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Kaieteur News
KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA Suddenly, the world took notice in 2007 when Prince Harry, sixth in line to the British throne and the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, princess of Wales revealed that he is dyslexic. Since that 2007 announcement by the Prince, many other famous people have come forward to build awareness and support for dyslexia in Britain. Prince Harry said that his personal struggle with dyslexia made school very difficult; however, after graduating from Britain’s prestigious Eton College, he volunteered in various African countries before choosing a military career. Unlike England, the United States and Canada, dyslexia is widely publicized and supported by people of influence. There is no famous Guyanese or person from the Caribbean region who has openly supported or endorsed any dyslexia organizations or campaigns. Dyslexia is a phenomenon that shows up differently in different cultures. It is a specific type of learning disability that affects reading due to the way that the brain processes graphic symbols. Experts say dyslexia is genetic; it is not a disease or an identifiable physical condition. It is a neurological learning disorder present at birth. It cannot be prevented or cured, but can be managed with special instruction and support. It affects people of all ethnic backgrounds and is not linked to a person’s general level of intelligence. The underlying problems of dyslexia are associated with the brain’s processing information. It is diagnosed through a series of tests of memory, spelling, vision, and reading skills.Dyslexia impacts people in varying degrees. It can lead to frustration and low self-esteem. Early diagnosis of the disorder and systematic intervention with the right support, appropriate teaching methods, tools and the use of technology can help to improve their academic performance and overcome challenges to reach their goals. Children with dyslexia have above average IQs and are creative but they have trouble expressing themselves in spoken or written language. Studies show that while most people use the ‘verbal’ left side of their brain to understand words, dyslexic people use the ‘pictorial’ right side, making them slower to process and understand language. They may struggle with concentrating with background noise, planning and prioritizing. However, people with dyslexia are often highly intelligent, highly creative and logical, have great leadership and people management skills, adaptable, kind, intuitive, with vivid imaginations, and are very good at reading people. Unfortunately, many misinformed parents, educators and employers in Guyana see dyslexia as a disadvantage, thereby creating a stigma and negative attitude towards dyslexic children, students and employees. There are many famous and successful people who have openly identified themselves as being dyslexic. Among them are British billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of the Virgin airlines, Sir Richard Branson; CNN television host, Anderson Cooper; actress Whoopi Goldberg; singer and human rights activist, Harry Belafonte; actor Tom Cruise; basketball legend, Irving “Magic” Johnson; media mogul Ted Turner and co-founder of Apple Computers, the late Steve Jobs. Other notables who had dyslexia were German-born physicist Albert Einstein, inventors Henry Ford and Thomas Edison; boxing legend Muhammad Ali; US Presidents George Washington, John F Kennedy, Woodrow Wilson; and Thomas Jefferson; British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and sculptor, architect and engineer Leonardo da Vinci.Although dyslexia is probably one of the most prevalent learning disabilities in Guyana, it might be unknown to most Guyanese. This learning disorder, which makes reading, writing and spelling difficult is the most common learning disability in all areas of the world. It affects about seven percent of the world’s population; however, up to 20 percent may have some degree of symptoms.
Tuesday July 10, 2018
Is challenging a Guyana-govt. Minister a derogatory and disgusting thing to do? DEAR EDITOR, I stood up, fearlessly, as a Guyanese writer—deeply concerned about the fate of the Guyana Prize for Literature, and addressed the Minister of Culture, Dr. George Norton in an open letter. Thus far there have been two negative rebuttals to it. One by a Rastafarian poet whom I do not know and with whom I have no quarrel, but whose tone was very critical of me for challenging the Minister. The other rebuttal was by some wanna-be Guyanese writer and xenophobe that I also do not know. I think his name is Cecil Gideon or Gideon Cecil, he wrote: “One of Mr. Creighton’s four-time Guyana Prize Winners Harold Bascom wrote the following: ‘Dear Minister Norton, there is a way for you to go down as the most effective Minister of Culture Guyana has ever had; and it will redeem you from being regarded as having been a mere political appointee with the least interest in culture— a square peg in a round hole.’’ July 1,2018 Kaieteur News.
That is a very disgusting and derogatory statement to the Hon Minister of Culture Dr. George Norton…’” It seems that my letter was sacrosanct: to address a demi god and ask him to do his job. This is so laughable. In other words, I was supposed to know my place. Hmmm. So, where should that place be? Groveling in fear and being afraid to express how I feel as a Guyanese writer? No. I’ve always dared to be like Rodney, like Waddle, like Courtney CrumEwing. What is a Guyanese Government Minister but a mere Guyanese man or woman who yesterday was just a mere man/woman that everybody knew and could have said, “Whap’nin?” to? Does becoming a Minister confer upon us ‘Godliness’ through some kind of bureaucratic magic that renders the rest of subservient? Is becoming a Minister a kind of anointing that elevates one into a sedan chair of awe ensconced in miraculous ‘honour’. No. A Government Minister is just a regular Guyanese citizen
with a ton of responsibility— and in service to us citizens. (Yes. I am STILL a Guyanese citizen.) Maybe Minister Norton is an honorable man in respect to things other than culture, but for the Guyana Prize debate at hand, the jury is still out. But let me get back to this wanna-be writer-guy Gideon Cecil who I only know through his letters in which he uses xenophobic language continually to attack Al Creighton whom he obviously envies. This Reverend obviously doesn’t know me and how much I’ve contributed to Guyana’s literary and theatrical heritage. If he had, he would not have described me, as ‘ONE OF MR. CREIGHTON’S FOUR-TIME GUYANA PRIZE WINNERS…’ Truth be told that as much as I respect Mr. Creighton for all that he has done to highlight and advance Guyanese literature, I am not one of his acolytes—if he has any. And to the Reverend I say: Mr. Creighton has long come to recognize the significance of my work as a Guyanese nov-
elist and social commentator as a playwright. Further, EVERY Guyana Prize I’ve won was through the depth and high quality of my work and not by ANY kind of favoritism or cliqueism. And really, Mr. Cecil … are you THAT spiteful to exhort the Minister of Culture to abolish the Guyana Prize? Your words, Sir. Let me quote you: ‘…so the Minister and our current administration must do the honourable thing scrap the Guyana Prize for Literature until further notice demote the Prize Secretary and the incompetent Guyana Prize board with immediate effect.’ Really, Sir? And the phrase: ‘Until further notice…’ I can only assume it means, ‘until Mr. Creighton is sidelined and you, Rev. Gideon Cecil, take over the running of the Guyana Prize for Literature. God help us. Sincerely, Harold A. Bascom Four-time Guyana Prizewinner and winner of the 2014 Caribbean Award for Literature
Ensuring our elected representatives continue along the democratic trajectory DEAR EDITOR, I note your paper’s interesting and informative Editorial captioned, OUR DEMOCRACY NOT WORKING THE WAY IT SHOULD, (KN, July 9), and wish to share a few thoughts on the subject. Despite our knowledge that democratic governance is the most desirable form of governance to be invented, and practiced by humans to date, historical evidence supports the thesis that real, grassroots, bottom-up democracies are difficult to establish and maintain. I believe this to be true, and I believe that there may be a single major reason: the concept of democratic governance clashes directly with human tendencies and instincts; it is inconsistent with basic human nature. Therefore, to establish and sustain such a system, citizens must commit to actions which are inherently difficult. The basic, major tenets of republican democratic governance include empowerment of the people to choose their representatives, maximal empowerment of all representatives at every tier of government, periodic and regular change of the people’s representatives, respect for the rule of law, and reverence for checks and balances such as a free press and opposing political forces. Those basic
requirements, clearly, stand in diametrical opposition to human nature. Guyanese are well aware of the lengths to which persons will go to hold onto political power, even at the expense of democratic governance. Guyanese know too, that some politicians more often than not, clash with a free press. Frederick Douglass famously wrote that, ‘Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.’ Truer words have
never been written. It takes hard work to build a democratic State from a non-democratic one. It requires real and selfless commitment by everyone, to establish a democratic system of governance, and continuous effort to maintain it. Democracy is a fragile thing; what takes years to build can be lost in a moment if a person with dictatorial ambitions gets his hand on the levers of power. An obvious example of this phenom-
enon exists right now. From where I sit, it appears that President Granger, fortunately, has perceived the need for the establishment and entrenchment of democracy in Guyana; his actions – aimed at decentralising government, and devolving power to regional representatives – are a new, welcome, and refreshing approach. In the context of Frederick Douglass’ observation, it appears that His Excellency has astutely (Cotinued on page 6)
PROPER REGULATION NEEDED FOR BOAT CRUISE EVENTS DEAR EDITOR, Please allow me space to complain about a boat cruise that was held on Sunday 8th July 2018. The name of the event was dubbed “Big people party” This boat cruise was advertised as from Parika to Supenaam in Essequibo .The boat was scheduled to leave Parika at 9.00am but left until 11.00 am. Patrons were not allowed to take food, water, or any cooler on the boat. The boat was packed to capacity. Food and drinks were sold at exorbitant prices. One roti and curry sold for $1500. A small box with chicken sold for $1500. Worst of all, the food was badly prepared. Toilet facilities were wholly inadequate. Most of us anticipated that we would get better things when the boat reached Supenaam. The boat never reached. It is customary whenever that there is a boat cruise to Supenaam that Essequibian vendors and entertainers would prepare to welcome especially first-timers and overseas tour-
ists. They would prepare food, drinks and musical entertainment. This was always part of what a boat cruise to Supenaam would be. I can imagine the huge disappointment and losses they suffered. But something was strange about this boat and its movements. The boat idled between Supenaam and Wakenaam for about two hours before heading back to Parika. The boat took a strange path and ended up on a sand bank. Another one and a half hours was spent there. There was some conversation of a conspiracy to have the vessel delayed for much larger sales of food and drink onboard. This situation should never happen again. The Transport and Harbours Department must launch an investigation into this matter. The Ministry of Tourism and all the relevant authorities must review and impose reasonable regulations before any permission is given for future boat cruises or public events. Disappointed boat cruise regular