Tributes to Janet Jagan
Tribute to Cde. Janet Jagan
by Frank Anthony at Freedom House
Comrades,
Sadness crept into many of our lives, as we learnt of the untimely passing of comrade Janet Jagan, one of the founders of the Political Affairs Committee, a former General Secretary of the Peoples Progressive Party, the president of the Women Progressive Organization and the first female President of Guyana.
Her death has robbed the Caribbean, and indeed the World of a great freedom fighter, a true champion of the people, an extraordinary woman.
On behalf of all the members of the Progressive Youth Organization, I wish to express our sincerest condolences to her family. We in the PYO resolved that the best way we can pay tribute to comrade Janet, is to continue to champion her ideals for social justice, freedom and development in Guyana and around the world.
Comrade Janet has a unique place in our hearts, because she and comrade Cheddi has selflessly given up a good life to fight for a better life for all Guyanese. This arduous journey of struggle started the moment the Pan Am Sea plane landed on the Demerara River and never ceased until her last breath at the hospital.
She was there in the vanguard, giving leadership on women rights when she formed the Women Economic and Political Organization in 1946 the forerunner of the Women Progressive Organization.
She was there as cofounder of the Political Affairs Committee, the forerunner of the Peoples Progressive Party.
She was there at Enmore in 1948, when colonialism murdering bullets, made men into martyrs, these injustices, which were hitherto used as instruments of oppression to keep our people beaten and broken. But comrade Janet and Cheddi taught us how to bear these hurt not as defeat or humiliation but as a flag for the revolution, to raise people’s conscience to fight for freedom and justice.
She was there on the 1st of January, 1950 to breathe life into the Peoples Progressive Party and to delicately nurse it from infancy to adulthood, shepherding it through the rebellious adolescent years, with the firm yet gentle hand as General Secretary.
She was there in the trenches with her husband and other comrades challenging the status quo, fighting for Guyana’s independence. Their tenacity caused the colonial quo to lose its status, ending about 230 years of British rule.
Yes she was there in all that, and more.
She was there when detractors thought we were too progressive that is too red to rule, and unleashed many onslaughts of violence to remove the party from power, but her valiant efforts help to expose these perpetuators and help us preserve. She was a woman of real substance an anchor in rough waters.
She was there in fighting to prevent rigged elections, 1967, 1973, 1979 and 1986 and her expose, brought shame to the PNC, when she documented some of her finding, several booklets, in articles in the Mirror and Thunder.
She was there courageous, strong with a tenacity of purpose always bettering her best; she was a woman of many firsts, breaking invisible ceilings, opening up opportunities, allowing us to discover ourselves, to dream to aspire.
Yes, she was there not as a mere witness to our history, but an active participant, a creator of our history.
There are those on the lunatic fringe who may try to savage her contributions, but try as they may they cannot hijack her greatness with their mean spiritedness.
Her memory was good but her kindness better. She was always sending little notes of encouragement, a card on a birthday, a little gift for the children. She had a nurturing embrace for her comrades, firm but not stifling, unrelenting but not suffocating. She held the hands of most in the party, navigating them through difficulties and giving them space to grow.
When I became minister of Culture, I got a little not from her explaining why she created the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports not only because she was passionate about the arts, but that she felt it was a unifying force that can glue the Guyanese mosaic together.
Comrade Janet has always been a patron of the arts. In the fifties she supported the establishment of the theatre guild, when the government made available the land. The Guild prospered for many years, and after a short period of decline, Comrade Janet was there two years ago when we unveiled the plans to resuscitate the Guild.
In music, her taste and interest was wide and varied, in an interview with Dr. Vibert Cambridge, she told him about her love for Paul Robeson and Nat Cole songs, of calypsonians such as “32”, the music of the Brahms, Beethoven and Bach.
Her love for classical music, may have prompted her support for Allan Bush who visited Guyana in 1959, traveling to the various estates to witness the horrendous conditions under which the toiled lived, that inspired him to write an opera called the “Sugar Reapers”, it was the only opera ever written and performed about Guyana.
But her love for music was not confined to the classics. As steel pan maestro Roy Geddes can attest Cheddi and Janet had a passion for working people music. They formed the first National Steel Orchestra in the Caribbean in 1962, where all the players were paid a salary. In 1963, this Orchestra was performing the duties of cultural diplomacy as they toured Cuba.
Her love of dance was profound, and she supported her friend Helen Tait to explore the rich Guyanese dance traditions and bring them to stage. She also gave me tips on what we can do with the national school of dance and the national dance company.
Her love of art is well known; she founded the National Art Gallery, and used the space to start conversations on art and literature. Her passion for literature is manifested in the support for the Guyana Annual, in the poetry that she encouraged, in her own writings especially her short stories and children books.
The quality of her impact on the arts, have given many cultural practitioners a sense of artistic legitimacy. Comrade will truly be missed.
On my behalf, my wife Shanti and daughters Jessica and Ashley, I extend our condolences to Nadira and Joey and their families. Your loss, your grief is also ours, we care deeply for her and her kindness, selflessness, and her incorruptibility has always inspired and will continue to inspire us.
My family feels very privileged that we were able to share some real quality time with her. She has done quite a lot for me, and to her I owe significant debt gratitude.
Death cannot kill what never dies. Her memory, her glory and legacy will live on in our hearts.
May her soul be blessed with eternal peace.
TRIBUTE TO THE MOTHER OF THE GUYANESE NATION
By Dharamkumar Seeraj, M.P.
In l946, the Father of the Guyanese Nation, in equal partnership with indisputably the greatest frontline fighter for women’s rights in this country – the indomitable, inimitable Mrs. Janet Jagan, along with Messrs. Ashton Chase and Jocelyn Hubbard formed the Political Affairs Committee (PAC).
Mrs Janet Jagan and Dharamkumar Seeraj at Red House on March 19, 2009 -
1946 also saw the formation of the Women’s Political and Economic Organization (WPEO) – the predecessor to the WPO, led by Mrs. Jagan, Ms Winifred Gaskin, and Frances Stafford. These were intrepid women indeed, because they challenged the old order, and the bastion of male supremacy that dominated within the dictates of societal norms. The WPO, which evolved from the WPEO, is the original and primary women’s organization in the nation. In local parlance “Any other is a mock.”
As we say farewell to this champion of women’s rights and of human rights, I humbly take the opportunity to pay homage to the woman whom has truly loved and mothered this country and its people – first out of love and loyalty for her husband, then for their own sakes.
Time does not permit that I detail the perils and travails she endured in pursuit of social rights and justice, which included six months of hard labour in prison, separation from her babies, curtailment of her freedoms in diverse ways, lifelong threats and attempts on her life – Michael Forde martyred his life to save hers and the lives of countless others when he grabbed a bomb and deflected it from exploding in Freedom House. When, out of the love, commitment, dedication, and the supreme loyalty she has always demonstrated to her husband, and by extension his people, she fulfilled his last request and accepted the presidency upon his demise, she was witch-hunted out of that office by the very nation for which she fought all her adult life; yet she never advocated retaliation against any section or community, but always extended forgiveness with grace. Her love for this nation and its people was paralleled only by that of her husband.
If married women can today work in public institutions, we have to thank Janet Jagan; if Guyana’s women have a voice against abuse - in all its myriad forms, we have to thank Janet Jagan; if women can vote today, we have to thank Janet Jagan; if women can stand today in equal partnership with male counterparts in the highest law-making and policy-making forum in the land – the Legislative Assembly, we have to thank Janet Jagan.
And today we humbly say “thank you “ for pioneering the way of the freedom we today enjoy in our homeland.
I also want to acknowledge the wonderful man who brought this amazing woman to this land and gifted her, with absolute generosity, to this nation.
Beyond their public personas, the romance of Dr and Mrs Jagan was an ode to love that transcended all the divides to emerge sublimely pure and indestructible – a transcendental experience that reached out to gather within its embrace the entire Guyanese nation – and even beyond these shores, as was demonstrably exemplified in Dr. Jagan’s New Global Human order,” in which he argued for a restructuring of the global economic and social dispensation so that poverty and hunger can be eradicated and the human dimension to development would supersede all other considerations. Both Jagans were strong advocates for the empowerment of the vulnerable – with a special focus on women, and Dr. Jagan exemplified and encapsulated all the best qualities of a son, a father, a husband, a grandfather, a leader of men and of nations, but in fulfilling every one of these duties his wife stood in equal partnership resolutely and unwaveringly by his side.
The Jagans set high standards in ethics, integrity, and morality, and there is a dire need for a restoration of democratic principles that should govern our society. Even more so, there is a supreme need for honour to become a facet of our interaction and interrelation with our counterparts. To deal justly with the vulnerable, and even help to empower them, should hallmark one’s philosophy for human interaction. It is only by striving for universal respect for each member of society – man, woman, or child, can we create a better world for future generations, which was the ultimate aim of the first couple of this land.
They tried to inculcate these values into the society that they nurtured by living their lives well and by empowering and encouraging others to do so.
In recognition of the contributions, and in further tribute to the mother of the Guyanese nation, I would like to read a poem. It spells the name “Janet Jagan.”
J- is for justice, for which she fought lifelong
A- is for always, her spirit is so strong
N- is for never to lawlessness she surrendered
E- is for endurance, as this land’s defender
T- is for the tribute and homage we needs must pay
J- is for the Jagans, who fought hard, come what may
A- gainst imperialism, colonialism, and an unyielding man
G- is for gratitude – to the mother of this land
A- dvocate for the poor, and for peace and liberty
N- ational heroine of this land, you helped to set us free
Mrs. Jagan became Guyana’s first Prime Minister and First Vice-President on 17th March 1997. She was subsequently sworn in as the first woman President of the Republic of Guyana.
UNESCO awarded the Mahatma Gandhi Gold Medal to Mrs. Jagan in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the struggle for peace, democracy, and the promotion of women’s rights.
A representative of UNESCO presented the prestigious UNESCO Gandhi Gold Medal, which is awarded to an elite group of select world figures of outstanding merit, to Mrs. Janet Jagan on Monday 4th August 1997.
The Guyana Rice Producers Association, of which I am General-Secretary, extends condolences to the Jagan family, the PPP family, and this entire nation on this irreplaceable loss of the woman who left the shores of her homeland to carve a destiny for the Guyanese people alongside her life-partner. May their souls forever rest in peace, and may all they have aspired for our nation, and the world, fructify into a new global human order where the family of mankind can find eternal peace and prosperity.
PULL QUOTE:
‘If married women can today work in public institutions, we have to thank Janet Jagan; if Guyana’s women have a voice against abuse - in all its myriad forms, we have to thank Janet Jagan; if women can vote today, we have to thank Janet Jagan; if women can stand today in equal partnership with male counterparts in the highest law-making and policy-making forum in the land – the Legislative Assembly, we have to thank Janet Jagan.’
