Dear Editor,
The last time I spoke to Comrade Komal Chand was a day or two before he departed for Cuba. He had told me his health was not improving and he was going to get some help from Cuba. I told him I agreed fully and wished him the best.
I followed his case from here and my heart sank when I heard that he was declining. Then on the morning of April 8, I heard that he had passed. I was really shaken, even though the news was not unexpected.
Komal and I go back a long time. I first met him in 1967. He was already a member of the PPP for a few years and a leader of the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO). He was already quite experienced, having worked with his brother Dalchand and Fenton Ramsahoye in the 1961 and 1964 General Elections.
We became close personal friends in the 1972/73 period when we spent six months together in Moscow and later when he worked at Freedom House, filling in for Cde Clement Rohee, who had gone abroad to study.
Komal and I went on a few delegations together. In 1996 he and I, with Cde Janet Jagan, visited the People’s Republic of China. It was for Janet a return visit since 1960 and it was our first visit there.
In 1975, Old Year’s Day, I spent the day with him as the recognition poll, which GAWU fought so long and hard for, had finally come through. The GAWU won more than 90 per cent of the votes.
From that day until the end of his life, he dedicated himself to the working people of this country. His working-class convictions were unshakeable and he rose to become the head of the union.
In that position, he served the workers and trade unions of this country with dedication.
I have had the good fortune of serving with him during many historical meetings. One of the big fights was the strike in 1989 when sugar and bauxite workers led the resistance against the budget which saw workers being pauperised overnight. I was with him during many negotiations in the formation of FITUG.
Komal showed a lot of courage. He went to Linden in 1989 when workers were hostile to their unions because of the calling off of the 1989 strike. It was he, more than any other, who was able to explain to the workers the need to end that strike at that time and to convince the workers there that it was not a “sell out”.
Apart from his trade union activities, I know he had a deep interest and likeness for international affairs. We together with many of our generation nicknamed him “Henry”. That was after the famous US Secretary of State Henry Kissenger. It was a passion that he never lost.
That love for international affairs, I believe, came from his close association with Cheddi Jagan. The numerous analysis we heard from Cheddi, who always linked the national and international in his political analysis. It was from the previous generation of PPP leaders that engrained the importance of solidarity in our ranks.
Komal took part in solidarity activities for Vietnam, during the national liberation war that the heroic people of Vietnam fought. He was active in solidarity with South Africa during the anti-apartheid struggle and with Portuguese, Africa, Angola, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau. Indeed, he made friends with some who took a leadership position in those movements. He was also on the streets demonstrating his solidarity with Angela Davis and the Solidad Brothers in the US. The fight for equality in the United States. He was a great friend to Cuba and the Soviet Union. He did quite a lot for peace and disarmament as well.
On a personal level, he got on and was liked even by his opponents. Harrinarine Nawbat, who was a member of the PSU, recalled to me the engagements Komal had with Forbes Burnham at receptions. Burnham used to call him the “suave one”. Unknowingly, Burnham was recognising his Kissenger-like diplomatic credentials.
Another story that stuck with me was one of his encounters with Desmond Hoyte. Shortly after Hoyte became President, he had invited Komal to a dinner he had with GuySuCo’s directors and senior managers. In his remarks at the dinner, I’m told, Hoyte stated that when he asked Harold Davis Snr what was the problem in the sugar industry, Davis told him the weather and a short man named Komal Chand. That was a recognition of Komal’s determined fight for the welfare of workers everywhere, the sugar workers in particular.
At a personal level, he had many other qualities and talents that were admirable. He was a very good mechanic. Not only practically but he did a correspondence course so he was both in theory and practice an excellent mechanic. He loved cows, I believed that trait came from his father. He always had a few heads of cattle that he got milk, etc from. He had also used his animals to provide him with bio-gas to satisfy his domestic needs.
He was a man of many talents. However, his dedication to the welfare of the working class was predominant in his character. His work in the trade union movement was tremendous. He was more than a bit of a workaholic. However, he was great fun to be with as well.
Komal has left a legion of friends and comrades whom he loved and who loved him dearly. Among them was Comrade Feroze Mohamed, who is also facing his own health challenges and his loyal friend Pooran, who he could have called on at any time for assistance.
His work and contribution to democracy and the betterment of this country stand out as monuments and an example for our youth and future generations. Komal’s death struck me as a falling of a giant tree in the forest of humanity.
Farewell Comrade! Rest in Peace!
Sincerely,
Former President
Donald Ramotar
