Gil, you are a treasure house of knowledge. Carib G is also another treasure house. I sometimes wonder why are we not saving this information for a future generations ? I had a couple of very important questions answered by Carib G. Tola is recording history through his lens. I wonder if he could digitalize his collection and have like a website where we can visit and look at the history. 

Gil, on an unrelated matter, due to your journalism career you can probably provide some answers. In the late 60s a man called Homdat Maharaj came mysteriously to my village and opened a Polytechnic School. He brainwashed everyone and told them he was from Trinidad. He took the students' hard-earned savings to enter them in Exams, then ran away to NYC. Over the years we heard he was a Trini murderer who escaped to Guyana to scrounge up money to go to USA. Have you heard of him, and were there many overseas criminals in Guyana?

Leonora posted:

Gil, on an unrelated matter, due to your journalism career you can probably provide some answers. In the late 60s a man called Homdat Maharaj came mysteriously to my village and opened a Polytechnic School. He brainwashed everyone and told them he was from Trinidad. He took the students' hard-earned savings to enter them in Exams, then ran away to NYC. Over the years we heard he was a Trini murderer who escaped to Guyana to scrounge up money to go to USA. Have you heard of him, and were there many overseas criminals in Guyana?

First time I'm hearing about that Trini.

Regarding your final question, offhand one overseas criminal was a Frenchman who escaped from Devil's Island (Cayenne) and arrived in Georgetown in the early 1940s. He stayed a few months, embarked on the North West District ferryboat, and proceeded to Venezuela where he settled down with a señorita and they ran a little business of some sort. That guy was Henri Charrier aka Papillon.

Long before that, in the late 18th century, another French criminal arrived in Georgetown very remorseful for murdering his brother. His name was Saffon, and a street is named after him. He bought a large tract of land, named one section La Penitence and the other section Le Repentir. You can guess what they mean.

Gilbakka posted:

During the 1960s the PPP-owned GIMPEX store sold VELOSOLEX mopeds (motor-pedal) cycles. The newspaper advertisements said a mile worth of gas in them cost only 2 cents. Here is a Velosolex: https://www.google.ca/search?q...;biw=640&bih=279

At that time GIMPEX also sold a simple DIANA point-&-shoot camera for less than G$5. Here is a picture: https://www.google.ca/search?q...;biw=640&bih=279

Circa 1963-1965 a tall beefy dark Indian young man about 18-20 years old was residing at Leonora. He was a roving photographer with a DIANA camera hanging around his neck. I saw him in Uitvlugt a few times. He was selling prints of Cheddi Jagan that he had shot with his camera. Suddenly around 1965 that guy went mystic. Another Leonora young man named Gaindalall succeeded him as photographer. 

For some mysterious reason, this morning I was wondering whether the DIANA camera guy was Tola who said he was familiar with Leonora in the 1960s.

Gil, I wish you were healthier, much younger and an active investigative reporter, because you might do well with your writing.  With much respect, I will not answer all of your questions, because................

But I will say, I visited  GIMPEX often in the 1960s. Even today I was copying letters that Dr. Cheddi Jagan wrote me, for  packages I am putting together, with his 100 year stamps for our children and GC. A friend in NY sent  ten First Day Issues.  

I am not sure how much to say here, because our lives have changes so much from being 19.  Some time ago, I asked you about  Leonora Village Hospital in 1963 and a GNI friend was able to confirm the photo for me. The hospital is unrecognizable from what it was in 1963.

In the 1960s, I took about 100++ photographs on the West Coast Demerara/Essequibo and my anchor was one village. Many photos are of the sea wall, that is now damaged.

The Jagan family were close friends, going back to our grandparents and during the 1960s I took many photos  at their Port Mourant bottom house PYO meetings with Cheddi's  mother and others in their family. Including family gatherings in other countries. Because my Albion friend was married to Oudit's daughter and both have passed-on in Virginia.  

I also did a  video recording in Donald Ramoutar's office at Freedom House  in 2007 of Janet Jagan. I asked her to select the interviewer, because I only want to know about their family personal life, among all the political turmoil and not to dwell on politics.  She selected a minister's 30 year old daughter, whom she babysat and it was a wonderful discussion between two friends. The interviewer reminded  Janet about the books they had to make during the Burnham years, due to shortage of imports, for the children stories Janet wrote for their birthdays.      

I am now writing my memoirs, motivated by The West on Trial, but I need to decide how to tell my WCD story.   

I accumulated a vast amount of photographs and historical materials. Many about  my family in India, Guyana and Canada, that my Canadian children and GC don't know. If I don't document this history, it might get lost, because not many old folks remain to ask.

I am sorry Gill, I cant say more, but you are very intelligent person. 

There is positive use for the photos. Many in India don't know about he Indenture Labourers program  and the Indian MOE is trying to implement a program in schools.  Including museums that want the photos displayed in specific rooms for different Indenture countries. I am being asked to do presentations regarding Documentation of  Descendents of Indian Indenture Labourers in other countries.   These descendants are us.          

Chronicling the history of Guyana is one thing. Knowing what to do with it is a different headache. I myself decided to chronicle our postage stamp history, and ended up with one of the largest collection of Guyanese stamps. Only the super expensive rare ones from before 1867 are not part of my collection. But what does one do with a collection like that afterwards? I once considered donating it to the history museum of Guyana. But you can bet your life that people would thief and sell it.

@Tola

Thanks a lot for your detailed reply. From time to time certain rural & urban characters I had seen or knew in my formative years sprout up in my memory. They include old indentured immigrants who spoke only Indian dialects. I remember a night wedding that I attended at age 6 in 1957. The bridegroom's forefather and mine were jahaji bhai; they travelled to Demerara in the same ship. Our family bond remains strong today. In the old house of that family's at Uitvlugt Pasture I had first seen a harmonium, a mandolin and a dhantal. The father, sons and a daughter used to perform frequently on Radio Demerara live weekend shows.

The other day some members of that family suddenly cropped up in my thoughts. They migrated to England in the early 1960s.

Gilbakka posted:

Leonora posted:

Gil, on an unrelated matter, due to your journalism career you can probably provide some answers. In the late 60s a man called Homdat Maharaj came mysteriously to my village and opened a Polytechnic School. He brainwashed everyone and told them he was from Trinidad. He took the students' hard-earned savings to enter them in Exams, then ran away to NYC. Over the years we heard he was a Trini murderer who escaped to Guyana to scrounge up money to go to USA. Have you heard of him, and were there many overseas criminals in Guyana?

First time I'm hearing about that Trini.

Regarding your final question, offhand one overseas criminal was a Frenchman who escaped from Devil's Island (Cayenne) and arrived in Georgetown in the early 1940s. He stayed a few months, embarked on the North West District ferryboat, and proceeded to Venezuela where he settled down with a señorita and they ran a little business of some sort. That guy was Henri Charrier aka Papillon.

Long before that, in the late 18th century, another French criminal arrived in Georgetown very remorseful for murdering his brother. His name was Saffon, and a street is named after him. He bought a large tract of land, named one section La Penitence and the other section Le Repentir. You can guess what they mean.

In Rosignol we had one too, called Frenchie, tattoed head to toe. He made paspatoo, that is what we as kids understood wah he was seying. In reality, he made and sold picture frames at the local vicinty markets. We had a beautiful putagee gurl in the village too, name not putagee though-Yvette Perez.  

Tola posted:

I am now writing my memoirs, motivated by The West on Trial, but I need to decide how to tell my WCD story.  

After moving from Hague Back to CI, in 1965, about a year after,my mother squatted on a piece of land at the border of CI and Hague. I was a teenager then, spent most of my free time at the CI Community Center and the sea wall, my memory recalls seeing you at Hague,CI sea wall with a companion,me thinks you will have to omit the WCD story from your memoir,ants nest will be dug up.

Django posted:

Tola posted:

I am now writing my memoirs, motivated by The West on Trial, but I need to decide how to tell my WCD story.  

After moving from Hague Back to CI, in 1965, about a year after,my mother squatted on a piece of land at the border of CI and Hague. I was a teenager then, spent most of my free time at the CI Community Center and the sea wall, my memory recalls seeing you at Hague,CI sea wall with a companion,me thinks you will have to omit the WCD story from your memoir,ants nest will be dug up.

Bhai, you have a good memory. I had a feeling  you might put the pieces together. Based on brief interactions, some not positive and others discouraged by myself, I believe you are right. Thanks for your confidence. 

My life is devoted to building lives, not destroy it. 

Gilbakka posted:

@Tola

Thanks a lot for your detailed reply. From time to time certain rural & urban characters I had seen or knew in my formative years sprout up in my memory. They include old indentured immigrants who spoke only Indian dialects. I remember a night wedding that I attended at age 6 in 1957. The bridegroom's forefather and mine were jahaji bhai; they travelled to Demerara in the same ship. Our family bond remains strong today. In the old house of that family's at Uitvlugt Pasture I had first seen a harmonium, a mandolin and a dhantal. The father, sons and a daughter used to perform frequently on Radio Demerara live weekend shows.

The other day some members of that family suddenly cropped up in my thoughts. They migrated to England in the early 1960s.

Gil, I know that feeling when a person, or memory  is recalled.

There is a friend in our village who left Guyana for an overseas destination, after I left Guyana.  She was someone I knew, but not very close and one day I had this strong feeling to know where she was in the world. After much inquiries, no one could tell me about her.  

My brother had passed-on in Toronto and I was riding the elevator between floors. At this moment she came to mind and I was telling my cousin about her. The lady behind me that I did not recognize said... Bhai, like you  na know me... It was her in the elevator, visiting from England. 

Also, during my earlier years in Vancouver, I met a Guyanese guy from Toronto selling spices. We had bowls of soup at a restaurant and went our separate ways.

I graduated from radio wireless college and went to sea for two years. After Europe I visited relatives in Tortola, BVI and two young Guyanese guys had an old army jeep.  I paid for the gas and they showed me around the island. One guy was the brother of the guy I met in Vancouver, who also knew my bother  who drove a Land Rover at the Mon Repos agriculture station.  

Mr.T posted:

Chronicling the history of Guyana is one thing. Knowing what to do with it is a different headache. I myself decided to chronicle our postage stamp history, and ended up with one of the largest collection of Guyanese stamps. Only the super expensive rare ones from before 1867 are not part of my collection. But what does one do with a collection like that afterwards? I once considered donating it to the history museum of Guyana. But you can bet your life that people would thief and sell it.

Mr. T, it is also a problem to know what to do with my collection. Including Essequibo.Demerara coin, minted when slavery was abolished.

My immediate solution is placing  them in boxes for the children and GC, but I am afraid, they might not understand its historical value.

Guyana is such an unsafe place to donate anything of value, before it goes missing.  After publishing my photos, the original  and negatives might be given to  the Canadian or British archives. Whom I am in contact regarding other things.  Based on others experiences, it is recommended that a contract regarding its use and display  be signed.  

Regarding my family historical documents and story, I set up a network of younger people in our families in Guyana, Canada, US and Europe.  We collect and distribute materials within the network. This way I believe it will be preserved  with the younger generations, as the older folks pass on.

But young people are so busy that they sometimes take three weeks to reply to an email, but it is my only choice.   

Re: stamp collections

In 1962 when I started attending Central High School, my classmates introduced me to philately. I bought a soft cover album for 25 cents and a packet of assorted foreign stamps for 10 cents from Bookers Universal Store, the forerunner of Guyana Stores. That's how I began.

One classmate sold foreign stamps from a small booklet, called approval book, that he obtained from Bridgenorth Stamp Club in Britain. I bought some from him and more packets from Bookers. Those of us who had two of the same stamp would swap with one another.

In late 1964 my uncle was vacationing in Trinidad. He mailed a hard cover album to me for Christmas. By that time I had acquired a few international penpals who shared the same hobby. They contributed substantially to my collection.

In 1984, during a 3-week visit to Russia, I bought another hard cover album together with a large set of Soviet stamps depicting different lighthouses.

In 1995 through mail order I got a thick spiral-bound album and 200 Antigua stamps from a philately shop in Britain. Most of them featured non-Antigua themes. I learned later that the Antigua government earned big revenue from printing stamps on President Kennedy, the moon landing, foreign celebrities etc.

When I migrated to Canada 22 years ago I brought along the latter two albums. I've offered them to my son but he's not interested yet. 

More laang time story. Don't listen to your great great grandmother:

https://youtu.be/DUmt21TqHw4