December 24 2018
It was Sunday morning. The time was 7.35 AM. The place was the seawall between the Kitty pump station and Camp Road. My dog was jumping from one riprap bolder to another. I was on top of one of the boulders when my cell rang. I do not leave my cell in the car but I did this time.My daughter has gone abroad to do graduate studies so my wife is alone at home and I make sure I have my mobile (I have a “mango pelter”) on me every moment of every minute of each day.I jumped off the boulder I was on, left my dog to wander, and ran to my car. It was my wife on the phone. She said Charran wants to speak to me urgently and I must go to a safe house to take the call. I think Charran knows my phone would be monitored.
I went to the safe house. Charran’s first set of words to me were; “I need your advice.” He explained he is forming a political party to contest the 2019 general elections. He said to me; “I want to know now if you would help me.” My response was evocative, spontaneous and automatic.
Charrandas Persaud and I have shared a close friendship for thirty-two years now. Charran is one of the nicest friends I have. Come February, I would have been married for forty years and one of the fondest memories I have in that marriage is with Charran in 2014. He took me and my wife from one end of the Canje Creek to the other.He showed me where Cuffy started his revolution. We cooked one of the most bizarre cook-up anyone could put on a fire. We threw everything into the pot. My wife insists that it remains one of the nicest moments of her journey to see her country. I asked Charran to stop shooting the wild animals. He told me that would spoil his fun. But he reluctantly did so.
This is the Christmas season where tangerine is bountiful. But on that journey on the Canje Creek I ate a phenomenally sweet tangerine whose saccharine content cannot be reproduced elsewhere. It had to do with the soil there.Last year, Charran told me that if there was a no confidence motion he would vote yes but would only be deterred by fear for his safety. I told only one person that and exacted a promise from him to never reveal it. That was David Hinds when we were at Nicky’s Fish Shop.A few months back Charran said come January 2019 he will be finished with the AFC. I knew Charran was going to vote yes for the motion. I told only one person the night before. That person I deeply trust because he saved my life once when I was attacked by goons late one night. The goons were sent by central actors in the corridors of power.I will not name him but to ensure the integrity of my commentary, I would briefly say that he is one of the finest, dedicated, political activists the ruling coalition is lucky to have. If in the coming days, he indicates to me that he can be indentified I will do so.
My conversation with Charran lasted about half an hour. He asked me to say in this column that he would like to have Dr. Ramaya and Ryan “effing” Crawford on his slate. If they are reading this then they could contact Charran through me.
I am not at liberty to identify a woman in Berbice that will form the party with Charran but she is certain to bring in votes. Some other names will be vote-catchers. So the famous or infamous (for me he is not infamous) Charrandas Persaud will be contesting the 2019 general elections. He said his campaign will concentrate on Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
I guess this will be my last throw of the dice. Campaigning for Charran will be my last election campaign. I am getting on in age and I think it is time I hang up my gloves. I definitely want to see more than two parties in parliament. I definitely want to see a configuration in which the PNC or the PPP does not have a majority in Parliament.Can the Amerindian party, Charran’s party and the other third party that is being formed prevent a majority rule in the 2019 results? For me the answer is yes. And that should be a biology that all Guyanese should wish for. I hope Charran is successful in 2019.
