Dear Editor,
I was born in the village of Bachelors Adventure on the East Coast of Demerara, where I lived and played as a youth. From the age of sixteen I began teaching at the Paradise Primary School (1970), and functioned as an athletic, cricket and soccer coach for the school’s teams, having received coaching in cricket under West Indies opening batsman, the late Roy Fredericks, soccer coach Mr August Wootar of Suriname and a female Canadian athletic coach who were all assigned to Buxton Government Secondary School which I attended at the time (1965-1970).
Arriving at Paradise Primary I was rearing to share my new found knowledge with children in my community, the success was phenomenal, because, out of those children aged 9 years and over that I worked with, I have seen John Joseph representing Guyana in the 10,000 meters at the PANAM games 1976, Earl Haley at the Olympic games in 1980 and Donald Jackman who eventually played for Police and represented Guyana in international football matches. A few of the present players I worked with in their childhood years are national football players Quincy Adams, Dwight Peters, and under 17 goalkeeper Ryan Harris who represented Bachelors Adventure Paradise F C on Saturday in the under 17 finals versus Buxton Stars and was adjudged the most outstanding goalkeeper, not conceding a goal in the tournament. I took him less than two years ago, he not knowing anything about goal keeping to becoming one of the finest under 17 goalkeepers in Guyana today.
I have worked with the National Sports Development Council under the guidance of the late Mr Deryck Whitehead, the Director at the time, functioning as a National Sports Organizer from 1976-1979, forming sports clubs and sports associations, organizing coaching clinics etc. I have coached soccer in summer camps in Barbados, Florida, USA and here in Guyana nonstop in my community for over 40 years.
Today, I see opportunists rising peeking out through their seeming political affiliation to the ruling APNU+AFC coalition, some were sauntering under the PPP and today come seeking to take control of the playfield at Paradise on the East Coast of Demerara. These persons having never been involved in sports suddenly are dictating to the East Demerara Football Association (EDFA) that our club, the Bachelors Adventure Paradise Youth Culture and Sports Club should not be allowed to register to be able to participate in competitions run by the Association. The executive members of the association for whatever reason have agreed and indicated that such action will be taken, a decision that is seriously flawed and flays the foundation of democracy. The young people of Paradise, Bachelors Adventure, Bare root and Melanie Damishana all use this ground, one football club to cover these communities is sorely inadequate. Those persons who are now trying to throw their weight around have suddenly found a life, these persons over the last 23 years have locked youth groups out of the PARBAMEL community centre building, laying claim to the building and only renting it for dances. A few years ago, a group that I founded (1999) in New York, USA to give support to the PARBAMEL community, sent six computers and hundreds of books to this inefficient local chapter to be used by young people in the community, those computers and books were locked away in a room and left to be destroyed by rodents and wood ants. Members of our youth group cleaned them and wanted to use those books that were good. They were again taken from us by these uncaring and selfish individuals motivated by an opportunistic agenda. When I found this out, it was at a time when I began work to prepare about 25 young persons for a play that would have depicted the 1823 Demerara Revolt, the same year President David Granger in opposition at the time visited, encouraged our group to do well and presented a painting that was done by Mr Barrington Braithwaithe. A few days later we were again locked out of the PARBAMEL community centre building at Bachelors Adventure and that ended our efforts. I decided that we will use the stands in the Paradise playfield, these people who were never elected by the residents of the community have now arrived on the playfield and claiming management committee status and ground control. We have never had an election to put these people in office. To date this PARBAMEL Guyana chapter is under investigation for not accounting for the funds sent to promote community development.
I am surprised that after having discussions with the players who will be representing our club, and indicating our intention to participate in future EDFA competitions, we have been told by executives of the EDFA that our application for registration will not be accepted. We are prepared to fight against this injustice because these persons were never elected as office bearers by the young people they are seeking to dominate. None of them has ever played football or cricket nor do we even find them walking or jogging on the playfield. Whenever they are present it is to sow seeds of disunity among the youths, however it is known that they will reap the fruits of their labour.
Yours faithfully,
RAS Aaron Blackman
Secretary
