I was asked on numerous occasions to attend and present a paper at the Diaspora Conference hosted by administrators and supporters of the Community College of Guyana (CCG). My re-labelling of this institution is not meant to be derogative; and actually, the re-labelling speaks to progression, albeit limited in some academic circles.
I appreciate the label ‘Community College of Guyana’, as opposed to ‘Guyana Community College’. My reason is simple: I rather put the community first and the nation second, although technically both are really world communities, one larger than the other.
History has taught me that the entire notion of a Guyanese nation has been rather challenging to govern. Guyana is the most difficult country in the Caribbean to govern. Guyana is ungovernable around the time of general elections. May I suggest that sound leadership, which the Diaspora Conference is aiming to achieve, starts from the bottom up, in an attempt to at least move away from nepotism and embrace the trove of subalternism?
That being said, on every occasion I was asked to present a paper at this Diaspora Conference, I humbly declined. I would have presented a paper if certain questions were answered and if certain things were to happen. The questions are: (1) how much money was spent on the inauguration of Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith? I believe 17 million Guyanese dollars is an inaccurate figure. It is more than that, perhaps double when perks and other niceties are factored in.
Griffith has to come clean on this, because right now thousands of sugar workers, vendors, shopkeepers, unemployed youths and the like are experiencing a difficult time trying to make ends meet.
(2) How much money did the current regime give to this conference, and where exactly was this money spent? Some of this money could have been used to curb the prison problems. One person called me and said, “Man, the escapees are in Berbice now, perhaps looking to go over to Suriname backtrack.”
Now, if certain things were to happen: (1) If the conference were to be held somewhere else, preferably in a sans-culotte neighbourhood, I would have attended it; not to present, but to listen how these fakes are talking about how they have Guyana at heart. (2) I would have also attended the conference if it were held in a working class neighbourhood, to see how these presenters handle the idea of what it is like to live and invest in Guyana. I am sure they would realize that Guyana is a far cry from what the ministers and supporters of this conference are spewing in their keynote addresses, and a far cry from the Renaissance (rebirth, revival) pamphlet emanating from CCG. Oh no, we are not in France, but Guyana. Why in the world would anyone in the developing world want to title a magazine from a so-called academic institution ‘Renaissance’? Rebirth of what? American trends, because the head honcho has spent most of the past three decades in academic institutions in the Colossus North, with a rather questionable record. You see, when you want your own to be in the position of leadership, background checks are a waste of time. Just Google the man’s name and you will find reports readily available on him, which in any normal situation and institution would have stopped the hiring process.
This Renaissance title might have been a rebirth of himself, but certainly it is exactly what the developing world has tried to avoid. This is not only mimicking, Naipaul’s labelling, but is plagiarism.
If you think the title ‘Renaissance’ is absurd, check out this list of presenters: Hinds, Phillips, Granger, Bristol, and the list goes on from the current regime. On the programme is also about 30 percent of the presenters from the University of Guyana, their label. I am sure the tenor committee, the promotion committee, and the perks committee would recognize these presenters from the UG when they submit their package for this and that.
Is this academic inbreeding? I am forced to ask: What is the true purpose of this conference? Somehow, Kissoon is not on the programme. He believes the institution owes him his back pay. Please pay the man his money, otherwise I will have to read about this for a long time to come.
Is it too late to have a panel from Kissoon by Kissoon and about Kissoon’s back pay and so on?
What is so unsettling about this conference is that it shows a preference for one particular ethnic group, aligned more with the Granger PNC-led coalition. Please do not tell me that you could not find more tokens from one ethnic group. I commend Dr. Kumar Mahabir for being there, but I doubt the President, Vice-Chancellor, Phillips, Hinds and so on would be present during his presentation.
Finally, while I wait to read the President’s keynote address, my heart is with the disadvantaged across this country: sugar workers, vendors, the unemployed, the risk groups, etc. Nothing meaningful would be said about them, other than how they would be mobilized into supporting this diaspora initiative. ([email protected])
