Dear Editor,
It was with great sadness that I learnt of the passing of Mr Brindley Benn. As a child growing up at Unity Village I had heard of this great working-class hero who had joined Cheddi Jagan in the struggle against oppression and the fight for Guyana’s independence. When Brindley Benn left the PPP to form a party of his own, some said it was because he was a Maoist and Jagan a Leninist. I have no idea what those labels mean but I knew both men and had the utmost respect for them. As fate would have it I actually got to work with Mr Benn when he was Guyana’s High Commissioner to Canada and I the Head of Mission at Guyana`s consulate in Toronto. I thoroughly enjoyed his company. I asked him about his Vanguard Party and he laughed that laugh which was his trademark. He had a great sense of humour and found something funny in even the most serious situation. Of course, he was involved in some of the most significant events in Guyana`s history, and I am sure that he told his story to many and perhaps someone took good notes. He told me just a tiny bit of that long and interesting story, but I am not at liberty to divulge any of it having to do with Guyana’s politics.
Mr Benn was a great conversationalist. I vividly remember a visit my wife and I paid him and Mrs Benn at the High Commissioner`s residence in Ottawa, Canada`s capital city. They were gracious hosts and when Mr Benn learnt of my wife`s Goan heritage and African roots he told us of his meeting with another Goan with African roots, the Kenyan independence fighter Pio Gama Pinto. Mr Benn and Pinto had met shortly before Pinto’s assassination in 1965. Like Pinto, Brindley Benn was a committed member of the global liberation movement.
To the grieving family of Brindley Benn I express my heartfelt sympathy. Guyana has lost one of its few remaining working-class heroes. May his soul rest in peace.
Yours faithfully,
Jang Singh
