Dear Editor,
I was 18 years old when I walked into lawyer David de Caires’s office in George-town, in answer to an ad for a proofreading position at the exciting new independent newspaper in Guyana, Stabroek News.
My Mom had always held him up to me as a role model. To sit in front of him was an honour.
I had just finished high school, and armed with a Diploma in Journalism from a correspondence school in Britain, sat across from the man who would in the next five years shape my life more than any other single human being.
I have since known other outstanding men who have mentored me – including the alternative energy expert Joseph O’Lall who recently passed away in Guyana.
But from that first day that I met Mr de Caires, I had discovered my place in the world.
He believed in me, nurtured me in my impetuous youth, counselled me, and gave me amazing breaks. His decision to send me on a journalism work study programme to Miami, Florida was a defining moment in my life. His decision to promote me from a proofreader to a junior reporter on the recommendation of Elfrieda Bramble demonstrates the humility and kindness of the man.
Because of de Caires, I set my sights on greatness as a human being. Because of de Caires I believe in the nobility of Man. Because of de Caires I treasure my youth. Because of de Caires I developed a keen sense of observing life and people; I learned to be curious and I learned to objectively investigate society’s problems. Because of de Caires, I learned to love compassionate justice.
I believe his place in Guyana and the Caribbean’s history is secure forever. He lived his life seeking only compassionate justice – in human rights, politics and economic matters.
I remember writing a column for the Stabroek News championing laissez-faire economics, and he refused to publish it, because although he loved the free market, he was too humane and compassionate to allow his ideology to override his sense of fair play – he believed there must be checks and balances to allow for weaknesses in capitalism. I also remember him assigning me to investigate and report on suspicious extra-judicial deaths in Guyana, and how concerned he was that so-called criminals were being killed without a fair trial.
de Caires gave me the gift of being able to grow up in my generation in Guyana with courage, a humane world view, and a deep sense of care for the welfare of society.
This he was – a man with a deep sense of care for society. He lived to better the world. The best tribute I can pay him is to emulate that simple philosophy – I live as he taught me – to care for the betterment of society, to see every human being in society benefit from a fair playing field.
Thank you, David de Caires for giving your heart and soul to a nation, and helping individuals like me escape the ‘lost generation’ of Guyana’s dark years. Thank you for shaping my world view and giving me the gift to strive to live a noble, compassionate life.
I live now in Canada as a writer, media innovator and author because one man believed in me, even in my youth. Thank you, David de Caires. Good fruits have sprung from your awesome life.
Yours faithfully,
Shaun Michael Samaroo
