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Oh my gosh! We have found a new gig that pitches tasty foods, delightful drinks and a great company of men and women who are just party animals. The “party” part is more important than the “animals” part. There’s a reason for that.
Last weekend, the Mangoville Lounge was jamming with Caribbean rhythms and brimming over with a colorful cast of Indo and Afro Guyanese folks celebrating change. Lots of changes too!
The food was strictly Indian with a marvelous touch of authentic Indo-Afro Guyanese blend, fusing tradition and technique. It was one of those “home-grown” flavors that is a huge departure and a fascinating time-out from the rum-shop/cookshop “authentic Guyanese cuisine” that clutter the Richmond Hill – and some neighborhoods in Brooklyn - areas. Well, that’s a good change. Celebration, c’mon!
But one thing remains unchanged in these get-togethers. The bar is literally a watering hole for real party animals. Like desert creatures anticipating a long, scorching trip in the sun, the guys were guzzling up drinks and stockpiling them in their body reservoir for the long haul. In a sense, the bar was an oasis, and no one was moving until they were completely replenished.
The fundraising dinner that benefited the Alliance for Change was in many ways a grand event – and a great adventure in exploring Indo-Afro relations. Like the aroma of curry and the different flavors of true Guyanese ingredients, Indo and Afro Guyanese were participating with each other, exchanging notes, toasting and working together on a formula to get rid of the disease that’s eating Guyana.
So how is it possible that folks were writing out checks much bigger than their week’s salary? Because people were investing into the future of Guyana’s politics. Like the futures market, folks were convinced that a down payment today would earn great dividends tomorrow – or next week. They were absolutely sure that they were qualified investors and shareholders in Guyana’s future prosperity.
And how big is this market? As big as Guyana itself. And the actual market segment is the totality of the voters list. And if PPP outcast Khemraj Ramjattan is to be taken seriously, this market for his political vision is enlightened by the madness that is developing in the Guyana equation. His political premise is simple: The diffuse, fast moving threat of social, economic and political collapse requires a fast, moving response.
To put it another way: there is a huge windfall given the PPP/Civic’s ineffectualness and the PNC/R’s lack of credibility to run an efficient government as an alternative. And anyone with a sense of Guyana’s turmoil today will easily gravitate toward the politics of change as a radical alternative. At least that’s what the brokers are saying. But this is going to be a different ball game than the commodities trading market.
The Alliance for Change believes that they have just run into a political bonanza. Strange how they seem to detect opportunities in a minefield of corruption, racism and brutal violence in the land they call “home.”
So when pitchman Khemraj Ramjattan and colleague Sheila Holder arrived in town last week to provide impetus to the marketing strategy they were both aware of the political season. Both speakers worked the floor, shaking hands, greeting people and extending personal invitations while revving up interest in the audience.
In his discourse, Ramjattan started things off by explaining the current position of the PPP and the PNC/R in relation to the growing influence of the Alliance for Change. He warned that it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. He continued to reiterate the differences he had with the PPP while he was with them; he also shared the positions of Sheila Holder and Raphael Trotman who subsequently left their respective base.
Ramjattan stated that the trading will get rough (meaning hot clashes with PPP and PNC/R hoodlums); hard times will be ahead but the payoff will be magnificent. “Panic,” he assured the audience, “both parties are showing signs of nervousness at the sway of the Alliance of Change. We are digging roots in the villages across the regions.”
Damn right. The anxiety has already rippled outside Guyana. The PPP support group in New York had deployed their “crashers” Saturday night on a recon mission to evaluate, access the progress at the Mangoville meeting. Confident that they were incognito, the dumb, rookie spies misunderstood their welcome even though the ghost whisperers had snickered satirical cordiality at their entry. And their “next day” delivery of the bad news was leading story in their session.
In the crowded hall, Ramjattan quickly went over the relationship of both the PPP and the PNC/R pointing out the evolution of Guyana’s disaster. A “symbiotic” relationship he synthesized, recalling some history to illustrate the point. In dismissing their importance, he referred to both parties as “dinosaurs.”
There’s always something majestic in a stranger who’d stop by to detail to you what you’ve always felt and known. Guest speaker David Cosada, an ex-employee of the U.S. State Department and currently a writer, gave a synopsis on the Carroll Thomas case. Remember the visa scandal in Georgetown a few years ago?
David Casavis was an investigator in that matter which required him to stay in Guyana for a while. According to him, his inquiry was limited to the embassy case but the tour offered him a first hand look at the rot and decay at the carcasses of Guyana’s body politics - and the ever burgeoning corrupt bureaucracy in the PPP/Civic’s administration.
To the supporters of the Alliance for Change, David Cosada hit stardom that evening. His speech gave credence and bolster confidence in the struggle to free up Guyana from the clutches of the PPP/Civic.
By the time the speeches and photo-ops were finished, people were throwing away money in this project. One man showed up with $50,000. Others were happily casting their envelopes in the tithe basket.
Yup, big money. Big business. Big ambitions. Ramjattan was right; nothing can be achieved without pumping lots of money into it. People were authorizing contributions as if an explorer had just stumbled upon the Golden City of El Dorado. Call it risky financial and political behavior, but the dollar amount was enormous.
Whatever it is the Alliance for Change has tripped up upon in New York, it seems to be working with an infectious appeal. So deep the Alliance for Change has plunged into so-called PPP/PNC territory, some say, even a few PPP folks were selling tickets in Queens for the fundraiser.
The folks at Freedom House ought to feel a heart attack coming on.
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