mathematics Unit 2; Chemistry, Biology and Physical Education and Sports, all in Unit 2; Environmental Science Unit 1; Caribbean Studies Unit 1; she got a Grade Two in Communication Studies and Applied Mathematics Unit 2.

INSPIRATION Aiming to top the country was not essentially part of Shanomae’s plans when she decided that she wanted to write 11 Units at the 2019 CAPE, she just wanted to do all the units she loved. She was inspired by the achievements of 2018 top CAPE top achiever Aadilah Ali, who pulled off the magnificent feat of gaining passes in 15 units, with 14 Grade Ones and one Grade Two. “I was at the presentation ceremony, and I just sat there in the National Cultural Centre

looking at her collecting her prizes and I was like I love all of these subjects, especially Maths. I didn’t want to pick it up just to do too much, I just wanted to do good at my subjects,” she says.

One year later and Milling now hopes that her achievement can stand as a beacon to inspire others to also go after what they desire.

“You know you have goals, just set them and go and get them, put in the work and you will get what you deserve,” Shanomae encourages to others. This achievement, Shanomae says, will even go a long way in helping her to see herself in a different light.

Notwithstanding always being a high achiever throughout her academic life, seeing herself being the best in the country was not something she had thought was possible for her.

“My biggest challenge was [I kept] doubting myself,” she shares, but that’s not the case anymore. “I keep writing exams, doing tests and thinking I failed or I did bad just because I got one question wrong or I missed out one mark, so that was the biggest problem or issue with studying. This now, this entire situation with me topping the country has built my self-confidence, boosting my self-esteem. I won’t doubt myself anytime again, I’ll just be calm and know whatever I do it’s in God’s hands.”

In 2017 she was the best graduating student at St Rose’s High when she attained 11 Grade Ones and two Grade Twos at CSEC. Last year she was again the best performing student at the school, this time in CAPE, when she wrote seven units, achieving three grade ones and two grade twos.

She now plans to take a year off studying to travel and volunteer at her alma mater before she begins pursuing studies in medicine at the University of Guyana from next year.

IV

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

Living with forceps in her stomach

By Wendella Davidson

IN March 2000, Romona Barak-Oada, also known as Romona Soman, then 43 made local and international news when it was discovered that for 10 years she had unknowingly been walking around with forceps – scissors used in surgery- in her stomach.

The instrument, according to reports, was

accidentally left there in 1990 when Romona had to undergo emergency surgery, after bandits had invaded their then family home at New Market Street, in the city, and stabbed her numerous times.

But life for the now 58-year-old Romona, who had subsequently moved to Huntley Village, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, is not a happy one. The instrument has still not been removed from her stomach, and she is

now homeless. Romona spends most of her daylight hours on the pavement outside of the Bourda Post Office, with her worldly belongings as she mingles with other pavement dwellers.

She also wants to be compensated for what she deems negligence by the medical practitioners, adding “I am not asking for much- just couple million- about $10M. I am not pressuring anyone [but] after all, is their fault.”

Just before nightfall, the woman said she would go to someplace she describes as a “safe house”, take a bath, change her clothes and grab a bite before taking a nap away from any form of harassment. As day breaks she hurries through a similar routine before heading down to what is now her “favourite hanging spot”, she added.

Romona said she became homeless after she left home one day to conduct business in the city and returned to find the house was broken into and her furniture and other stuff removed. She said he sought help from the police but they paid her no heed and subsequently, she realised that persons related to her husband began occupying the house. She was then forced to live at the Night Shelter but said it was because unknown persons started going there to torment her that she moved.

Questioned by the Pepperpot Magazine about the whereabouts of her husband and four children, Roman’s answers were not consistent.

The Guyana Chronicle had in 2000, conducted several interviews with Romona and it was as a result of this that the publication was able to recognise her among the pavement dwellers.

Romona, who is coherent and neatly attired, during a recent interview, recalled the 1990 incident that caused her to be hospitalised and the subsequent discovery as though they had occurred yesterday. She stated that when bandits invaded the premises, they robbed her of a huge amount of money that was payment for the house that her father had sold to a man who lived nearby. The attackers had used a knife and an icepick to stab her in the region of her heart.

She remembered that the surgery was performed by then Medical Superintendent of the Georgetown Hospital, Dr Innocent Muchenagumbo who had already left the country by the time the discovery was made 10 years later.

Also, it was in January of 2000, following an assault by neighbours she had begun to feel pains in her head and later under her left breast. She had visited both public and private hospital for relief before the cause of the pains was discovered. And, though efforts were made to have surgery done at either the public or a private hospital to have the instrument removed, the local medical practitioners felt that a subsequent surgery could have been successfully done here, but Romona’s biggest problem then, was regaining confidence in the local doctors to perform another procedure on her. “ I was fearful then and I am still fearful now of doing surgery in this country, why can’t they send me overseas?” she pleaded.

She claimed too, that after the discovery was made she made repeated visits to top government officials and others in the health sector, to be sent overseas to have a surgery done, but was scoffed at and insulted.

According to a March 12, 2000, Guyana Chronicle article, hospital officials who had initially examined Romona who had complained of experiencing `excruciating pains in her stomach’, first thought she was pregnant, but a urine test proved negative. It was an

Romona Barak-Oada, also known as Romona Soman, with her worldly belongings on the pavement outside the Bourda Post Office (Samuel Maughn photo)

x-ray grab that showed the medical instrument, measuring about six inches long, with tips pointing left and upwards, lodged about four inches below the heart.

The article had also reported GPH Medical Superintendent, Dr Madan Rambarran and President of the Guyana Medical Association, Dr Max Hannoman, as saying that they could not recall any previous reports of such a case in Guyana. They, however, did not rule out that there may have been cases that had not been reported while noting that they knew of incidents where cotton swabs were mistakenly left inside the body of patients after surgery.

Rambarran had admitted then, that he was aware of a discussion between doctors and the patient to have the surgical instrument removed but had learnt that the woman had refused, claiming that she was not having any problems.

He had said then too, that the instrument had posed no immediate risk to the patient’s life, and had called on his peers to be more vigilant with swabs and instruments, especially when conducting open, abdominal surgery.

Then Health Minister Dr Henry Jeffery was reported as saying he had been advised that it was possible for the surgery to be done here and had promised Romona that the hospital would have done whatever it could to have the instrument taken out.

Jeffery had said too, that officials at the hospital were concerned about the incident and the welfare of the patient while adding that the incident was “a lesson of which all medical practitioners should take note.”

A diligent search by the Pepperpot Magazine for any subsequent incidents in Guyana, stumbled upon a report by another media outlets of a 29-year-old mother of nine, of Ondeerneeming, Sand Pit, Essequibo Coast, who had to undergo a second surgical intervention at the Suddie Public Hospital, to remove a pair of surgical scissors left inside her for 10 days. The article further stated that the woman, Alicia Benjamin, was on December 23, 2010, rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital, crying out for severe abdominal pains.

The husband had said that an emergency operation on his wife was performed, due to the severity of her persistent abdominal pains, which was caused by an ectopic pregnancy.

She spent one week in the hospital and was discharged, but three days after, the woman again started to cry out for severe abdominal pains and was vomiting profusely.

Alicia was taken back to the Suddie Public Hospital where the discovery was made after two ultrasound scans.

That doctor and another who was dispatched from the city performed another surgery and successfully removed the instrument.

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

V

Helping others to realise inner beauty MUA turned motivational speaker

With actress Nia Long

By Telesha Ramnarine

SHERRY Ann Dixon loved to make people look beautiful! All her life, she fancied the beauty and ‘makeup’ world and even worked on a few celebrities in London.

Today, though, she has a focus on something much deeper – helping others realise their inner beauty.

Sherry switched from being a professional makeup artist to becoming a motivational speaker, helping women, in particular, to achieve more confidence and recognise their worth.

Leaving her home in Guyana at nine years old, Sherry completed her schooling in England, and even attended the University of Westminster for a short time, before attending beauty school.

“I just had this thirst for doing make-up. I was always practising at home, practising on my children. Those were the days when they didn’t have make-up in many shades. We had to blend; mix and blend,” she recalled in an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine during a recent visit to Guyana

With Shaggy

where she was delivering a motivational speech at an event at the Marriott Hotel.

“I became very successful and even made-up celebrities.

The biggest one that I ever did was Luther Vandross.

Somebody made him up and he wasn’t pleased, so one of the agents called me in and I just took charge. He was still vexed and throwing things around but he loved my work. He said, ‘Thank you, doll,’ and gave me a peck on the cheek.” Sherry

also recalled working with briefly on Whitney Houston and Nelson Mandela, among others like Maya Angelo, Shaggy, and Nia Long.

Growing up, she always had an interest in literature and read a lot. It is with this background that she got into writing and editing.

Pressing on in her career, Sherry edited three magazines – Essence Magazine, Pride Magazine and SHE Caribbean and wrote for many publications including, The Guardian, Sunday Observer, The Times, Guyana Chronicle and Stabroek News, Upscale Magazine and The Voice.

Her editorials were always filled with motivational pieces, especially after she started studying psychology. Eventually, she was noticed and asked to speak at important events. “I realised that words are my thing. I think if you can write it, you can speak it, so it moved on from being just words written to mentoring a lot.” In fact, she has delivered addresses at the House of Lords, House of Parliament in London and The United Nation in New York.

Sherry has done numerous television and radio shows including Lorraine Kelly (LK Today) and BBC Worldwide helping to dispel the myths surrounding health and beauty for women of colour.

In December 2014, she was commended by The Mayor of London acknowledging her inspiring work with women in her community by presenting her with a Certificate of Appreciation at the London Peace Awards.

READ A BOOK Explaining her work at the moment, Sherry expressed: “I lecture on understanding yourself, understanding your being, understanding how to gain confidence, how to be assertive and non-assertive. Aggression is not assertiveness but you can be assertive and get things done. I also teach emotional intelligence.”

She is advising everyone, women, in particular, to keep on educating themselves.

“Read a book or borrow one if you can’t afford to buy one,” she said, as she reflected on her days of borrowing books from a stall inside of Stabroek Market.

At the moment, Sherry said she feels fabulous at age 65 and still believe that there is a lot more that she can do for younger women out there.

“I’m showing a lot of younger women that there’s no need to stop; showing them how to live their lives effectively as they get older.”

She believes that women should not become dependent on men to the point where it can affect their self-worth.

“Women have to carry on exuding their fabulousness because it’s ok on Facebook to put on a dress and do the pout, but then be lonely at home by yourself. You have to go out, make your life work. If you don’t have a friend to go out with, go by yourself. Go to the cinema, go to a motivational event by yourself. Just don’t sit at home waiting for a man. When it’s all over, the

Sherry has been the recipient of numerous awards

‘shoulda coulda woulda’ is all irrelevant. Live your life effectively as you go along because men do. They don’t stop because a relationship is broken up,” she advised.

VI

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

Inaugural Scholarship pageant aims to create role models in Guyana

By Gabriella Chapman

OVER the years, pageantry has been thrown under a negative light, with the scandals that sometimes surround the industry. However, one cannot shy away from the fact that it has been, and continues to be, a platform that attracts many young women.

Realising this fact, Executive Director of Imperial House, Wasim Khan, decided to make use of the platform to mould and build the quality of young women that can be role models to other young women in Guyana.

In an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, Khan said that pageantry is a good tool that can be used to propel a young woman to great heights if used the right way. He shared his story on what birthed the idea of hosting the

The Team pulling off the Inaugural Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Pageant; (From left) Jairo Rodrigues, Feliz Robertson, Wasim Khan, Cindy Khan and Paul Charles

first-ever Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Pageant.

In 2016, he said, Imperial House leased the Miss Guyana Talented Teen Pageant from Simpli Royal, and staged the pageant in Guyana.

The winner subsequently represented the country in St. Kitts at the Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant, and for the first time in 16 years, Guyana secured the First Runner up spot.

Khan said that even though Guyana’s rep spaced so high, it was a ‹winner takes all› pageant, and she came back with mere bragging rights, after over a million dollars was spent on her to represent.

This, however, was not the investment he deemed impactful. As such, in 2017, Khan said they gave back Talented Teen to Simpli Royal, and came up with their own concept.

Even though the idea was birthed in 2017, the organisation took two Turn to page VII ►►►

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

The 18 young women vying for the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship (Photos by 55 Photography) ◄◄◄ From page VI

years to develop the idea and is now making it a reality in 2019.

The new concept, he said, is in alignment with the focus of Imperial House, which is youth empowerment, and it focuses strictly on girls from the age of 13 to 19.

Shedding light on the new pageant concept, Khan said that the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Pageant allows more than just an opportunity to walk on a stage and compete with other girls.

In fact, the pageant is like the graduation ceremony from a two-month programme, where the girls will be able to demonstrate what was instilled in them during the programme.

«It is not just a pageant. It is a programme that will run for two months, July and August, and the pageant will mark the end of the programme. This programme consists of 10 modules that the girls have to go through before reaching to the stage, and they will get a certificate of participation at the end,» Khan explained.

These modules cover life skills and equip them with the tools necessary to be empowered, career-oriented women in the country.

“All of the girls are in school or just out of school. So the programme prepares them for the realities of life. We have covered so far, workshops on health, time management, finance and budgeting, makeup and skincare, and we’ll be focusing on most of the things they may have to deal with on a daily basis. Also, the girls are required to write an essay based on a project that they are passionate about. They are required to associate themselves with a charity organisation to work towards championing a cause, and all these are adding to their overall development. A mentorship programme is also running simultaneously with the pageant preparations to give support to the girls,” Khan said.

Eighteen girls are currently enrolled in the programme, and the most outstanding one will get a scholarship to the tune of $400,000, to invest in whatever they aspire to be.

“Because the focus is not just on the pageant, at the end of this programme, even though there will be one winner, we would have produced 18 stronger ladies that found a better version of themselves. And this I believe will allow us to have a more robust pool of young ladies, and this programme can be a catalyst for the bigger pageants,” he posited.

He shared further that a lot of sponsors would have said that they don’t do pageants, but after seeing the girls deliver at the sashing ceremony, many of them saw the potential that can come out of this new concept of pageantry.

“Pageantry is a sport, and young women are drawn to pageants. So it can be used to make better versions of themselves, and mould and make a role model for others. We will continue to build on 2020, and this will be an annual activity so girls can benefit tremendously,” Khan said.

The pageant will be held on September 7 at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) and would not have been possible without the generosity of the sponsors that supported Imperial House’s vision.

Some of the sponsors he noted are Ministry of the Presidency, KFC Guyana, 55 Photography, Professional Guard Services Inc., GuyWillShip, Bella Oasis International and more.

VII

VIII ◄◄◄ From page II

A personal experience was the occasion when I was asked by someone with a smirk, “But is how you got that name Quamina?” My immediate response was; “But is how you got that name Persaud?” Laughter of embarrassment resulted. The many sins during slavery in the western world are all part of the reasons for the intensifying demand for Reparations as the 21st century continues to unfold.

One of the greatest sins ever levelled unto a people for Reparations is that of the Haitians. After suffering the indignity and cruelty by the French slave masters, the Haitians were made to pay rReparations to the French. The very people who enslaved them demanded Reparations after their successful revolution, which resulted in Haiti becoming the first Black Republic in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti’s case was REPARATIONS IN REVERSE. If ever there was a people who the rest of the world should be sympathetic towards and respect, it is the Haitians. Notwithstanding the many setbacks, including devastating

earthquakes; 300,000 were killed in the earthquake of January 12, 2010, many Haitians are high-achievers. Consider that it was a Haitian-born woman, the Rt. Hon. Michelle Jean, who served as the Governor General of Canada from 2005 to 2010. Could it be that some smaller nations are unable to see in Haitians what Canada has seen and benefited from? Some of us in Guyana are aware of the dedicated service of Haitian-born dentist, Dr. Jean who gave sterling service as head of the Cheddi Jagan Dental Clinic in Georgetown for many years.

Many Haitians now in Guyana, are making sterling contributions to our country, even teaching French at Queen’s Collage. Others are self-employed.

In more recent times, celebrities have become involved in the demand for Reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans. In the United States, Hollywood actor, Danny Glover, who visited Guyana a few years ago, is one of the celebrities who is active with the American Reparations efforts. Guyanese-born International Superstar, Eddy Grant is also involved with the Repa-

rations for Guyanese of African heritage. Barbados-born Sir Hilary Beckles, who is a Professor at the University of the West Indies (UWI), and who visited Guyana last January and addressed an audience at Herdmanston Lodge in Georgetown, is the principal individual who is spearheading the efforts for the African Caribbean peoples, and was successful with the University of Glasgow Reparations agreement.

As part of this feature, I sought the opinions of two Guyanese. New York-based College Professor, Dr. Lear Matthews, stated, “One view is that both dollars and community resources could be in the conversation. In addition, as you ponder these questions, think of the difference in perception of the issue by those in the (Caribbean) home country and those in the diaspora.” From Pennsylvania-based retired Army Officer Clairmont Griffith, I received the following comment: “I support projects and land distribution over a cash payout.

The money offered would be spent and/or ‘sported’, and the recipients receiving the spent money were never a part of the idea or plan originally outlined by General William T. Sherman, who after the (American) Civil War in 1865, suggested 40 acres and a mule to our ancestors.”

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

Farrier with a Maori Elder and child at the Auckland International Airport, New Zealand, in April 1993.

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

IX

LITERACY AND NUMERACY SKILLS A NECESSITY LITERACY in Guyana has always been a consumer concern and thus this column may again return to it. In the 1950s and 1960s Guyana had the reputation of having the highest literacy rate in the Caribbean other than Barbados and its literacy rate compared favourably with developed countries. Then by the end of the 1960s, its literacy rate began to slide downwards.

It was only in the 19th century that the governments and social leaders in Western Europe began to call for, and take serious action to have their populations literate. The reasons for this movement are many-faceted. In the first place, Western European countries were fast industrialising and industrialisation required workers to be literate. Another reason was that Europe, in that century, had engaged itself in fierce civil wars and had transformed wars from conflicts between armies into conflicts between nations. Leaders such as Bismarck in Germany and his counterparts in other countries felt that through literacy, their populations could be indoctrinated in Nationalism and governmental policies. Intellectuals and social workers saw literacy as a way of uplifting ordinary folk culturally and economically and saw it as something humanitarian and ethical. In the slave societies of the Caribbean and North America, the churches saw it as a way of strengthening the ethical and religious life of the slaves by their reading of the Bible.

In the last quarter of the 19th century, therefore, all Western governments began to establish regimes of free and compulsory primary education and such laws were often extended from the Mother Country to the colonies. Guyana is one such country which profited from the free and compulsory primary education laws of England.

In Guyana, the government did not build its own schools until the 1930s. Before then, it supported the schools run by the various Christian denominations, paid the teachers and even built school buildings while the Churches provided the management. Though the government had embarked upon school-building, the overwhelming majority of schools were still managed by the Churches.

This system of Christian denominational schools supported by public funds unwittingly turned out to be discriminatory in a society which was multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-racial. By 1900, a good number of very able teachers were turned out as well as a good proportion of the country’s children and young people had become literate. Between the 1920s and 1950s a further educational revolution occurred and the vast majority of young people had become literate. The revolution in secondary education also occurred during this time. The main small pockets of illiteracy existed in the Interior communities. By then, Guyana was 90 percent literate.

From the 1960s, however, literacy began to slowly decline. This was due to the social and political turmoil which afflicted the country from the 1960s to the 1980s; the massive emigration; younger parents and children being less understanding of and devoted to education as the generation before; and the growth of poverty and child labour. Since the last 30 years, Ministries of Education have been acutely aware of the problem and have been employing various methodologies to deal with it with moderate success.

It is salutary to remind readers of the benefits literacy would bring to both individuals and society as a whole: Literacy together with Numeracy is the first step towards liberation from social and economic constraints. Once one could read, it opens new worlds of knowledge, cultural enjoyment, freedom and protection of one’s interest. It leads to greater respect for the literate person. Frederick Douglas, the famous emancipated American slave who authored many books and fought for human rights, encapsulated this idea when he said: “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free”.

As important, literacy is the prerequisite to social and economic development at both the individual and the collective social levels. With literacy, one could create wealth and reduce poverty. For example, one is better able to learn and practice a trade, do business, be a better farmer since a literate farmer would be able to accession scientific agricultural methods which will bring him/her greater returns. It

also leads to upward social mobility. An example of this occurred after Emancipation, the freedmen and especially their children took to Education, earned themselves regular incomes as teachers and government employees and elevated themselves into the middle class.

Education also helped to eliminate the problems of nutrition and public health education produced the first crop of nurses who served in the public hospitals and also provided medical care to the communities in which they lived. With literacy, the population learnt more about bal-

anced diets and pharmaceuticals and were able to use appropriate medications. It also removed resistance to public inoculations.

We have almost exhausted our allotted space but before we end this offering, we may mention an inescapable challenge modern Man has to overcome to be able to survive in a world where technological advances are continuously accelerating: Literacy and Numeracy skills have to be supplemented with skills in Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

CARIFESTA The festival that awakens regional identity

I HAVE always been fascinated by persons with the ability to turn raw materials into a masterpiece. It’s one of the reasons I became an artist. We create representations of our beliefs, morals, traditions, myths, creativity and our perception of the world. What we possess is more than just talent. It’s power! The power to influence national identity.

And with great power comes even greater responsibility, as the saying goes. Artists are responsible for visually documenting history and making statements that represent the people within the society in which they live. National identity is rooted in a nation’s ability to distinctively represent themselves through traditions, culture, and language; all of which are important to any country’s development.

Painting entitled A Time to Remember by Betsy Karim

The Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) is a biennial event that started in Guyana in 1972. It came after Guyana became Independent in 1966 and a Republic in 1970. CARIFESTA stems from the need to define our identity as a freed nation. It unites all of the arts which includes the visual, literary, culinary and the performing arts. CARIFESTA aims to depict the similarities and differences of the people of the Caribbean in an environment in which art can flourish. The event encourages artists across the Caribbean to display their talents beyond their national borders. They return to their homeland with an awaken Painting by Angold Thompson entitled Flag-Dam regional identity.

Guyana is blessed with a wellspring of artists who have done a fantastic job in creating works that represent who we are as a diverse nation. Over the years, these artists have represented Guyana across the Caribbean and beyond. Some artists include Bernadette Persaud, Philbert Gajadhar, Oswald Hussein, Shimuel Jones, Betsy Karim, Ivor Thom, Jorge Bowen-Forbes, Michael Griffith and others, too numerous to mention. Guyana is well known as the country with the largest contingency at CARIFESTA. What can I say? Our talent surpasses all others.

For the 14th staging of the festival, Trinidad and Tobago was selected as the host country.

The activities and events will occur from August 16-25. As usual, many artists look forward to the opportunity of promoting their arts and culture abroad. I can safely say that once again Guyana is well represented.

In 2015, I was selected to be a part of the Visual Arts Contingency for CARIFESTA XII in Haiti. It was a tremendous opportunity to assist in curating the art exhibition of works by Guyanese and Haitian artist in a common space. What stood out in my experience was the noticeable difference in the culture among Caribbean people. We are far more diverse than many people are cognizant of. The styles and techniques I saw on display give a deeper understanding of artist awakening regional and national identity. I am excited to see what our artist will create upon their return.

And while many of us are unable to join the folks in Trinidad and Tobago we can take advantage of the recent exhibition at the National Gallery; Castellani house. The works displayed in this column are from the GVACE. However, they are pieces produced by artists who had works on display at past CARIFESTA. These images are a glance at how our Guyanese artist represent our regional identity. The 2019 Guyana Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition runs until the 24th of August. Be sure to visit while you still can.

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

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XI

on the Village

A look at Plaisance

By Michel Outridge

THIS week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the village of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara. The busy community is located a mere10 minutes’ drive from the city and is sandwiched between Better Hope and Goedverwagting.

Plaisance was bought by 65 ex-slaves who pooled their monies and purchased the land for $39,000 form their French masters.

Plaisance is French and it means ‘pleasure or delight’ and the name was given to the village in the early 1800s by the then French owners who grew cotton. Back then it was known as Plantation Cotton.

Plaisance is the home of musical icon Eddy Grant, Caribbean Jurist Desiree Bernard, boxer Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite among other influential people.

Plaisance is where the well-known ‘passa passa’ dance gained prominence locally as persons would gather on the Railway Embankment (Line Top) at the traditional ‘Thursday Night’ lime.

Usually the lime is centered at the Guintime because of unbearable joint pains.

The father of two reported that the bakery is being managed by his daughter and her fiancé and they still produce fresh bread, tennis rolls and pastries on a daily basis.

He stated that Sam’s bakery has been able to retain their wholesalers and they have special baking days and opens from Monday to Saturday.

Sam’s Bakery provides employment for four villagers. This business has survived the test of time. As a little girl growing up in Better Hope, a few corners from the bakery, I

Sam’s Bakery at Prince William Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara

ness Bar and its environs and the party would start around midnight and go almost to daybreak.

Plaisance is home to several hundreds of people, who are cops, nurses, skilled workers among others and it is the place of many shops, food stalls that line the roadside.

The community has schools, good major roads, adequate drainage and several churches.

Sam’s Bakery, here for the long haul Among the many longstanding businesses in the community is Sam’s Bakery locat-

ed at Prince William Street. It is owned by 89-year-old John Sam and has been a family business for three generations and was one of the first bakeries to produce barley loaves, bread, tennis rolls and pastries.

The ailing Sam told the Pepperpot Magazine that the business started with his brother in 1980 at the same location. He added that when he came back to his homeland and his birth village, Plaisance in 1987 he took over the operations when his sibling passed away in 2002.

Sam said his health is not what it used to be and he is forced to be in bed most of the

remember it was the top bakery in the neighbourhood and we used to visit the place to make purchases almost every day.

The black cake was really nice not forgetting the cheesiest cheese roll among other pastries and flour-based products.

“I spent many years building this business and it will stand as long as it can because it is a family tradition for the Sam’s,” he said.

He added that Sam’s Bakery is here to stay and it will provide the best flourbased products villagers are accustomed to.

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Plaisance,

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

Happy to have a place of interesting people served in World War II Charles Mendonca at the food stand in the back dam

By Michel Outridge

ALTHOUGH the area hasn’t been regularised, the scores of people that reside in the back dam section of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, enjoy the benefits of potable water supply and electricity.

The village of Plaisance runs deep from the roadside to way down into the backlands and it is a very populated area, the home of people from all walks of life and some very influential people, as well.

During a recent visit to the village, some residents regarded the place as blessed with talented people and it is also an oasis for many with their ‘street lime’ every Thursday night on the Line Top (Railway Embankment) a feature of the village that first conceptualised the local dancehall (‘passa passa’) scene which was popular a few years ago.

Today, Plaisance provides relaxation for many and it is also a place where you can get creole foods at any

given time since there are so many food vendors, plying their trade way into the night.

you stop by on your way home when you don’t feel like cooking and the folks there are friendly and welcoming so there is no need to feel unsafe.

The Plaisance Market comes alive every Sunday when people from all over, visit to make purchases making the ‘Line Top’ almost impassable or there is a traffic jam. The Pepperpot Magazine encountered Charles Mendonca, who is a mason by profession but was ‘sitting-in’ for a relative at her roadside food stand.

The food stand is located at Plaisance back dam where they vend cold fruit juices, pastries, egg ball and puri among other eatables.

The business has been in

The Pepperpot Magazine went further down into the village and met some young men, who were at a fruit stand in the community engaged in a ‘gaff’.

One of them, Anthony Gittens said that the squatting area has been in existence for more than 19 years and they have all the basic infrastructure except a good bridge, which is at the main entrance to access the area.

He related that most people in Plaisance have their own small business, an indication that they want to be self-reliant. Others work in offices, while some are farmers, and a lot of folks, who are members of the disciplined services.

“You know some peo-

Britton Street, Plaisance, the four-corner in the village where the minibuses turn-back after dropping off passengers.

It is the place for good souse, black pudding, fish and chips, cook-up-rice with all the ‘obstacles’ and not forgetting chicken and chips., hot off the stove, all prepared right in front of you.

Plaisance is the village

operation for four years and it opens twice weekly for customers, who are mostly villagers.

He describes the area as being “like any other village” and it is the place of many small businesses and shops.

ple give Plaisance a bad name but this village has people that work and it is not a haven for wrongdoers. People try to make a living here and as you can see it is a safe place to be,” Gittens said.

The Sparendaam Police Station, the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court and the Post Office

Benjamin Durante

By Shirley Thomas

AT age 103, Guyana’s longest surviving Veteran, Benjamin Durante still has vivid reflections of living through World War II and how it impacted him and the world around him. But even more dramatic, he recalls how sobering it was for him when co-incidentally he got ‘wind’ of the news that World War II had ended.

Perhaps because of the nature of the information (military intelligence), naturally everything would have initially been shrouded in secrecy, but when he got the news, it ‘hit him like a bullet.’

And so for him, it remains a miracle how the news had reached him in such a timely fashion, even before it had officially been filtered down.

GLORIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT At the time, Benjamin Durante was enlisted as a member of the South Caribbean Forces, with headquarters at Eve Leary, and was on duty in the compound when the news came. It was then that he got an experience which he says has convinced him beyond the shadow of a doubt that the hand of the Lord is upon the nation of Guyana.

He recalls that one night he was posted to keep sentry in the compound when a German transmission was picked up on a guard’s radio.

The transmission on the radio set indicated that the Germans were in British Guiana’s water, ready for action and seeking intelligence on what they should do next.

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019 ◄◄◄ From page XII

Then came the reply: “ ‘Do nothing!

The war is over!’ And that meant that Guyana was saved by the skin of its teeth,” Durante said.

Asked what action he thought they might have taken, hadn’t the war been declared over, he forthrightly responded: “They might have blown us apart.”

It was the most glorious moment for him, and all who had suffered and/or lost loved ones or were in any way under threat for as long as the war lasted.

Durante, born and bred in Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, recalls that within hours, it was officially declared that World War II was over and that it had taken effect from the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, in 1945.

Having enlisted in the South Caribbean Forces, Durante, loyal to the cause and with a passion for soldiering, even though he’d gotten married just one year before joining the Forces, continued to serve honourably for the next three years until the disbanding of the Force in 1945. While in the Force he was promoted to Lance Corporal in the Quarter Master Store.

MOVING With the disbanding of the Force, Durante was pondering his next move when he

was made an offer to become a customs officer but opted to become engaged in building construction. He said his father had instilled into his and his brothers’ minds that if you do carpentry you can’t be out of a job. And so he did a correspondence course in construction with the Technical Institute of Great Britain, after which he was certified and got jobs with some of the most prestigious entities.

Some of the buildings on which he recalls working include The Girl Guides Pavilion; the Salvation Army at South Road and Alexander Streets; a hardware store at the corner of Camp and Robb Streets; and working alongside what was known as ‘Ashe and Watson Contracting Firm’.

However, what he did not know at the time when he refused the Customs job, he had refused a pensionable which would have ensured that after retirement he would have been entitled to a pension for life. And as misfortune would have it, in the long run, he lost his sight as a result of an injury suffered while doing construction work in the city of Georgetown.

LOST VISION Explaining how he lost his sight, Durante told the Pepperpot Magazine that while he was still in the construction business, he was working on a building

on South Road when one day, one of his fellow employees hurriedly came up from behind him with the shocking news that “Kabaka” (President Forbes Burnham) had died.

“At the time I was chipping and installing a door. As I impulsively spun around, something flew into my right eye. I did not know at the time what it was, but I can tell you, it pained badly and had me doing it,” he said.

He added his eye was washed and checked, nothing was found until one week later he went to the hospital, but sadly, the doctor informed him that he had waited too long. A piece of green-heart was in the socket and had poisoned his eyes.

Sadly, he recalled that the eye became so inflamed, it was red like blood, so much so, that children would scream and run away whenever they saw him coming. The net result was that he lost vision in the right eye and later, both eyes.

It was then that reality hit him real hard. Even though he had become well qualified and certified in the construction business, without his sight, he was no longer able to work and this is where a pension would have served him well. But he had lost that opportunity.

That apart, all his faculties are functioning reasonably well. He has a good appe-

XIII tite and claims to eat just about anything his wife and daughter prepare for him.

Having lived for many years in Plaisance and contributed to the development of the village, with his hard-earned gains, he later moved to Goedverwagting where he became married for the second time and is enjoying the comfort of his home, and compassionate care of his new wife and one of his older daughters.

FULL LIFE Twice married and having fathered 12, (one of whom is now deceased) “Benjie”, as he is fondly called, considers himself to have lived a full life, but not before spending four solid years as a serviceman in the South Caribbean Forces at Eve Leary, prior to the Guyana Defence Force coming into being.

At this time of his life, the signature greatest moment for him is the rolling out of the Armistice Day programme of activities when veteran soldiers are honoured and servicemen and women who lost their lives during World Wars I and II are honoured by His Excellency the President of Guyana, as well as Members of the Diplomatic Corps and other dignitaries. Later they are joined by family members and fellow members of the Joint Services for a period of socialising.

The evolution of the Plaisance ‘Thursday night swing’ The popular Guinness Bar on the Plaisance line top (Samuel Maughn photos)

Owner of the Guinness Bar in Plaisance, Leslie Bunbury

By Gabriella Chapman

IF you ask a millennial to tell you something they know about Plaisance, many would refer to the popular Thursday night swing on the ‘Line Top’ at the Guinness Bar. The village is well known by people on the outside, for having one of the biggest Thursday night hangouts in Guyana.

One may think that this was just another regular party initiative to drink and sell beers, but really, it runs deeper than that.

Owner of the bar, Leslie Bunbury told his story of how the nightlife activity evolved.

In an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, Bunbury said that back in the ‘80s, the

bar was just a little shop that sold a couple of items that people may need when they came off the train.

“It was a small shop that we had here selling mauby, shave ice, cake and so. When the people came off the train, because the train station was right across the road there, we used to run over to sell the people the mauby and the cakes. In the late ‘80s, somewhere around 1989, I bought the place and started doing some expansion,” Bunbury said.

When the shop was expanded, he said they started selling alcoholic beverages like Stout, and villagers started coming around to play cards.

“So one day some friends came over and they were playing cards and I had my music set that I used to play out, and my friends told me to bring out the set. And the music started attracting people and it turned into a neighbourhood hangout spot.

Additionally, Bunbury said, “Guinness people used to come every Thursday and share out Guinness through promotions, and one Thursday we had the set playing, and people started joining, and eventually it was a big village hang and they had some girls that were going to Sheriff. I told them to come back next week, and so it evolved from there, every Thursday night, it became the norm to have a village lime on this corner.

All those who don’t drink alcohol, like the

church people and so, they used to drink the mauby, and we all just assembled here with each other. ” Even though it started as an activity for the people of the village, as the years went by, people came from villages nearby, and now people come from all over to hang out on the village lime.

Though this was the main source of income for Bunbury, he said that it is important to highlight that one should never depend on one thing to provide income.

“I used to work at DDL in charge of maintenance for 20 years. But I used to look for other things to do because I liked working. So I used to occupy my time always.

There will be some good days and bad days, but when you don’t rely on one means of income, you are able to get by,” Bunbury said.

This , he advises, should be the mentality of every young person. The man said that he was never a fan of saving the money he made, he invested in things that can benefit him and his family in the long run.

Apart from owning the bar, and benefiting from the village hang every Thursday, Bunbury said Plaisance is home and he will never leave.

“My children send for me to go to the US all the time, but I love it here. This is where I born and grow, and love,” he said.

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

Local businesses provide employment, empowerment for youths

By Michel Outridge

JENEL Burgess is hoping to establish her own small business someday but is gainfully employed at this time being a local fruit juice vendor at Plaisance Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is working for a colleague selling locally made fresh fruit juices and she has the ideal spot for such business, a central location not far from the Guinness Bar. Burgess related that she has been on the job for seven months now and is quite pleased she is getting to meet more people every day.

“Selling here is good because I meeting all kinds of people and I am learning how to deal with customers because some people are so peculiar and then I have my regular customers,” she said.

Burgess stated that she sells cherry, tamarind, sorrel, mango, pine, ginger among other fruit juices along with strawberry milk, milk chocolate and ‘bomb’ for the men which is a combination of fruits, milk and nuts.

This 18-year-old related that she did other jobs before and it didn’t work out and she is holding onto this one until she can figure out what she wants to do for a living later on in life.

With the opening of schools in September, Burgess added that it will be a busy time for them since their fresh local fruit juices are a big seller with school children.

Meanwhile, the Pepperpot Magazine took the opportunity to talk to the owner, Buxtonian Akeysaw Haynes of Stacy’s Fresh Fruit Juice. She noted that she used to work with a large scale fresh fruit juice business before she was inspired to start her own about four years ago.

Jenel Burgess at the Plaisance Railway Embankment manning Stacy’s Fresh Fruit Juice business outlet (Samuel Maughn photos)

“I used to work with this man, who make the same fruit juices in the city and he told me I have the potential to start my own business and he came to Buxton and showed me how to get about the juice making business and that’s how I started,” Haynes said.

She related that all local fruits are bought from villagers and it is fresh every day and the juices are made from scratch and it is wholesome and of good quality.

“This is not juices that you get with Kool-Aid or some drink mix inside. This juice is made from fresh local fruits grown right here in Guyana and we are buying it from framers within the village,” she said.

Although there are some challenges during the rainy weather they cope because they have to purchase ice, plastic bags and other raw materials and also manages to employ four persons, Haynes pointed out.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that the actual making of the fresh local fruit juices is done by her and family members at her home

Asola Bent at the Detergent Refill Centre

in Buxton and it has evolved into a family business.

THE LIQUID DETERGENT BUSINESS Asola Bent is the friendly face behind the 3R “Reuse, Refill and Reduce” business. It is 100 percent eco-friendly and is the Detergent Refill Centre that is located at Railway Embankment.

The 23-year-old has been at the job for the past three months and so far, it has been going well in terms of relating to customers.

“We sell liquid laundry detergent, hand soap, fabric softener, car wash liquid, degreaser which are reasonably priced at $420 and $360 per litre at the refill outlet which recently opened its doors for business,” Bent said.

The business opens from 09:00hrs to 18:00hrs on Mondays to Sundays and are closed on Saturdays and employs two persons and they work on a shift system, six days per week.

“I have my eyes on becoming a professional baker or pastry chef and I will attend Carnegie School of Home Economics to qualify myself and move in that direction but in the meantime, I am garnering some funds working at this job, this is, however, honest work,” she said.

The local detergent company has several outlets across the country manned by different owners but the same supplier.

Persons can access eight different products at the centre including dishwashing liquid, hand soaps, disinfectants, multipurpose cleaners, fabric softeners, laundry detergents and even car wash detergents.

Aside from the initial business, the centre is a spin-off to focus on community development and environmental protection.

As opposed to the cost of detergents that are found in the supermarket, persons would be able to get a refill for at least 50 percent less.

‘Utilise your talent’

Plaisance barber urges young people

By Michel Outridge AT a young age, Jermain Wills was given a hair cutting machine and he took a liking to cutting hair after some practice and when he got better at it he realised he had a talent which developed into a career.

Today, he has his own barbershop which is outfitted with air conditioning, a large flat-screen television with internet and a refrigerator in which beverages are stored until sold, a trademark which speaks of comfort for customers.

Wills is the proprietor of Wills Barber World which is located at Plaisance Railway Embankment, a prime spot where he has become the personal barber for many.

‘It feels good to be my own boss because I don’t have to report to no one and I am comfortable in my own zone,” he said.

Wills feels empowered because he was focused and found his talent and put it to work in his favour and is self-employed and very happy.

“Sitting on the road corner is a waste of time…nothing is wrong with liming but there are a lot of folks out there with real good talent and they should utilise it to make a living, look at me I am the perfect example,” Wills said.

He told the Pepperpot Magazine that starting his own business was not easy but he is blessed with good parents, who allowed him to construct his barbershop on their property and for him, that was the ‘break’ he was looking for.

Wills related that to make customers comfortable he

Jermain Wills with a customer in his barbershop at Plaisance (Samuel Maughn photos)

installed an air conditioning unit which is an expense on his side but he did it anyway because everything is not about money but to ensure customers are pleased with the service provided.

Before becoming an entrepreneur Wills did many jobs, one was an auto spray painter and bodywork mechanic but was operating at a loss since some people found the money to spray over their vehicle but couldn’t find the cash to pay him for the job done.

He was also a part-time employee with the Ministry of Education among other things but opted for his own small business when the opportunity presented itself a few years ago.

“Everything takes time, whether I get it easy or hard, I am thankful because a piece of time I used to get a bit frustrated when the work was slow but I have learned to ‘make do’,” Wills said.

He explained that being a barber is all about listening to customers to make sure you give them the cut they wanted and once they are satisfied they will return and that’s the way to keep customers and develop a good working relationship with people. Wills, 35, feels he has made something of himself because establishing a business is not as easy as it looks and he has crossed that hurdle.

The barbershop is opened from 08:00 hrs to late at night depending on customers’ flow and it gets busy around the weekend. He explained that he can cut all hair types and is also versed in eyebrow arching.

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

XV

FILES E S A C T R U O C

By George Barclay

Defected summing-up by judge led to two convicted robbers being freed by Appellate Court

THE Court of Criminal Appeal IN 1953 freed convicted robbers Samaroo and Ezraz on the ground that the trial judge’s summing-up to the jury was defective.

Samaroo & Ezaz who had faced a jury trial for robbery with aggravation had led an alibi defence but was convicted by the jury.

They appealed the convictions and sentences.

The Appellate Court quashed the convictions and sentences after concluding that the trial judge did not adequately put the Case to the jury.

Chief Justice Bell the president of the Court with Justices F.M Boland and J.L. Wills, had concluded, ‘It is of paramount importance that the Judge in his summing up must fairly put an accused’s defence to the jury and as that had not been done in an otherwise careful and meticulous summing-up the convictions and sentence must be quashed. The Appeals were allowed Senior Counsel Mr. B.O. Adams appeared for the appellants while Solicitor General G.M. Farnum, represented the respondent.

At the conclusion of the arguments, the judgment of the court was delivered by Chief Justice Bell of the Supreme Court of Criminal Appeal.

According to the Chief Justice, “These appeals, which were heard together are appeals against convictions and sentences. The appellants had appeared before the judge and a jury on charges of robbery with aggravation. Learned counsel other appellants argued a number of points. He abandoned two of the points recorded in the grounds of an application for leave to appeal.

“We are against him on two other points, namely, that there was no proof of what the grounds of appeal call ownership, and that the possession of the stolen goods, the money, was not fully established. We are against the (1909) 3 C.A.R. “But while it is settled law that the summing-up must fairly put the case for the defence, there is no need for the judge to go into every detail of the case, nor is there any need for him to put the defence in technical language. For instance, if the defence is an alibi, there is no need for the judge to put the defence to the jury under that name, or to use any technical name for the defence offered. There is no need, as we understand the law, that the Judge should put the defence at any particular stage of his summing-up. “ He can deal with it as he deals with the witnesses for the prosecution, but there are obvious advantages of emphasis and orderly arrangement that the judge should put the defence story to the jury after he has finished with the story for the prosecution,

and that is the mode that we would certainly recommend.

“It is also quite clear that it is sufficient if the defence is put substantially, that is to say, if it emerges from an examination of the summing up as a whole that the issues in the case were, in substance, put to the jury by the Judge.

“Now as regards this particular case, we have come to the conclusion that in an otherwise meticulous and careful summing-up by the learned trial Judge , who is careful and meticulous, it cannot fairly and reasonably be said that the defence of either of the appellants was put to the jury clearly or in such a way that their attention was sufficiently and emphatically drawn to the nature of that defence, “It cannot be enough, we feel, merely to assume that because the jury has heard both sides of the case they are cognisant of the defence which is put forward. Something more than that is necessary. Something must be done to emphasise to the jury the defence which an accused person is offering.

“Now, unquestionably, throughout the learned trial Judge’s summing-up he did make reference to statements which had been made by the two appellants but we are of the opinion that he did so for purposes other than the purpose of putting the defence to the jury in the way we feel it ought to be put. It would not be enough, we feel, to say: Well when these statements were being dealt with by the learned trial Judge it must have been apparent to the jury that the statements raised the defence of an alibi in each case.

“Something considerably more than that was required in our view, so we are left in the result with the view that at no stage can it be said that the defence, as put forward by the appellants was sufficiently clearly and emphatically put to the jury and we are forced to the conclusion that that very vital principle has been infringed.

“It must be, we feel, the duty of this Court to ensure that Judges trying cases with juries do not overlook that important principle.

“We would reiterate that it is the function of the Court to make sure that a judge sitting with a jury never loses sight of the fact that at some stage of his summing-up and in some language and method he must alert the jury to the defence which has been offered to them by the accused. That is a very fundamental duty which we as a Court of Appeal, would fail in if we did not emphasise it,”’ Chief Justice Bell disclosed in the judgment of the Court.

Other judges of the Court F.M. Boland and J. L. Wills concurred with the judgment, allowing the appeals and quashing the convictions and sentences.

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

THE HISTORICAL SUBVENTION TOWARDS CULTURAL INDUSTRIES WHAT the subvention towards cultural industries, realised by the APNU government in 2017, translates to, has not yet registered even among those who socially and politically lament a lack of sufficient employment and opportunities in our changing world. It must not be wrongly misconstrued as a handout to artists, it is not. It was lobbied for as an earned incentive to support those who exist by their art and craft, and had -to this end- exhibited the determination and defiance by registering businesses over the past five years, against the impossible odds that such businesses would have to confront in Guyana. They had long faced disadvantages as functional groups but were determined, even though their talents were treated as side attractions in the colonial pre-independence era. Cultural Industries involves people in the business of producing unique items for the day to day commercial and specialist accoutrements, handbags, suitcases, souvenir dolls, sculpted toys and ornaments, movies, animation, design T-shirts, graphic novels, comic books and all forms of illustrated storytelling , novels, board games and digital games, jewellery that is designed and can stand the test on its originality, dramatists, playwrights, character skit developers, leatherwork items that can compete anywhere, music in all its forms- jingles, ballads, calypso, gospel etc.

But accompanying the realisation and recommendation of cultural industries as a new fledgeling business sector, there must be the resurrection and breathe of new life into our Copyright Laws and bylaws with recommended procedures of engagement. A new school of thought has to be engaged into what is copyrightable, and what merits to be described as intellectual property because we have copied other people’s property so long. A reawakening will have to occur to help remind us and make aware of where what came from, what has to be left in the past and what stealing other people’s creative property will cost. Copyright updated legislation with its return as an effective and enforced Law, will draw into its embrace new areas and opportunity for professionalism from investigative journalists, food producers and furniture designers etc. This is the only way that the best of Guyana will be able to emerge to compete for a niche in the world market and provide new serious interests for our innovative natural expertise whose talents were strangled into thinking that their skills were

A biographical chronicle Part II

curses rather than blessings, because we saw only suffering and destitution with fellow citizens that represented those same gifts.

The most serious area of cultural industries is that what mediocrity we indulged in for the sometimes sympathetic local market will have to cease, in the next door years coming. The competition is going to be literally next door, whether we want to accept it or not, there is a localised counter-productive language “man wuh yuh gon do, this gon got fuh wuk, cause this is wuh ah getting”.

Reality check, the consumer doesn’t care, they will buy the product next door. It’s a wooden product, neatly fastened by wooden dowels and not your ugly, cheap nails already beginning to rust. Creative industries are tremendously content competitive. If your screen printer, offset printer or cobbler isn’t state of the art, then to clear investment you have to go rock bottom with your price.

The flaw with that is, once your label starts there, as cheap stuff in the mind of the consumer, that’s where you will stay. Thus the standards have to be known in each area, what you’re competing with at your level, your advantages have to be coordinated to be justified as say, exotic, but not shabby to the consumer.

There’s a factor I must include: I entered

the world of Hero, Folklore, Sci-Fi adventure writing and character development naive to many subliminal barriers and preferences in our country. I will draw a reference from the current aggressive letter from Gerry Gouveia directed at GECOM, and the relevant response from Desmond Trotman using real historical parallels about the attitude conveyed in the letter. Freddie Kissoon decided to construct a reproach to Trotman that attempted to dilute and reconstruct the historical references that Gerry Gouveira’s letter was accused of coming from, and term those realities, as aspects of ‘Intellectual Fraud’. I would have agreed with this deceptive, fraudulent argument had I not had experiences with social accommodation against unambiguous cultural and historical ethnic respect. The 90s was a learning decade for me. The experience I will share occurred in 1995. With not a great coffer of finance, all of it accounted for through ‘hard work’ in 1994, I began a magazine named ‘Folk & Culture’ to be printed in Trinidad, unaware that Caribbean quotations were all issued in US$. I budgeted my ads in TT$, and when I travelled to conclude the arrangement, discovered based on that flaw that I was ‘damaged’ financially. Issue Two was cancelled, and I now owed a newspaper

for ads which I had no means of paying. I, however, had creative products that I took to the newspaper. The Manager was a friend and as plain-spoken as any could be, so I presented the work to her, which if taken would contribute to easing my debt. She agreed that it was in comparison as good as what we knew from overseas. “BUT!” she related in that friendly, no malice meant, down-to-earth way, “ The people on the board of this newspaper would never allow that creole black people ting in this paper.”

I was disappointed but not shocked, because ‘The Shadow of the Jaguar’ was kicked out of Chronicle in early 1993 because as the late editor had told me, “We can’t have a black superhero, alone like that,” and before I had visited the Manager of this other paper I had also paid a courtesy call on the Sunday Editor on the very proposal who had informed me that the paper was a ‘Conservative Paper’ so they wouldn’t print my stuff that included an Afro-researched Biblical cartoon, ‘Thoth the Wandering Scribe’.

To go a little further back, before that paper was launched I had approached the owner with The JAGUAR and The MIGHTY ITANAMI strip. He looked at me and said, “Not in my newspaper” however, some years later when his paper was up and going he had called ACDA explaining that he wanted to produce a cartoon strip about a female Afro-vender whose husband had abandoned her and was struggling to make a living on the pave to mind her numerous children. I am a founder member of ACDA and they knew the story about his earlier rejection. ACDA assured him that they would picket his paper on his choice of the Afro-Guyanese story he wanted to tell. In fact, ACDA informed him that most of the women on the vending pave had husbands and life partners; the destitute, dysfunctional story was a collective stereotype.

The shaping of cultural industries for me opened doors that exist in the undercurrents of this society that were invisible in the day to day encounters between peoples, but are known, as the political, social and cultural conversations we hear, witness and understand, and then bury the real impetus in the pretentious postures of socialising. The roots of all this, however, will make great storytelling and drama with its comedy characters, nightmare creatures and malevolent twilight shapeshifters, that will outpour and eventually neutralise the secret doctrines that haunt us, then as products, copyrighted to the ethos and the economic benefits of the nation.

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

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Treating gum disease

ANYONE with recognised gum disease also called periodontal disease, even in the early stages, is well-advised not only to brush but also to floss the teeth thoroughly at least once a day, preferably twice a day.

By the same token, excessive brushing and flossing can be harmful. A woman with an immaculately clean mouth complained to me that her teeth were sensitive to cold water and brushing, even to breathing through her mouth. When she reported that she brushed five or six times a day, she was advised to brush no more than twice a day and to avoid scrubbing the necks of the teeth in a straight back and forth stroke. Within a few weeks, the sensitivity to cold and brushing disappeared.

Her problem resulted from her needlessly wearing down her enamel and dentin with the abrasives in toothpaste.

The primary objective of treating periodontal (gum) disease is to remove plaque from teeth and to keep free from returning once removed. This is known in dentistry as prophylaxis but called simply “cleaning” by patients. However, because plaque re-forms within 24 hours, only personal hygiene can keep it from re-establishing itself bearing in mind the effective control of plaque is the “ secret” to oral health. Because some people are more susceptible than others, not everyone may be required to practice prevention with the same diligence.

Similarly, there was a young man who never had a cavity. His gums were healthy, but tissue between the teeth was “punched out”. He had been advised to use dental floss. Figuring if a little floss was good, a lot was better, he tied knots in the string and pulled them through the teeth, destroying the interdental papilla, the triangular-shaped gum tissue that normally fills the space between the teeth. On cessation of this destructive flossing, the gum tissue gradually grew back to its normal shape.

Professional treatment for diagnosed periodontal disease is generally divided into nonsurgical and surgical phases. Antibiotics and antimicrobial chemicals are used for acute infections and supportive therapy.

Mechanical protective devices such as plastic occlusal guards relieve problems caused by compulsive grinding. Orthodontic realignment of teeth corrects severe and traumatic occlusion. Prosthetic appliances-fixed and removable bridges and splints-may be necessary to restore and stabilise teeth. And, of course, there is no substitute for personal

effort.

There are two major motivations for a person to practice good oral hygiene. They are to have sparkling clean teeth and wholesome breath, just like the chewing gum twins of the TV ads. Preventing periodontal disease, which requires an understanding and perhaps fear of its cause, is seldom foremost in the avid tooth brusher’s mind.

Primary prevention of periodontal disease requires good personal home care with particular emphasis on diligent daily tooth brushing and flossing. Once the disease has occurred, the same methods, supplemented by professional treatment and special devices and rinses, prevent further extension of the disease. While gingivitis is reversible gum disease which Over the years various brushing and flossing methods have advocated: this shape, that shape, soft bristles, hard bristles, waxed floss, unwaxed floss, and so on. Whenever we find such inconsistency among authorities, we can reasonably conclude that there is no one best way, but rather several modalities that work well.

As long as one brush without abrading, puncturing, or otherwise irritating the gums, one technique is probably as good as another, provided plaque is effectively removed.

Being a dentist for over twenty years has taught me that the best way to prevent and maintain oral health is to obey the Rule of Thoroughness. This Rule states that the total time spent cleaning the mouth during every 24 hours must be equal to the number of natural teeth in minutes. For example, if a person has 20 teeth he/she should spend at least 20 minutes everyday brushing, flossing, etc.

One should not scrub the teeth with a straight back-and-forth stroke because of the danger of wearing grooves along the necks of the teeth, the area at the gum line where the crown joins the root. Brushing from the gums to the tips of the teeth or with a circular motion removes most plaque without damaging the surfaces of teeth. However, plaque also forms beneath the gingival cuff. If the bristles are placed at a 45- degree angle at the neck of the tooth so that the tips slip under the cuff and the brush is then jiggled back and forth, newly-formed plaque can be removed from this covered area.

The average person takes less than a minute to brush his or her teeth and fails to remove two-thirds of plaque. While emphasising the importance of tooth and gum care in oral health, one should not ignore the tongue. A healthy tongue is smooth and pink Excessive smoking and coffee consumption can cause strains and irritate top surface. Mouth breathing, particularly during sleep, dries out the mouth, preventing adequate lubrication by saliva.

A dry mouth may leave the tongue with an unpleasant white coating of dead surface tissue cells that are normally washed away by saliva. As some people age, their tongues become fissured and the taste buds and other papillae on the top of the tongue grow longer, giving the appearance of the hairy surface. To eliminate stains and mouth odours emanating from the tongue, it should be cleaned daily with a soft nylon toothbrush.

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

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CARIFESTA time is here!

EVERY two years, countries of the Caribbean come together in a single space to showcase the rich and diverse culture that we possess within our relatively small geographic area. This space is the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA).

CARIFESTA XIV is being held in Trinidad and Tobago this year. It got underway on August 16 and will conclude on August 25. So that’s 10 days where some of the most creative minds in the Caribbean will congregate and hopefully lend to each other’s development.

A bit on the history of CARIFESTA- The festival has its underpinnings in the staging of the first Caribbean Festival of Arts in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1952. But, actual CARIFESTA began in 1972, right here in Guyana.

In 1972, a 60-member troupe from Jamaica’s National Dance Company led by one of the creative giants of the Caribbean, Rex Nettleford performed a folklore illustration at our very own National Cultural Centre (which was, by the way, unfinished at the time).

Since then, CARIFESTA has grown from strength to strength, with more countrieseven those outside of CARICOM- participating. And, it might just be one of the few actual successful attempts at regional integration (but that’s a story for another day).

This year alone, Guyana will be sending a delegation of 100-strong; some of the most talented dancers, artists, actors, writers and designers.

For me, I am particularly excited about the ‘Guyana Night’ presentation. Now at CARIFESTA, during one of the 10 nights, countries have a special segment dedicated solely to them illustrating the culture and

country-life encompassed within their borders. And for the first time, Guyana is taking a coordinated and integrated approach instead of just meshing all the genres into one presentation.

I was at the rehearsal for Guyana Night and what I saw was that the creative minds decided to portray the festivals found throughout the year into a few minutes. Added to that, the entire scene is set in the Stabroek Market Square, which, as you already know, is a kaleidoscope and cacophony of the diverse Guyanese culture.

And this Guyana Night is slated for tonight, August 18. Gentle plug: Check out the Guyana Chronicle (online and newspapers) for all the happenings at Guyana Night, and every other day of the CARIFESTA season.

Aside from the Guyana Night, the Guyanese delegates will be participating in 12 contingents: Visual Arts, Fashion, Symposia, Music, Literary Arts, Craft, Dance, Heritage, Culinary Arts, Film and Animation along with Drama and Masquerade.

These contingents have some of those very popular names you know about in the creative scene; like Mark Batson, Keon Haywood, Big Red and the like. And, the smallest contingent comprises of the three young writers, barely in their 20s. They are Scott Ting-A-Kee, Gabriella Mohamed and Darryl Goodchild.

More than just showcasing Guyanese creative arts, Keon Haywood- who has been to CARIFESTA a few

times before- noted that this forum provides an opportunity for Guyanese to learn from the other territories and improve on the local art scene here.

If we’re being honest, the creative field in Guyana is yearning for a chance to propel itself to acclaim. And to do that, much more support is needed. Just last weekend, two young guys (one of which was just 19 years old- my age!) organised an art exhibition, called Filling the Void, at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre. Now in its second year, the activity seeks to provide a space for people in the creative industry. Even so, at this event, artists lamented that the arts are not supported as much, as an industry, in Guyana.

Seventeen-year-old Latoya DaSilva was one who said that she does not believe that art is something that many people really support in Guyana, and resultantly, she is forced to paint just for fun most of the time. Her sentiments were not too different from those raised by stakeholders in the Guyana Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition (GVACE) and at the launch of the Guyana Annual Magazine. I wrote about this in a previous column- “Supporting the Arts in Guyana”.

So all-in-all CARIFESTA is a major platform for these local creatives to propel themselves and garner support from the crowds that are expected to be in the Twin Island Republic. And with the heavy social media coverage, perhaps we will see Guyanese creatives being duly recognised back home and abroad.

A youth with a passion for fashion FOR as long as he can remember, Mark Wong has always been passionate about fashion and has wanted to deliver the best-selling clothing to the Guyanese market.

Wong, who has his own brand called Wongie Tees, dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur in the apparel industry. “My passions are to market and deliver only the best-selling clothing in Guyana and also doing graphic edits because it challenges me to reveal my potential,” said Wong.

He intends on continuing to push himself to do better, in terms of having his business reach the peak of success.

“In five years I view myself as a very successful entre-

preneur helping others who were in the same position as I was; financially challenged and unmotivated,” he said.

Wong’s interest in fashion started after he found it difficult to be part of the “working system.”

With no quit in sight, he launched his own brand which is a very unique concept because it is based on Wong’s editing and photography talents. Wongie Tees specialises in designing t-shirts and hats.

His advice to young people who share similar aspirations is to find a way to become successful financially.

He encouraged young people to pursue their ideas and avoid sharing them with small-minded individuals who are not hungry for success.

Mark Wong

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

#SupportCreativity

By Subraj Singh

Trinidad I’M in Port of Spain for CARIFESTA XIV. I have not seen much of the city as yet, but being in Port of Spain is a dream come through. I have always aimed to travel here and earlier this year, I missed two opportunities to be here, which is why I am grateful that this CARIFESTA experience has come up. Trinidad has always been a part of my childhood lore. The country is such a close neighbour of ours that there were always stories about this place – coming from my grandfather, my neighbours, etc. In the beginning, the stories were the items that make up a child’s fancy – the pitch lake, saltfish buljol, and the concept of a ‘twin’ island were fascinating to me for some reason. Now as an adult, the allure is still there, but the reasons are different. I am fascinated with the country’s booming cultural landscape, the focus on the literary arts, and the way the nation has become an iconic representation of what it means to be Caribbean. I plan on making the most of my stay here, and of course, there will be an emphasis on the literary and theatrical things to do here.

I am a part of the Performing Arts contingent, which includes the National Drama Company of Guyana. We are due to perform several theatrical productions that by now have probably familiar to the Guyanese public, but are unknown to the people of Trinidad. Having an oeuvre of work that can be taken around to different countries is an essential element of theatre groups and companies because it reduces the stress and workload of constant creativity for the sake of creativity. It is okay to hone and have sharp, intelligent, beautiful pieces that can be put on display whenever called upon, even as other work is given its due time to develop and grow in the background.

One of the plays that we will be staging is Al Creighton’s dramatisation of Wordsworth McAndrew’s poem, “Ole Higue.”

This is an important performance because it’s one of the first pieces coming out of the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama. It is a rhythmic, poetic ode to both McAndrew, our folklore, and the art of theatre itself, displaying spools of cloth and using them in numerous ways and relying on the ritualistic Caribbean technique of using actors as set pieces. Added to that is also the central dynamic performance of the ole higue, which has always been played by the extremely talented Tashandra Inniss.

Another play that we will staging is that of “Stickfight,” also directed by Al Creighton. This one highlights the stickfighting tradition, which was popular in various parts of the Caribbean throughout history. Filled with song and choreography, this short play presents a battle between the ‘King’ and the ‘Pretender,’ with appearances from other Caribbean characters such as the ‘Queen of the Carnival’ and ‘Death’ and ‘Dancer Boy.’ It is an opulent affair, rich in music, dance, and drama.

Sonia Yarde’s “Baccoo” will also be staged. This is a very short but effective play that dramatises the passing on of our stories to the future generations, while also highlighting an important folk figure from Guyanese folklore.

Rounding out the performances are “The Tadjah,” written

by Nicholas Singh and directed by Esther Hamer. This one is important because it is one of the very few Guyanese plays that highlights some segment of the Muslim experience. It tells the story of Hussain and Yazid, which is one that is crucial to an understanding of Islam. “Laugh of the Marble Queen” written and directed by Subraj Singh will also be staged, in the hopes that it gets the reception that is has received in Guyana. The play is a postcolonial drama that highlights several of the connections between Guyana’s history and very modern issues that plague the country. It aims to showcase many of the ways in which we have not managed to move forward from the colonial issues that stem from our colonial history.

The National Drama Company has been rehearsing for months. We have also been making props, costumes, set pieces, in addition to other rehearsals to dance, musical performances and poetry are either integrated into our performances or meant to be stand-alone pieces. Furthermore, this is a great opportunity for us to show the cultural hub of Trinidad all that the National Drama Company of Guyana is capable of.

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

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The majesty of the man L.F.S. Burnham

By Elvin Carl Croker

“He was a brilliant man, a futuristic thinker, a man of honour, having integrity and a high degree of discipline.” These were the words used by His his Excellency President David Granger to describe the late L.F.S. Burnham when he addressed the gathering on the occasion of the 34th death anniversary of the former President held on August 6 at the Mausoleum, Place of Heroes in the Botanical Gardens.

At the occasion, the Pepperpot Magazine sought from two attendees, Eugene Gilbert and Oscar Clarke, their comments on how Guyana’s first Prime Minister, Executive President and founder of the People’s National Congress (PNC) impacted their lives and what his life meant to them.

National Director of Community Development, Eugene Gilbert that Burnham saw in him potential he did not know he had.

“I don’t know what potential he probably saw in me, but he appointed me as a Member of Parliament of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana at age 23,” he said.

He went on to say that Burnham had great confidence in young people and in his humble opinion Burnham is the most transformative figure of Guyana.

“Under his leadership, we built on the national ethos of unity and amity promoting education as a foundational tool,” he said.

Gilbert, who said he was serving as the National Chairman of the Young Socialist Movement (YSM) at the time of Burnham’s death, believes the reason the founder leader was very enthused with young people was because he had become a minister of government at 30 and having died at 62, the impact he has made in Guyana needs to be recognised.

Another attendee said Burnham is an extraordinary leader that cannot be duplicated and a man of the people.

Meanwhile, longstanding People’s National Congress (PNC) member and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown, Oscar Clarke said he was just 26 when Burnham called him to serve.

He opined that Burnham is a legend and that for this country there is no other leader that we had since him that can compare with him.

“Burnham identified me, brought me in, gave me an opportunity as a young man. For me, he was my mentor, my leader and he will remain indelibly etched in my mind as the greatest thing this country has seen in poli-

tics; he was a political wizard,” Clarke said.

Cleark added that the founder leader had entrusted in him the responsibility of setting up the National Youth Corps in 1967 in Tumatumari.

According to Encyclopedia.com, as head of the government of Guyana, Burnham is credited with a number of developments: “Guyana’s National Emblems the Golden Arrowhead; the coat of arms; the anthem, “Dear Land of Guyana;” the Canje pheasant, Guyana’s national bird; the national flower, the Victoria Regia Lily, one of the largest of its kind in the world; and the motto “One Nation, One People, One Destiny”—were instituted and are symbols of his legacy. It was his administration that created the national monuments acknowledging outstanding local and international figures, such as the 1763 monument erected to honour Cuffy, and the Non-Aligned Movement Monument with busts of Nasser (Egypt), Nkrumah (Ghana), Nehru (India), and Tito (Yugoslavia). The Burnham administration also recognised ethnic-religious events, such as Phagwah and Diwali festivals, along with Mashramani, a national festival, and they were established as public holidays.

National development in education, health, housing, pure water and electricity supplies, and youth schemes accelerated when Burnham headed Guyana’s government. Major construction works such as the Soesdyke-Linden highway, the West De-

merara, Corentyne and Mahdia roads, and the international airport, Timehri, were completed. He implemented resettlement schemes to relocate persons to hinterland locations.

The Demerara Harbour Bridge, reputedly, the world’s longest floating bridge, and the textile mill and clay brick factories became operational during Burnham’s tenure.

The National Insurance Scheme, the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana National Service, the Guyana National Cooperative Bank, the Agricultural Bank, Critchlow Labour College, Kuru Kuru Cooperative College, President’s College, the National Cultural Centre, and a host of other enterprises are among institutions established during Burnham’s time in office.

Forbes Burnham advocated regionalism, nonalignment, a new international economic order, and a new world information order.

He made Guyana one of the original members of the Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA) that in 1973 became the Caribbean Community and Common

Market (CARICOM), with most Caribbean countries. Burnham supported a West Indies Federation as leader of the opposition and as head of the PNC. He was also a keen supporter of the struggle against apartheid

in South Africa and of liberation movements in Africa.

Honours and awards attest to Burnham’s significance and stature. They include the Order of Excellence in 1973 (Guyana), the Grand Cordon of L’Orde du Nil (Egypt) and Jose Marti (Cuba) in 1975, an honorary doctorate of laws from Dalhousie University (Canada) in 1977, the Cruzeiro De Sul (the highest award in Brazil) in 1983, the Bulgarian Star of Planinay in 1984, and Yugoslavia’s Order of the Red Star in 1985.”

As the leader of Guyana for two decades, Forbes Burnham shaped this country’s political destiny.

Born on February 20, 1923, in Kitty, Georgetown, Burnham’s twenty-one-year rule ended on August 6, 1985, when he died of heart failure during throat surgery but his works live on.

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

NAREI’s NPPO Department

THIS week NAREI in Focus will look at the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) that is tasked with protecting Guyana’s agriculture from the introduction and establishment of exotic plant pests whilst ensuring exported agricultural commodities conform to the Phytosanitary requirements of importing countries; enforcing the “Plant Protection Act” and ensuring Guyana’s compliance with the International Phytosanitary Requirements for trade.

What are our objectives?

To facilitate trade and increase our competitiveness for trade on the world market as well as protect Guyana’s agriculture from the introduction of exotic pests and diseases.

What are our functions? * The enforcement of the plant protection act of 2011, chapter 68:03 * Inspection of Agricultural commodities for import and export. * Issuing of phytosanitary certificates * Conducting surveys and surveillance for pests and diseases * Conducting farm /facility certification How can this department help you? * Inspect Agricultural commodities: to ensure compliance with international phytosanitary requirements when exporting and importing. * Pest Risk Analysis: is conducted to ensure that agricultural and other regulated commodities entering the country do not pose a threat to Guyana’s agriculture. * Provide pest list to potential importing countries: The NPPO has responsibility for providing, countries upon request a list of all pest and disease that are indigenous to Guyana and are of quarantine importance. This pest list provides information which is used by the importing country to conduct a pest risk analysis to enable the entry of commodities into that country.

Please check our website narei.org.gy for the documents listed below. * Application for Import Inspection * Application for Import Permit * Plant Protection Act 2011 * Plant Protection Regulations

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

LAST week I wrote a bit on HIV and AIDS while debunking a few ‘popular’ myths.

This week, I will discuss the impact that HIV can have on one’s mental health and some tips to better it.

Considering that mental health refers to a person’s overall emotional, psychological and social well-being, it is not surprising that it would be affected by such a diagnosis.

While absolutely anyone can suffer from mental health problems, those with HIV/ AIDS are more at risk. For example, people living with HIV are twice as likely to develop depression as those who do not have HIV. The typical warning signs of someone who is developing mental health issues are persistent sadness, loss of self-esteem, feeling hopeless or helpless, isolation and suicidal thoughts. These symptoms are also very common among those who have recently been diagnosed with HIV so the correlation is clearly visible.

HIV/AIDS imposes a significant psychological burden with the shortened life expectancy, complicated treatment plans, stigmatization/discrimination, and loss of social support from family or friends that typically comes along with the diagnosis. If you are living with HIV, you probably get tons of advice on how to physical stay healthily while emotional health is overlooked. This is a shame as such a diagnosis typically brings forth a variety of emotions such as anger,

HIV and Mental Health

sadness, regret, resentment, and even denial.

One of the most common issues is the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS. This is difficult to deal with, especially if it comes from a lack of understanding from your loved ones.

Remember that mental health issues can cause additional issues such as mood disorders, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts – all of which can affect your adherence to your required treatment plan - so your best effort should be put forth to prevent these from happening.

In well-being, there are three basics, eating well, sleeping well and exercise; it is nearly impossible to have good mental health without these three things, especially since they play off each other. For example, those who eat and sleep well are more likely to have the energy and motivation to exercise; those who exercise are more likely to sleep well and so on- All factors which affect our mood and energy levels.

Learn everything you can about your illness. There are a lot of myths that make an

HIV/AIDS diagnosed individual feel helpless and hopeless but the more you learn, the more you can do – and the better you feel. Be aware of possible complications which can make you feel in control of your body again.

Never hesitate to reach out to the right loved ones, the ones who offer support without any judgement. These are the greatest source of help and support.

Avoid alcohol and other drugs as these tend to cause additional mental health issues over time and may also interfere with your treatment regimen. Instead, find healthy coping skills that relax and interest you that also acts as a distraction from any negative thoughts which may occur. Remember, how people cope is essential to how they function.

Start a support group with anyone else you know living with HIV. A support group is one of like-minded individuals with the same intention and goals, who reach out and give support to one another. This is a very overwhelming time and the more support, the better and remember, you are not alone.

Seek professional help like a social work-

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er, psychologist or psychiatrist If you have access to the internet, there are some anonymous online groups that offer support. Use websites such as NAM and healthtalk which can guide you through the first few weeks and months after your diagnosis. They can offer advice and insight into how other people have coped with an HIV diagnosis and how it has affected their lives.

If you have a loved one who is HIV positive, talk to them but listen more. They have not changed and may still want to connect with you in the same ways they did before their diagnosis, which does not define who they are. Learn what it is and how it’s transmitted to be more comfortable if need be. Encourage treatment (if the conversation goes there) and offer to accompany them to any medical appointments they may have.

Support their medication adherence as this can be quite low in newly diagnosed individuals. Finally, simply ask what other needs they may have that you can support and cater to. Reassure them that your relationship has not and will not change- through both your words and actions.

Thank you for reading and please continue to write into caitlinvieira@gmail. com and let me know what you would like to talk about. Suicide Helpline numbers – 223-0001, 223-0009, 623-4444 or 600-7896.

Say Yes to Life and No to Drugs! Always

Are you burning your waste?

LAST week we spoke about the importance of the safe management of hazardous waste and what is required under the Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. This week, we will continue the theme of waste management and will focus on the burning of waste, a growing problem which poses significant negative impacts on human health and the environment. The burning of waste sometimes referred to as opening burning or backyard burning, is an environmentally poor waste management option. You may have had the disturbing experience of being in your home when suddenly everything is in a cloud of smoke. As we travel through communities all across Guyana, we often can see thick smoke billowing, fires near electric poles, sometimes causing worry that a home is on fire. Open fires are dangerous to public health and the environment. Waste commonly burned at or nearby homes and business premises may include paper, cardboard, textiles, plastics, household and industrial chemicals, food,

and yard clippings.

Why do people burn their trash? The excuses may range from the high cost of garbage disposal services in their community to the absence of these services or not wanting to haul their waste to local disposal sites. Nowadays, except for some rural areas, many communities have access to relatively low-cost garbage pickup services. Some people, though, may simply not understand the dangers of burning their waste and thus see it as an easy cost-effective method.

Burning waste is a health hazard. Burning waste can result in the release of highly toxic pollutants into your home or environment and some people are at greater risk of being affected. Pollutants include particulate matter, nitric oxides, dioxins and many other dangerous chemicals. Some particulate emissions that are commonly found in smoke are small enough to enter the respiratory system. This means that you can simply breathe in dangerous fine particles. Contact with pollutants that can have immediate effects such as rashes, nausea and headaches, and long term health effects such as asthma, emphysema and other respiratory illnesses, nervous system, kidney, or liver damage, and reproductive or developmental disorders.

Dioxins can be produced in harmful quantities during burning. Dioxins are a group of hundreds of chemically-related compounds that are persistent environmental pollutants (POPs). These chemicals are members of three closely related families, chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (CDDs), chlorinated dibenzofurans (CDFs) and certain polychlorinated

biphenyls (PCBs). CDFs and CDDs are not usually created intentionally but as a result of human activities such as burning household garbage. Some types of dioxins may result from natural processes such as forest fires. According to the US EPA, Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system, and can interfere with hormones. These compounds though not present in the materials before they are burnt, are produced and introduced into the environment. Pollutants are then released at the ground level where they can be readily inhaled, deposited on plants and released into waterways and can enter the food chain. More dioxins are produced in a burn barrel as compared to large incinerators because of low oxygen and lower temperature.

Open fires are especially dangerous near populated areas, highways, airports, healthcare facilities and other smoke-sensitive areas. Children, older people and people with heart problems and respiratory ailments like asthma are sensitive to these pollutants.

Burning also threatens natural resources and contributes to climate change; harmful contaminants from burning affect water, air, wildlife, and natural habitats and can destroy soil nutrients and reduce fertility. When surface runoff increases after burning, it may carry suspended soil particles, dissolved inorganic nutrients, and other materials into adjacent trenches, streams and lakes reducing water quality. Smoke from the burning of vegetation consists of small particles (particulate) of ash, partly consumed fuel, and liquid

droplets. Other combustion products include invisible gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, and small quantities of nitrogen oxides. These substances when present in the atmosphere are powerful greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. There is an even greater risk of fires under the warm temperatures and decreased rainfall that we sometimes experience; we should, therefore, avoid setting fires in vegetated areas and immediately put out fires that start spontaneously.

The Environmental Protection Agency encourages citizens to desist from the unauthorised burning of waste. To dispose of waste by incineration requires an environmental permit. It is an offence under the Environmental Protection (Air Quality) regulations, to emit any air contaminant related to industry, commerce, agriculture, or any institution, without approval from the EPA with penalties ranging from $75, 000 to $500, 000 and to imprisonment for six months. Contact your local authority about safe and proper waste disposal methods. Be vigilant and exercise caution when around open fires. Use caution when disposing of smoking materials or open flames like barbeque and cooking fireside.

Permits can be obtained through the Environmental Protection Agency Offices at Ganges Street Sophia, Georgetown or Whim Village, Berbice.

To report fires relating to the burning of waste please call your local NDC or the EPA on 225-5471-2/225-6048. You can also email us at epa@epaguyana.org or send us a message on Facebook.

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International Youth Day 2019 I remember the first time I heard of the term, ‘International Youth Day’. I was on the Youth Ambassadors programme in the year 2016 and while we were staying in Vermont. Our mentor asked for us to make a short gift to wish Guyana’s youth a ‘Happy International Youth Day’. I was a Youth Ambassador but I’m also forthcoming enough to admit that I was a bit naive. I did not realise how important and how impactful it was until I grew mindful

of the fact that people like me (youth) are true gems and change agents of our world.

While August 12 may have seemed like a normal day to many, it was actually observed as International Youth Day. As a youth columnist and activist, I find it quite fitting to write on this day and its meaning given its recent observation. Many people might confuse International Youth Day with World Youth Day, while both are of much importance— they are not the same. World Youth Day was developed by the Catholic

Church and is celebrated on Palm Sundays. It is celebrated to invite youth to celebrate their faith and accept Jesus’ love while International Youth Day was developed by the United Nations to bring awareness to the many social ills our young people face around the world.

This year, the observance centred around the theme; “transforming education”. This theme sought to enlighten the world on the thousands of initiatives done globally to transform, reform and even abolish educational systems to suit the youths of today. As many of you may know, the Sustainable Developmental Goals are set by the United Nations to ensure many of the world’s ills are reduced and even become extinct by the year 2030. This year’s theme for International Youth Day was also tied to the SDGs as it sought to highlight all youth-related activities, organisations and even private and governmental projects worldwide.

In present day, the world has more young people than it has ever seen before. In Guyana, the efforts of both the Government and organisations such as Youth Action Network, Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, Come Alive Network, Youth for Human Rights, St. Francis Community Developers and many others play an integral role in youth development. I cannot stress enough the importance education has on the future successes of our country. From the primary schools, all the way up to tertiary education, the quality of education our young people receive influences their ability to succeed and automatically make our country better in all stages of life. While the quality is important, it makes no sense we have quality education and our youngsters do not have the ability or resources to access it. Luckily, initiatives such as the ‘Five Bs’ project, free stationery to the less fortunate from your local youth groups and even local/international scholarships to students helps to bridge the gap between wanting to receive education and actually receiving it.

If there is one thing my mother taught me, it was that nobody can ever take away my education. By giving young people a platform to learn, comprehend and automatically better themselves—you in return better our society. The theme focuses on ‘transforming education’ and surely our country needs to take heed to the world around us. Guyana needs to keep up with the times and mend gaps between our educational systems. If we don’t, our youngsters will ‘slip’ between those very gaps and we as a country will fail them.

Our classrooms should be more advanced with technology (tablets, computers, projectors, speakers); it should be learner-friendly and clean at all times and students should always be able to voice their opinions and ideas. A classroom should be more than just four walls and a few benches, teachers need to be equipped with the necessary items to make learning easier. Most importantly, ALL schools in Guyana should have a guidance counsellor and/or academic advisor to help guide students along their way. There have been many times where I felt like I was about to have a break-down due to studying and stress in high school, not to mention my exam anxieties.

Perhaps, my high school experience would have been better if I had a professional counsellor/advisor to seek help from.

“Education is not a tool for development- individual, community and the nation. It is the foundation for our future. It is the empowerment to make choices and emboldens the youth to chase their dreams” is an anonymous quote I found while researching for this topic and I couldn’t agree more. Guyana’s future is in the hands of our youths and education can make that future even brighter!

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The Pergola Restaurant hosted summer cooking classes

Beyond the Runway with Dr. Sonia Noel ... Inspiring lives through fashion IT is always so energising and refreshing to go to the countryside in Guyana. The Mahaica Women’s Group invited me for their fun day on the holiday last Monday. I had a blast looking at them cooking shine rice and metemgee on the fireside. Debbie Argyle, who heads the group, invited me to interact with the young women and men from Mahaica and Plaisance. Watching them convert a Coca Cola bottle to play football and the kids playing Hop Scotch brought back fond memories of my childhood in Bartica. Interacting with our future leaders always increases my adrenaline flow and I LOVE IT! We chatted about the things they are aspiring for the future. I encouraged them to be intentional about their actions that have consequences and don’t accept negative labels society may want to put on them because God created them with special talents and gifts.

I enjoyed the sugar dumplings, conkie , cassava pone and mauby.

This week let’s focus on the young people and the people who are nurturing them.

In July, The Pergola Restaurant hosted its first Kids Cooking and Baking Classes 2019 facilitated by Chef Kester Robinson.

The programmes were aimed at empowering, inspiring and sharing with the young minds while creating a space where the students can be themselves and enjoy what they were being thought.

“My goal is to nourish them from a young age, while they’re at that sponge stage to soak up as much knowledge.

I wanted to help the students to be more cultured and exposed to different cooking styles and cuisines; to excite their palettes in trying new dishes and opening up creativity in cooking and baking. The classes were also aimed at lifestyle changes in their day to day diet. We support only local juices and prepared meals that were healthier. Surprising, the students tOOK note of their sugars, oils and salt intake with a mindset to be healthy.”

Cooking classes included food and sanitation safety, knife techniques, fire preventative methods.

Different cooking styles and cuisines The students were exposed to cooking oyster, clams, calamari, tenderloin, deboning chicken breast etc. Kids made breakfast items: pancake, waffles, omeletteS, muffins, sweetbreads, French toast. Baking classes did cakes, pastries, eclairs, cookies, etc.

The other class is going on today and the kids’ age ranged from 5 to 15 and they are super excited.

I have always been impressed with Kester because I collaborated with him on a project when he was in Carnegie and when he returned from his studies in Trinidad. I dined at his restaurant (The Pergola ) a few times and the food and presentation were amazing in a cozy environment. I am not surprised he has embarked on this journey because he is always willing to give and share his knowledge.

Let’s continue to acknowledge the people who are making a difference in others’ lives as we continue to celebrate this journey called life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.

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YouTube Discriminates Against LGBT Content by Unfairly Culling It, Suit Alleges A group of LGBT video creators is accusing YouTube of discriminating by suppressing its content, restricting its ability to sell advertising and culling its subscribers, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday evening against the video site and its parent, Google.

The suit adds to allegations against the video streaming site - by far the world’s largest, with nearly 2 billion monthly viewers - that it enforces its policies unevenly and gives a pass to producers with large audiences, even when their content is hostile to gay, lesbian or other communities.

The discrimination alleged in the lawsuit is “embedded in the business model” of YouTube, said Peter Obstler, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs and a partner at law firm Browne George Ross, in an interview Tuesday evening. “By controlling an estimated 95 percent of the public video communications that occur in the world, Google and YouTube wield unparalleled power and unfettered discretion to apply viewpoint-based content policies in a way that permits them to pick winners and losers.”

The suit by five LGBT creators, filed in federal court in San Jose, says YouTube deploys “unlawful content regulation, distribution, and monetisation practices that stigmatise, restrict, block, demonetise, and financially harm the LGBT Plaintiffs and the greater LGBT Community.”

“Our policies have no notion of sexual orientation or gender identity and our systems do not restrict or demonetise videos based on these factors or the inclusion of terms like ‘gay’ or ‘transgender,’ “ said YouTube spokesman Alex Joseph, in an emailed statement. He added that YouTube quickly removes content deemed to include hate speech and terminates accounts that repeatedly run afoul of its policies.

As the leading video platform, YouTube wields tremendous power to make or break creators, who have few other options to turn to. It can pull levers to promote content it favours or to bury videos it seems less desirable. And because the software running YouTube is kept secret, creators are often left guessing when their content is suppressed.

The LGBT creators allege YouTube’s software algorithms, as well as its human reviewers, single out and remove content that features words common in the LGBT community, such as “gay,” “lesbian” or “bisexual” and has caused them to lose advertising revenue.

One of the lawsuit’s allegations, that YouTube has a near monopoly over video content online, wades into a debate heating up in Washington. Antitrust regulators are reviewing whether Google and other tech companies have amassed too much power. The lawsuit alleges that it has.

According to the suit, Google “used their monopoly power over content regulation to selectively apply their rules and restrictions in a manner that allowed them to gain an unfair advantage to profit from their own content to the detriment of its consumers.”

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that moderators for YouTube are trained to treat the most popular video producers differently than others by, for instance, allowing hateful speech to remain on the site while enforcing their policies more stringently against creators with fewer followers. YouTube denied the claims.

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English

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Dear Student, Be encouraged once again to keep a diary or a notebook to monitor your progress, commenting upon how well you are coping, and noting points you wish to be remembered. Note down ideas and information as they occur and transfer them later to revision cards or revision notebooks. Plan the next day’s work on the evening before.

Do make a conscious effort to streamline your study. Be careful!

Love you GRAMMAR The correct Verb and Subject By now you should have a clear understanding that your subjects and their verbs ought to agree in person and number. Anyway, look at the following sentences. They are correctly structured.

The first three structures need no explanation.

1. Doodly and Shirley are absent.

2. The lost tweezers have now been found. Another pair was bought yesterday by the responsible worker.

Use a singular verb with these indefinite pronouns: another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, one, somebody, someone.

3. Was either here yesterday?

4. Everybody has gone.

When two or more singular subjects are joined by or or nor, use a singular verb; if the subjects are plural, use a plural verb; if the subjects vary in number, use a verb that agrees with the nearest subject.

5. Either my Mommy or Daddy is usually here to pick me up.

6. Neither of the teams nor their trainers have seen today’s paper.

7. No tweezers, screwdriver, or needle was left behind.

If the subject is all, more, most, part, some; a fraction; or a percent and is followed by an “of” phrase, use a verb that agrees with the object in that phrase.

8. Twenty-four percent of the co-op. farmers own huge farmlands.

9. Fifty percent of the gasoline was lost overnight because of the faulty drum cover.

10. More of this matter needs explaining to the younger grandchildren.

11. Some of the produce has been given to poor families.

12. Most of these August days have been rainy.

13. Part of the party goers are leaving.

14. Most of the good wine was left for the Second Sunday gathering of close relatives.

Do not be misled by an introductory there.

It is not the subject.

15. There are no errors. (Errors, the plural subject, needs the plural are.)

If a predicate nominative differs in num-

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

ber from the subject, make the verb agree with the subject, not the predicate nominative.

16. My favourite gift is boutonWhat is a weed? A plant whose virtues nieres. have not been discovered.

17. Boutonnieres are my favourite gift.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON (1803Use a singular verb with com1882) Fortune of the Republic pound subjects modified by a singular indefinite adjective. An indefinite adjective is an adjective that describes a person, place or thing, vases that held corn, are put in museums but but in nonspecific or vague in manner. Other they know they were made to be used. examples are few and several.

The pitcher cries for water to carry 18. Each day and hour is important. and a person for work that is real.

(Each is the indefinite adjective here.)

(Marge Piercy’s “To Be of Use”) 19. Every father and mother was there.

SOMETHING TO DO (Every is the indefinite adjective here.)

1. What in your experience parallels the poem’s thought? Discuss the thought with THE PASSAGE persons you know who have worked to overThe people I love the best come a real, perplexing situation, be it studyjump into work head first ing for an examination or building a house. without dallying in the shallows 2. What is meant by a “parlour general”? and swim off with sure strokes almost Secretly name a few to yourself. out of sight.

3. Explain the line: “The work of the They seem to become natives of that world is as common as mud.” element, 4. Write a short story inspired by this fathe black sleek heads of seals mous American poet, Marge Piercy’s poem bouncing like half-submerged balls. to capture reader interest.

I love people who harness themselves, s ox to a heavy cart, READING for FACTS who pull like water buffalo, with massive A seeing eye dog must be intelligent and patience, who strain in the mud and the muck very well trained. He must behave most like to move things forward, who do what has to a human being with good eyes who is leadbe done, again and again. ing a blind man. When the dog comes to the I want to be with people who submerge curb of the sidewalk, he stops for a moment in task, who go into the fields to harvest so that his master will not stumble. If he and work in a row and pass the bags comes to a hole, he leads his master around along, who stand in the line and haul in their it. Another dog might simply jump across paces, who are not parlour generals and field it. He must notice low branches of trees and deserters, but move in a common rhythm make sure that his master does not bump his when the food must come in or when the fire head against them. If he sees any traffic that must be put out. is dangerous, he stops, even if he has to disThe work of the world is common as mud. obey a command to go on. He must learn to Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles lead his master wherever he may wish to go. to dust. But the thing worth doing well done Exercise: Note pointers mentioned has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident in the paragraph and then say what the Greek amphoras for wine or oil. Hopi paragraph is about.

Chronicle Pepperpot August 18, 2019

Custard / Milk Icicle

INGREDIENTS 1 can evaporated milk 2 can water ( the same milk can ( 1/8 of a 3 ounce packet of Custard Powder ( half of a quarter pkt ) 1/2 pound sugar Icicle bags METHOD 1. in a pot heat the 1 can evaporated milk and 1 can water 2. dilute the custard powder in the other can water, add sugar and the essence 3. mix well and add to the water and milk mixture on stove.

4. mix well and bring to a boil 5. as soon as it comes to a boil remove from stove and let cool 6. once cooled off, fill into bags using a funnel, remember to leave enough room to tie the bags after filling them.

7. freeze and enjoy realniceguyana.com

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