If there were a crime of cultural malfeasance on the statute books, then Minister Leslie Ramsammy would surely have been charged with it by now, along, perhaps, with Dr Bheri Ramsarran as an accessory. Having said that, however, no one with respect for the heritage of this nation would have entrusted a major historical site to the dubious ministrations of the Minister of Health in the first place; his cv in that regard hardly withstands a casual scan, let alone serious scrutiny.
In November 2004, the operations of the New Amsterdam Hospital (the old hospital, that is), were transferred to a new building, courtesy of the Japanese. At the time the Minister of Health made soothing noises about plans for the old building, promising to “transform” a part of it into a nursing school and dormitory, among other suggestions. His ministry was still working on the project, he said, but needed more money for its completion. It was all utter twaddle, of course. From the time the personnel moved out, the vandals moved in – via the back where no guards were stationed.
Two-and-a-half years later in March 2007, when this newspaper cornered Minister Ramsammy on the subject of the future of the old hospital, he responded that his department was working with Cabinet to decide on the building’s future, and mentioned the nursing school again. More twaddle. When in 2008 we tackled him on the matter of the extensive vandalism taking place, he told us that he was not aware that materials had been removed. Nevertheless, in August of that year a damaged fence at the back of the hospital was repaired, which provided a temporary respite (very temporary, as it turned out) from the predators.
As it was, the National Trust was sufficiently concerned about the reports of the destruction of a structure which had been identified as a heritage building for preservation, that Chairman James Rose wrote the Ministry of Health to request an explanation of its current status. We reported in April 2008 that he had received the response that the ministry still had use for the building. Twaddle again.
The following year, this newspaper carried yet another report that the old hospital had become a haven for vandals, and this time, it was Dr Luncheon who in September 2009, told the media that government had heeded the concerns of New Amsterdam residents for preservation, and would meet with the Berbice private sector to discuss its future. He went on to say that the matter had been discussed at Cabinet the week before, and the intention was to preserve the heritage site as an economically viable service provider for the whole region, and that a variety of options had been considered. This was somewhat denser twaddle, Cabinet Secretary style, but still twaddle. For his part, the Minister of Health told us around the same time that government could not afford the rehabilitative works. In other words, they were not prepared to invest money in it.
So then we come to 2010, with a gutted building, on which we reported, and subsequently the inevitable collapse of an entire section. It was Dr Ramsarran who spoke on this occasion, and he gave an insight into the true thinking of the government – as well, presumably, of the senior minister – on the subject. He delivered himself of some truly singular remarks, not the least of which was that the old structure had “lost its usefulness.” Considering that neither the government nor his ministry intended to give it a use, that would hardly be surprising. In any case, the “use” of this particular site lies in the first instance in its historical and aesthetic qualities, so preservation would become the priority, and given that, a function would certainly be found for it if that was what the government really wanted.
What can be said without fear of contradiction is that they did not operate with any zeal or imagination in terms of seeking funding to help them, some of which at least one cannot believe was not accessible from external sources. In fact, one of our letter-writers made a suggestion in this regard, while a New Amsterdamer gave our reporter his views on the uses to which the old hospital could be put, namely, a medical museum and library. In other words, the residents of the town had ideas, some of which may have been viable and could have been explored, but the government had none, other than approaching the Berbice private sector, and to all appearances was not prepared to listen to those from anyone else.
Considering the vandalism reports which have been carried in the press over the past five-and-a-half years, more especially the grim accounts of the depredations this year which the administration chose to ignore, one can only come to the conclusion that they were waiting for the building to collapse, so that the site could then be sold. Hence Dr Ramsarran could blithely tell the media to stop focusing on the old, and focus on the new instead. If that is not to do violence to the heritage of this country, then it is difficult to know what is.
What bulbous, concrete monstrosity, one wonders, is now being planned to scar the town’s landscape where once the graceful contours of Cesar Castellani’s 1884 architectural creation rose towards the sky to delight residents and visitors alike. Can at least part of the façade not be saved? Or is this government too beyond cultural redemption even to explore the possibility?
The government and the President pay lip service to heritage and culture, but in reality they don’t care two rat’s whiskers about it (the late Mrs Jagan was an exception), unless, that is, it has bearing on their own party history or interests. But by treating the heritage of New Amsterdam with such manifest disdain, they are treating its residents with contempt; they are treating the residents of Berbice with contempt, and they are treating Guyanese in general with contempt. There surely can be no government in the world which wears the label of ‘philistine’ with such pride.
Which brings us to the next looming crisis in this area – City Hall in Georgetown. Are they planning to allow that to fall into ruins too, more particularly because they don’t like the incumbents there? Here we have the Mayor planning to open a fund to which the public can contribute in the hope of raising the $30M which would be required for repairs. What is the government thinking? Repairing Fr Scoles’s masterpiece should be a priority which is not dependent on charity. They have wasted millions in the past on white elephants; here is something truly meaningful they could expend some money on, not just for this generation, but for future ones as well. And $30M is not an unthinkable sum; a few less official jaunts around the planet should save enough to do it. And the administration would not have to hand over a cent to the M&CC; it could simply take on the rehabilitation itself, provided, that is, that for once it selects a contractor who is competent and is going to faithfully follow the style of the building and not cut corners.
If it is not prepared to save City Hall either, then it should cut the pretence. Close down the National Trust, because it really doesn’t have anything for it to do, and drop ‘Culture’ from the designation of the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport, because it is an appellation devoid of meaning.
