Coil: Saluting Bobby’s flagpole?

by Vidyaratha Kissoon

A man who reads the Coil sometimes, said I should think about patriotism – and what former Prime Minister and former President Sam Hinds had to say about the PPP and its claims to patriotism. He wanted to know whether this links to the view that coolie people are not as patriotic to Guyana as others and that they just see Guyana as a place to make a living.

This was all happening in the same week when the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry report was nearly not received by the Government and when the conclusions said that yes, Burnham had something to do with the killing of Rodney. Both men have been described as fierce patriots and friends of the Guyanese working class and so on.

Unlike the PPP, Burnham and Rodney, I am not a patriot. Patriotism reminds of me of flag waving, gun carrying Americans killing everybody who they say is against American values.

There is a massive flag going up in Durban Park Georgetown. The news reports suggest that it is 200 feet. Something is weird though. In October 2011, a consignment of Flagpoles and accessories assigned to one Bobby Ramroop came to Guyana. For some reason, the consignment was not cleared.

On the 13^th January 2016  the GRA said they wanted people to purchase the consignment and to remove it within a month.

Next thing we hear, there is going to be a 200-foot flag pole with a massive flag. According to one of the vendors of flag poles , a 150 foot flag pole costs US$37,000  or 7.4 million GYD. I guess a 200-foot one probably costs about US$45,000 or so?

Did  the flagpole and accessories which GRA disposed of end up on the front page of the Guyana Chronicle on Friday 19^th February?

If not, where did the consignment go, I mean.. who else needs a container of flagpoles and accessories at this time?

Is one Mr Ramroop the involuntary donor of a massive flagpole to the Durban Park celebrations? Is it one Mr Ramroop who will be responsible for the ums and the aws and the tears of joy of all patriots who will be watching the raising of the massive flag on the more than 7.4 Million dollar flagpole?

What was the intention of the consignment in 2011? Did the patriots in the then Government refuse the gift? Was it intended for that other patriotic endeavour, the Marriott courtyard ?

If perhaps, there are going to be hundreds of say bamboo flagpoles with flags Made in Guyana then maybe, just maybe my patriotic instincts might  raise up with the nation.

In the week when PPP patriots reportedly confessed to throwing fecal matter on another patriot who is against the PPP, a minibus driver was playing lyrics from a DJ discussing his sex life. I begged the driver to play music which would  raise up the nation, that Granger alone can’t do it. I know this kind of Hypocrisy is not good – if I am not a patriot I have no business engaging a minibus driver in nation building and invoking President Granger. The driver looked at me in the rear view mirror and fiddled with the volume, the conductor did look at me as though I was a little mad.  A lady in front who was dancing to the music, said yes yes.. you right.

In addition to the potential of the unwritten unity story of the massive flag pole which may or may not have been donated – will the flag pole inspire the minibus drivers to play music to inspire nation building and patriotism instead of important things like the sex life and fantasies of musicians?

This last week , Gavin Mendonca’s video of his song ‘The Great Rebellion”showed a different kind of imagination of the music and the history – calling on the people to follow him, but not necessarily to take off their underwear or anything like that as happens in many of the minibuses. The Great Rebellion is a tribute to the 1763 one, a failed one, but great in the effort.

The song Georgetown Guyana  by Esan Benzy and Blaze Anthonio is more realistic , about the “592 hustle”.”…What’s a man without money – Like Mavado I want a box full of money” (it could have been ..”like a Minister, I want a raise to stop me being taking bribes”). The song is a tribute to the city Georgetown. A patriotic contribution from a different lens.

Mashramani in recent years has had the Calypso and Chutney competitions. This year, the Calypso competition had some coverage – the finals were held last Friday the 19^th of February. There were advertisements in the print media; Banks DIH sponsored. Admission was free. There was no coverage for the chutney competition held on Saturday 20^th Feb. I heard an advertisement on the radio for the chutney competition. Admission $500 dollars, at a venue in Region 3.  Chutney lovers pay $500 while Calypso lovers paid nothing.

The Chutney music released on Youtube this year seems to be the usual fare of looking for a dulahin, or a gyal, or mocking fat gyals.  Maybe the Granger administration is not interested in enhancing the dysfunctional love lives associated with the chutney genre.  One singer Satish Udairam did seem to expect the Trini girl to come to Guyana (rather than he migrate to Trinidad) to “bunje curry fuh he”.

It is probably difficult to create political chutney, beyond love politics. According to the Guyana Chronicle of 21 Feb, 2016, most of the calypso singers though seemed to praise the current Government and cuss up the opposition. This is probably their version of patriotism.

The music was loud in Georgetown on the Saturday after the trial run of the flag on the 200-foot flag pole. The music set on the Independence Ground was setting off car alarms, and the cart at the corner of Robb and Camp was booming loud music in the afternoon.

Music so loud that I thought of weapons which could annihilate all loud music, and not thinking about important things like Venezuela. True patriots would have noted  that in addition to the $300 million for the Golden Jubilee celebrations, there may be $200 million spent if the border jhanjat with Venezuela gets to the International Court of Justice.  And this money is to pay “International consultants “ apparently. It is not clear if  International consultants mean patriots living abroad who might know a thing or two about how to settle border disputes at the big court.

But seriously, $500 million in one year for patriotism? I can’t be a patriot. It is too expensive. I want to know where my flags and flag poles come from before, and I will not salute any flag on any flag pole which had dubious origins.  I can’t stand loud music and I have no love for the citizens who think it is okay to play loud music. I think Chutney lovers should pay the same as Calypso lovers for the competitions, and that the media coverage should be the same for the two events.  But I making a “592 hustle” though, because well, I am here.

(image composed from images of Extraordinary Gazette of 13 January, 2016 and the Guyana  Chronicle of Friday 19^th February, 2016 )