Dear Editor,
There is a beautiful song which the late Sam Cooke sang that goes: “The song has ended but the melody lingers on…” Such is the saga of Walter Rodney, whose life was ended in June of 1980; however the melody of his passing lingers on and on. I read in the Stabroek News of March 23 a column under the heading ‘Rodney suspected WPA was compromised’ by Henry Jeffrey and the question that he (Jeffrey) said was put to him by late president Desmond Hoyte: “Please tell me what a bright man like Walter Rodney… was doing personally collecting a walkie talkie… from dubious army personnel? Does he not have lieutenants?” This is the story that has been propagated as the way he met his death – that he ‘ordered’ and collected a device that exploded on him, a theory WPA activists/supporters have had to deal with ad nauseam.
Jeffrey made an interesting point: “Please note that Hoyte did not claim that Rodney did not meet his death as a result of actions taken by the state. In fact what he said made that a distinct possibility.” It seems to me that with the inexorable unfolding of things it is becoming clearer for all to see outside any CoI that the death of Rodney was well orchestrated along with a dotish theory to go with it, showing him to be the ‘bright boy’ cutting off the very limb of a tree he was sitting on. This is what has been peddled since Friday, June 13, 1980 till now by his detractors.
Now Henry Jeffrey is neither singular nor new in saying “Rodney suspected that WPA was compromised”; he was spot-on in admitting that Walter “found himself in a Catch 22 situation – damned if you do, damned if you don’t. And the revolutionary leader that he was he did.” And I have to say again, Mr Burnham for his part knowing him to be the man he was, has got to be spinning in his grave in disapproval of the ‘two bits’ defence his cohorts are showingcasing on his behalf. He would have considered it mediocre and demeaning, for he was too egotistical and haughty, too full of pride to be seen a coward. He would have gone for a more majestic, macho approach, and perhaps would have been bold enough to say: “Comrades, the battle lines were drawn, our party came out victorious.” Such was the man. Remember, this was the man who said: “We are now in the Roman Amphitheatre; the lion and the gladiator can’t both survive, one has got to go – Comrades, the PNC is here to stay.”
As said before the President should lead the way on reconciliation/harmony. We have entered a new age, and are supposed to be on the road to national healing; a new dawn, as he said at his inauguration. It is the only way to move onward and upward; we should quit running on quicksand, what it is, it is.
I heard a story some years ago that has to do with a female WPA activist and a WPA supporter. As it is was told, the supporter, a machine/electronic technician was all in tears lamenting the death of Rodney while reprimanding the WPA for not seeking his assistance first before going elsewhere to “all kind o’ people.” Thereupon the WPA activist with eyes focused on a printing machine on a shelf in his workshop asked him how long it had been since Walter gave that printing machine to him for repair. Taken aback the brother was silent for a moment, his tears vanished and he stood there tongue-tied. Then the sister said to him, “It’s about six months now, and that is why he had to deal with ‘all kind o’ people’ like Gregory Smith.”
Editor, one gets fed up of the piffle and political hogwash, so permit me to restate an uplifting comment by Seelochan Beharry: “To all Guyanese, Rodney was a special person who rarely comes along in one’s lifetime. We were indeed fortunate to have this great son of Guyana leading us with courage in the face of grave personal danger. He led by example, never asking anyone to do something that he personally would not do. He earned our respect and love, whether we were from the slums of Albouystown, Tiger Bay, the sugar estates or academia… He made us believe in ourselves and let us know we have something to contribute towards the common good.” It is more evident today that Walter Rodney was indeed the rainbow in the eyes of the ordinary working man, the everyday people, and the “wind beneath their wings”.
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe
