- Choices and Change: Life’s Realities
This week on Merundoi
NAH because dog ah play with yuh, he nah guh bite yuh.

So Ryan, be careful. Watch out for Stacey!

Just what is she trying to do with Kevin?

Unique’s vacation with her father, Aubrey, is about to end. Will this also be the end of their relationship?

The outcome of Catalina’s discussion with Shelly on condom use may lead to destruction.

And Brian takes James out for a drink, and they discuss Candace and Jamal. Will James take Brian’s advice?

Don’t miss this week’s episodes!!

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Sparing a thought for the lowly newspaper vendor
By Norman Faria

Mr Edwin Lewis as he plies his trade outside the horse-racing establishment on Camp and Charlotte Streets here in Georgetown (Photo by Norman faria)

As he (very seldom a woman) holds up the latest edition, showing the blaring headline, with one hand while managing to wedge a bundle of papers under the arm, he somehow manages to make change for the passing motorists.

Today, as most Guyanese who visit North American cities will know, that has changed: Today, the vendors usually have their little stands at intersections selling all types of publications, including magazines -- even hot coffee and snacks! In some cities like Hollywood, the vendors are banned.

But in some African and Asian countries, vendors still hustle the rush-hour crowds as they snake between the cars.

In Guyanese urban areas, as in Barbados and Trinidad, the tradition is for them to sit at prominent intersection corners. One of them is at Charlotte and Camp streets, outside the betting shop. There you will find Edwin Lewis. He 's been at it for nearly twenty years. Most times when I'm in Guyana, I walk into Georgetown early morning to have a cup of tea and read all the major papers. I get them from him.

No matter what weather, he is there. If it's raining, he's got his plastic to cover up, while he ducks into the shop. Above the racing commentary from the TV monitors and discussion buzz of the gambling addicts ( some of whom will be throwing away money which should go to helping out with household expenses), Lewis said it is an honest living. It is a time honoured occupation. In keeping with ‘branching out’, he keeps a ‘cooler’ nearby with soft drinks for customers.

Aside from the four dailies -- Chronicle, Kaieteur News, Guyana Times and Stabroek News --you can buy the political party papers like the Mirror. The more papers he sells, the more money he makes. But the bulk of his customers are regulars. The bundles left every morning are invariably the same amount.

Lewis, ’70-something’ and from the East Coast, says he hasn't had any major problems. As with other occupations, he has to deal with some regulars who don't honour their debts. "You sometimes have to make arrangements (with people to pay on a monthly basis). But some of them don't want to pay, so you have to refuse them credit," he said in an interview last December.

Most times, you will find him standing up. This is unlike most of the other city vendors, such as the woman near the Stabroek Market minibus loading area (next to the iguanas and chickens on the sidewalk) from whom I also buy from time to time. Doesn't he get tired? Lewis replied he hasn't got time to sit down. He is always busy with customers, and gaffing with friends, though there is a chair on the sidewalk for him to sit for a few moments now and again.

Guyana, as in other countries like the US, has a system whereby vendors travel around on bicycles and other means of transport. They drop off the papers to subscribers' homes. People may come out to buy them from day to day. When I am in places like Anna Regina (on the Essequibo Coast) or the ferry stellings, you watch out for the fellows selling the papers. Some of them going through neighbourhoods have individual personalities. They add their own interpretations as they shout out the headlines.

The number of vendors in the US, for example, has probably declined compared to the 1940s and 1950s. Newspaper readership is down nationwide. Between April and September last year, it fell by 10.6 per cent. The downward trend will probably continue well into 2010. This is due to market inroads from other sources of news, such as the Internet. Newspaper advertising was down some 7.9 per cent last year.

In Guyana, Internet usage is probably lower in relative terms than in North America, though it is increasing as incomes and the standard-of-living for all Guyanese rise. The newspaper business is apparently still making money. Reading newspapers is still part of Guyana's media culture. Indeed, a new daily -- the Guyana Times -- recently came on line. Guyana has a good record, since 1992, of freedom of the press, though some knowledgeable observers say it is too free. More controls and regulations in the interest of the overall society's good are long overdue, they maintain.

Vendors are still needed. They are on the front lines in getting the papers into the public's hands. Spare a thought for them. They do their part in the dissemination of information; they help spread the word. Some of it is not really news; it is sensationalism, based on speculation and hearsay. It panders to people's baser instincts. It is designed to maximise newspaper sales.

There is, nevertheless, a lot of news about the ongoing progress and development in Guyana. People will read between the lines and know the score. And hardworking individuals like Edwin Lewis are doing their part.

As I walk away from Mr. Lewis one morning last December, I half expected him to be calling out: "Read all about it !" to motorists on busy Camp street. Just like the vendor at Spadina and Bloor in downtown Toronto (Canada) from whom I bought the Toronto Star and Globe and Mail when I lived there in the 1970s. But he didn't need to.
(Norman Faria (nfaria@caribsurf.com) is Guyana's Honorary Consul in Barbados)

Kreative Korner…
Loss and Lesson…
Start on 12 turn to behind centre
By Vanessa Narine
“ENABLING IS a heavy responsibility,” she said aloud to herself in her apartment that now seemed uncomfortable with the realization of her acknowledgement.

An acknowledgement whose imprint upended her world, the world she thought she’d made impervious to the many ‘dangers’ that oftentimes cloak themselves in facades.

Knowing that she could not stay in her room, her home, much longer, she left in a daze.

At just 26, Leah Isaacs had accomplished much more than others her age.

She was a writer for an esteemed magazine, ‘Explore’, and was up for a promotion to assistant editor.

She owned an apartment in a good part of town, which placed her close to work, and she had a great social life.

Added to that, she was a petite beauty, and was proud of the chic dress sense she boasted, something for which she was always complimented.

She was what anyone would call happy.

But was she?

“Hmm!” she sighed, as she continued walking away from her apartment building towards no particular direction.

She sighed again, recalling that it was this very question that pushed her into accepting the challenge that sought to change her ‘safe’ view of life.

“Cynicism is easy, but developing confidence in another is an entirely differently ballgame.”

That was what she was once told, and the question of whether or not she was truly happy was pushed to the forefront of her mind for serious contemplation.

This was the very question that incited her to try a new outlook, to make a change, to open life to a new friend.

The same friend that had breezed her way into Leah’s life, annoyingly at first, with her cheeriness, then slowly, bit by bit, endearingly.

The same ‘friend’ that today turned her world topsy-turvy with one smooth, quick blow.

Melissa Garraway was a whirlwind that created a ruckus (in a good way) everywhere she went, and it was no different when she started working with ‘Explore’.

She was a 21-year-old whirling dervish that enamored everyone who crossed her path with the uncanny panache she possessed.

However, despite the age difference between them, after some time, Leah and Melissa became each other’s confidante.

Leah, the precocious one with a kind of candor that made people stay out of her way, and Melissa, a mix of everything, from thoughtful and loud-mouthed to eccentric and impossible.

Yet, they had fast become friends.

They were independent of each other, could function without the other, yet there was a certain something in their friendship that made them undividable.

And so they continued, each looking out for the other as each built and absorbed a little something from the other’s strength.

Where Melissa was too naïve, Leah showed her reason, and taught her to be more practical.

And likewise, where Leah was too practical, unwilling to see the good that was there, Melissa opened up a new world to her.

They both gave as much as they took from that friendship, and things went along just fine.

Until, the demons of the past ghosted their way to the present.

“…I think about choosing never to wake up from my dream but that is what my reality is. It is but a dream or should I call it a fantastic fantasy. But then it hits me and I know that I must rise from this surreal milieu. Yet, my feet drag because I know my actions will throw those close to me into a nightmare of suffering….”

These were the words that Leah read from Melissa’s journal, which she found by her door, a tiny bulge in an oversized paper bag, one morning.

The same Saturday morning that Melissa had gone missing.

Leah had gone frantic and for months, there had been no leads that the authorities could follow.

It was as if she’d fallen off the planet or something.

And in that time, Leah was slowly making her way back into a black whole that was nothing but void.

Her world that was filled with faces and laughter and fun, yes, but void because when she went to bed at nights, there was an emptiness that hung over her.

And then it came.

The telephone rang, another Saturday morning, five months to the date since Melissa had gone missing.

“Hello, Ms. Isaacs,” came a cold voice from the other end.

“Yes, this is she.”

“Hello, miss, this is Sergeant Jacobs, and I am afraid I called to tell you that we found your friend. She is dead. She overdosed herself on morphine at a small mental facility in the countryside that she apparently checked into. She was a depression case, it seems. I am sorry,” and the line went dead.

His words, brutally frank, swam around in her mind, not making sense for a while but, along with those words swam another few.

“…I have problems; maybe I should get checked into a psych ward. It won’t be the first time, but maybe this time they can cure me. My meds are not working as well as they used to. I need more to numb the pain. I want to be happy, but the pain is too much. The strain of having to live is too much to bear at times. But at least I have found my own ‘morphine’, my friend, Leah, who has enabled me to live through the pain. I have her now, so the meds can wait. I just hope I can hold on long enough. No one knows of my mental illness, and no one ever will….”

“Enabling is a heavy responsibility,” Leah repeated as she sat down on a bench that was placed along the path she paced.

Leah blamed herself a little, thinking that maybe if she and Melissa had stayed out of each other’s life, things might have been different.

But would she have really been better if she had not seen the world that Melissa showed her.

The innocent outlook that would make your heart break at a child’s tear, or cause you to smile at the old couple still holding hands after decades of being together.

Melissa had taught her that human nature is as such that one should not make assumptions because of the few wrongs that have been thrown your way.

People are bad, yes, but they are just as good.

“Lies, lies, all lies!” Leah shouted at the empty air.

And the tears began to trickle their way down her cheeks while she resolved to return to the existence that was not so painful. The existence that was empty, yes, but at least her heart would not be breaking for the best friend she had loved and lost.

Loss, a powerful word, and an even more powerful feeling.

And in that moment, Leah’s firm resolve undid many a thing both she and Melissa had worked hard to bring to light.

They were always there, Leah’s heart that was as big as the ocean, and her passion that would fill the air and her ability to love; something that was hidden because of the fear of hurt.

“Melissa,” Leah whispered.

It was sad.

More so, because Leah never looked back at Melissa’s journal.

If only she had continued reading, she would have seen that in the very journal, her friend bared her soul, showing her that everyone was imperfect and everyone had flaws but life could be managed.

While managing for Melissa was complicated by her sever depression, life was manageable and more than ever Melissa fought to do just that.

But her disease overcame her.

Yet, that was not reason enough to give up on humanity or even reason enough to give up on the emotions that make up who we are; love, loss, pain, comfort, fear, strength, courage, success, failure; it all makes us who we are.

“…I have issues as everyone does, maybe a tad bit more, but I choose to present a happy effect for those I meet because mulling over what I cannot change will do me no good. So instead I pray for the strength to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and knowledge to know the difference….”

You must learn day by day

Year by year, to broaden your horizons.

The more things you love,

The more you are interested in,

The more you enjoy,

The more you are indignant about-

The more you have when anything happens,

The more you have when Life, happens. (Anonymous)

CD4 Cell-count…
What do the numbers mean?
Hello friends,
By now you would have become familiar with the term ‘CD4 cell-count’, or the T-Lymphocytes (T-cells). But have you ever asked your doctor what this means?

Whether called T-cells or CD4-cells, these ‘helper cells’ are a key measure of the health of the immune system, and lead the attack against infections.

Why take a CD4 cell-count?
The higher the CD4 cell-count of Person Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), the better it is for him, while a lower count is an indication that HIV would have done greater damage within the individual. CD4 counts are also used to indicate when to start certain types of drug therapy.

Do not let anyone tell you that the use of this term is too complicated for you. The minute you test positive (for HIV), it is your right to know to what extent the virus is affecting your health. The only way you can know this for sure is by finding out; knowing what your CD4 cell-reading is. Ideally, a CD4 reading should be done every three months, but some resource-poor countries allow testing every six months.

What next?
After a ‘positive’ result, your counselor/tester or your clinician would next consider having you take a CD4 cell-count. This is important since the fact that you have only just discovered that you have HIV does not necessarily mean that you only recently contracted it. Very many persons, for fear of receiving a sero-positive result, keep deferring taking the test and eventually do not go to have one done until they begin feeling sick, or getting a lot of the symptoms of HIV.

It is for this reason that we suggest the sooner one takes the HIV test, the better - regardless of how you feel.

It is important, too, for you to know and understand the symptoms of HIV. HIV is placed into two categories: Asymptomatic, the early stages of the infection where the person displays no symptoms. Then there is the symptomatic stage where visible signs of the infection appear.

The early symptomatic infection is that stage where the first symptoms of a weakened immune system occur. Common conditions include: Fungal infections of the mouth or other mucosal surfaces, e.g. oral thrush; shingles, excessive bruising and bleeding; bacterial pneumonia; tuberculosis; chronic fatigue; fever and weight loss and chronic diarrhea. These may persist for several months in PLHIV.

Late symptomatic infection: This stage officially constitutes the condition called AIDS, and is defined by a blood test that confirms a low number of immune cells (less than 200) or by the presence of various other complications. Whenever the CD4 cell-count is this low, it means that conversely, the viral load (which measures the amount of the viral is the blood) is high. This is because the weakened immune system is not able to control the infection. As the viral load increases, so, too, does the risk of transmission of the virus to other persons increase.

The following levels of CD4 cell-counts indicate the various conditions:

500-1400 : This represents the average normal count in a healthy HIV-negative

Less than 500: This means that the person’s immune system is damaged

Less than 350: This means that the damage is moderately severe

Less than 200: This means that the damage is severe, and the patient is officially considered as having AIDS.

Less than 50: This means that the disease is advanced, and damage my be

irreparable.

Hope this information has been of help to you.
Meanwhile, if you have further questions or observations, or would like to share experiences with us, feel free to contact us on waronhiv@yahoo.com, or mail your letters to: HIV/AIDS Mailbox, Guyana Chronicle, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown.

Tales from way back when…
(A look at some of the stories that made the news ‘back-in-the-day’ with CLIFFORD STANLEY)
By Clifford Stanley
Kanhai is ‘Sportsman of the Year’, Masdammer Sportswoman

ROHAN Kanhai is BG’s ‘Sportsman of the Year’ 1956 and Claudette Masdammer ‘Sportswoman’.

The two were the unanimous choice of a 14-man panel yesterday afternoon, at the Bookers Boardroom, Water Street.

Clyde Walcott (cricketer), Freddie Cannon (shooting), Eileen Davis (hockey) and Mrs. R S Delgado (lawn tennis) received ‘Honorable Mention’.

So Kanhai has the proud honour of inscribing his name on the beautiful trophy donated by Shell and Regent Petroleum Distributors (WI) Limited, while the same applies to Ms. Masdammer as regards the fine trophy donated her by the Demerara Tobacco Limited.

Occupying the chair for ‘Sportswoman of the Year’ was Mr. Lionel Luckhoo, while Mr. GWE Cooper conducted the proceedings for getting at ‘Sportsman of the Year’.
(Guiana Graphic: January 19, 1957)

Muneshwer’s General Store
On 22 Water and America Sts. Central 943

Offers a fine assortment of Gents Canadian leather belts, woolen and Canadian ties, tropical suitings in all shades; stretchy and nylon socks. Also Martins expanding and leather belts. For the ladies: Stoles and scarves in plain and figured; Best Form brassieres padded and maternity. Also Stanley and Sorby carpenter’s tools; galvanized buckets and hardboard 8x4 expanding metal.
(Guiana Graphic: January 20, 1957)

Top steelband stars in today’s C’ship show
IN AN effort to foster the growth of the Local Steelband Association , promoter, Vivian Lee has arranged the 1957 ‘Ping Pong’ Championship from which the Association will receive 20% of the profits.

This triple show will take place at Astor Cinema this afternoon at 4.30 o’clock, and in addition to the crowning of BG’s ‘Ping Pong’ star, there will be a colourful steelband individual costume contest.

Pirates, soldiers, Indians, spacemen, slave girls, gypsies etc will clash against each other in exciting individual portrayals.

Messrs. Abdool Majeed & Sons Ltd. has donated a cup for the best girl masquerade.

Mayor Claude Merriman and Mr. Lionel Luckhoo will present their cups to the Quo Vadis and Marabuntas steelbands for their recent victories.

‘The Four Lords’, who are the current rage in local singing with their Platter-styled harmonization, will be heard with their popular : ‘You, You, You’ and other hit songs.
(Guiana Graphic: January 20, 1957)

Father must support child even if mother marries
IN FUTURE, fathers will hardly escape responsibility of their illegitimate children -- even after mothers are married and living with their husbands.

But this rule will only apply in cases where mothers have applied for maintenance orders before the date of marriage.

This order was made by Mr. Justice Stoby and Mr. Justice Luckhoo at a sitting of the Full Court of Appeal.

It was the case in which Mr. Balram S Rai appearing for Lancelot Neville, a loco-driver of Campbellville, urged unsuccessfully that it would be morally bad for such an order to stand, because it creates an issue of dual responsibility by father and step-father.

In this case, Mercedes Jones gave birth to two children, one in 1948 and one in 1951.

She applied for a maintenance order against Neville on March 20.

On June 18, 1956, Neville was adjudged putative father of both children.

But Jones was however married on May 26, 1956- 23 days before.

Mr. Rai argued that under the Ordinance, the woman must also be single when the order is made.

Mr. JOF Haynes for Jones opposed this contention.

The Court held that dual control was not to be regarded as the test.

Neville was ordered to pay $25 costs.

(Guiana Graphic: January 21, 1957)

Back to work
GUIANESE sugar-boilers who hold positions in the West Indies and Central America are returning to their jobs for the 1957 crops.

Several left during the past week, including Mr. George Kattick with his staff of four, for Central America.

Many others are booked to leave during the week.
(Guiana Graphic: January 15, 1957)

Accused insane, cannot stand trial
A RARE case turned up in the second Criminal Assize Court yesterday before the Hon. Mr . Justice Clare in which a murder accused was found incapable of standing trial.

The Jury accepted the evidence of Police Surgeon, Dr. L H Wharton, and, without retiring, returned a verdict of “Insane: Unfit to plea” against Harold Dookie of Albouystown , also called Arjune, who is charged with murdering Peter Goring on August 12.

The trial judge ordered that Dookie be taken away and detained in safe custody until Her Majesty’s pleasure be made known.

Dr. Wharton told the jury that the accused had been under his observation from October 30, 1956, and in his opinion was not of sound mind.

Dookie, he testified, suffered from repeated attacks of epileptic fits, and after each attack he became mentally abnormal and sometimes violent for several days.

His last attack was 10 days ago.

The accused stood in the dock, unconcerned over the whole affair and took no part in the proceedings.

Mr. GAS Van Sertima represented the Crown.

Mr. B S Rai appeared for the accused.
(Guiana Graphic: January 16, 1957)

Cycles licences due February 28
THOUSANDS of dollars will be pouring into BG’s revenue this year from the collection of licenses for bicycles.

Mr. Colin K Franker, Licences Revenue Officer, said that 50,000 bicycles are now on the road.

He is asking all persons to take out their licences as early as possible before expiration date February 28.

It will be recalled that $414,985 was collected in 1955 for both bicycles and motor vehicles.
(Guiana Graphic: January 19, 1957)

Man lies on railway line as train comes
A MAN, whose name was given as Rahim Khan, was seen stretched across the line of the approaching Berbice train, in the vicinity of Parade Street, about 3 o’clock yesterday.

The train, fortunately, was slowing down, and a conductor removed him from the line.

Meanwhile, the man who was knocked down by a train on Monday night has been identified as John Hermanstein of Supply, East Coast Demerara.
(Guiana Graphic: January 24, 1957)

100 not-out for Beterverwagting: Premier village
WE ARE hoping to make the village of Beterverwagting and Triumph.

So said the Chairman, Mr. Paul Slowe, yesterday at the centenary celebrations of the village in the presence of the Governor Sir Patrick Renison and a gathering, including village fathers, Local Government experts and villagers.

Mr. Slowe referred to his village as “the premiere village of BG.”

Due to the frequent floods, the villagers had to turn to cane farming, and its was the first place in BG to do so.

During the last crop, the village produced 25,000 tons of cane, and provided employment for over 1,000 persons for two weeks.

This, he felt, reflected creditably on the village and its 7,000 inhabitants.

They were proud of the people the village produced -- teachers, technicians, farmers and professional men and a Chief Justice… Sir Donald Jackson.

Nearly three thousand villagers, drawn from the three Counties, along with many prominent persons from the City, including officials of government departments, attended the Centenary Celebrations of Beterverwagting yesterday.

Throughout the District, there was an exhibition of considerable enthusiasm, rejoicing and jubilation among the populace.
(Guiana Graphic: February 12, 1957)

BG Legion to meet February 25
WHAT SEEMS to be an ex-military showdown is the annual general meeting of the BG Legion of ex-servicemen, which will be held on Monday, February 25, at the Legion’s Headquarters, Kelly Dam, at 7:30 pm.

Members claim that the Legion is being run for the minority of ex-servicemen of World War II whose delight is games, dances, billiards etc ! and not for the welfare of the majority- the sick, unemployed, distressed, homeless and would be farmers.

To clarify the matter, it is planned to change part of the executive, so as to run the organization for the good and welfare of all ex-servicemen and women of British Guiana.
(Guiana Graphic: February 16, 1957)

Satisfactory half year for Portuguese Pawnbrokery
THE HALF-year ending December 31, 1956 was another satisfactory period for the Portuguese Pawnbroking Company Limited.

The Company made a profit of $23,538.65 for the corresponding half-year ending December 31,1955, an increase of $3,683.72. This has justified the Company’s policy of increasing the Capital.

These figures were disclosed at the 140th Half- yearly Director’s Report at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders held yesterday afternoon.

Messrs. Carlos Gomes, F I Dias, C L De Freitas, Major CJ Bettencourt-Gomes, BEM, GF Baldwin and H W DeFreitas were re-elected Directors for the ensuing year.
(Guiana Graphic: February 23, 1957)
(Clifford Stanley can be reached to discuss any of the above articles at cliffantony@gmail.com or by telephone: 657-2043)

Time to rethink the humble potato
By Clare Murphy
THE POTATO Council is trying to garner support for its campaign to reclassify the tuber as a ‘supercarb’ - recognising its "unique dual identity" as both carbohydrate and vegetable.

A petition is being put to Downing Street, asking for such recognition amid what the industry body believes is widespread confusion about the health benefits of the spud.

Are the potato people on to something, or simply trying to bamboozle the health-conscious with a new but meaningless name?

The noughties were not a good decade for the potato.

Spurned by dieters on low-carbohydrate regimens such as Atkins, the vegetable also appeared to score poorly on the Glycaemic Index (GI) -- which measures how quickly foods are broken down. The slower, the better -- and the potato was quick.

And then it seemed it was no longer a vegetable at all, passed over by the Department of Health when it compiled its list of ‘five-a-day’.

In similar programmes in other countries, the potato was not overlooked. In the US, the potato earned a place on the ‘More Matters’ campaign.

Potatoes were instead classified in the UK as a ‘starchy food’ -- not to be ignored, but not one we needed encouragement to eat.

It seemed a far-cry from the years of World War II, when government posters asked: "Why stop at serving them once a day? Have them twice, or even three times, for breakfast, dinner and supper."

Potatoes, the public were told, would keep you warm and guard against infection.

"I don't like the term supercarb at all -- it takes us from science into marketing -- but I do understand the frustration with the way we talk about potatoes, of which I am a great fan," says Ursula Arens of the British Dietetic Association.

"The potato has had an unfair press, and has really suffered from problems with terminology -- 'starchy' signals fat, dry, dull, undynamic - when in fact it should be conveyed as something that is really good to have on your plate."

On the boil
A portion of boiled new potatoes contains a quarter of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C -- more than a portion of carrots or an apple -- and contains nearly a third of daily levels of vitamin B6, some potassium, and even protein.

With the skin on a potato it also offers fibre and iron.

While it is starchy, work published in the British Nutrition Journal attacked the ‘unjustified generalisation’ of the potato when it came to the GI index, arguing that everything depended on how the vegetable was prepared -- an overcooked French fry was quite different from the boiled, cooled new potato.

Herein lies one of the problem of the potato, and it has been suggested, the basis for fears that inclusion on the five-a-day would be tantamount to a carte blanche to eat chips.

Perhaps more so than any other vegetable, the potato is particularly vulnerable to being mashed up with a great hunk of butter or dunked in the deep fat fryer.

"Potatoes are an important source of Vitamin C. They are healthiest when baked or as boiled new potatoes in their skins. Vitamin C is leached if they are peeled and boiled in a lot of water," says Tom Sanders, professor of nutrition & dietetics at King's College, London.

But there is still room for the nation's favourite. "Big, fresh cut chips only take up about 7% fat because of their smaller surface area, and oven chips are OK as they only contain 5% fat."

Potato power
The very notion that any food is ‘super’ is frowned upon by the Food Standards Agency.

"There is no agreed scientific definition of superfoods," a spokesman said. Indeed, suggestions that any specific fruit or vegetable can confer particular protection against disease have yet to be proven -- but the potato appears to hold some promise.

Researchers at the Institute of Food Research have found molecules in potatoes called kukoamines, which they believe could lower blood pressure, while a separate study from the same centre suggested that a substance called pectin - found in many fruit and vegetables - may protect against cancer.

"We've seen it in the laboratory, what we are trying to establish now is whether this molecule is actually released in the human body.

We do know that potatoes are particularly rich in pectin," says the institute's Professor Vic Morris.

"It is certainly a good food source, but it does have a high starch content. We should think definitely think of the potato as an important vegetable - just let's not perhaps eat too many." (BBC News)

Kitchen matters…
RECIPE OF THE WEEK: Braised Chicken with pineapple
Ingredients:
3-3½ Lb Chicken

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 oz margarine

1-2 onions, chopped

4 tbsp chopped eschalot

4 tbsp chopped celery

1 oz flour

¾ pt stock made from the chicken giblets or 1chicken stock cube

1 tsp Chinese or Soy Sauce

1 tsp tomato ketchup and a pinch of nutmeg

1 small pineapple, sliced

2 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped, chopped parsley to garnish.

Method:
1) Clean and wash chicken in a solution of lemon juice or vinegar and water.

2) Dry chicken on a clean towel.

3) Joint chicken.

4) Season with salt, pepper, and a little of the chopped garlic.

5) Heat margarine in a frying pan without browning.

6) Fry chicken until slightly brown, cooking legs and breast first.

7) Remove chicken from pan and place in an oven-proof dish.

8) Add chopped garlic, eschallot and celery.

9) Blend flour, stock, Chinese sauce, tomatoes, ketchup and nutmeg. Pour over chicken, cover and bake in hot oven for 20 mins.

10) Remove, cover, and arrange sliced pineapple and chopped tomatoes and bake for a further 15 mins

11) Decorate with chopped parsley.

(Potpourri is brought to you courtesy of The Carnegie School of Home Economics)

Preserving our literary heritage
Bridging Guyanese and Brazilian Literature

Dr Miguel Nenevé (centre) with his Brazilian Association of Canadian Studies colleagues (from left) Luiz Miguel da Rocha; Rosa Berardo; Ana Rosa Neves Ramos; and Dilma M Mello Dr Miguel Nenevé

PP:The literature of Guyana started with the writings of the colonisers, missionaries, explorers, settlers, and this was the case for a long while, until around 1831, when the local voice was heard through poetry. Poetry ruled the roost, as it were, until the emergence of literary magazines that encouraged the writing of short fiction. There was an upsurge of local writing after the Second World War and the period leading up to the Independence of Guyana. The novel gained momentum with the publication of Edgar Mittelholzer’s first novel, ‘Corentyne Thunder’, in 1941. From then to now, the literature of Guyana has been transformed in a such a way that many of our writers have gained international recognition by way of winning prizes like the Commonwealth Prize, the Whitbread Prize, T S Elliot Prize, the Casa de las Americas Prize, and our literature is being studied by scholars far and wide.

Let’s retrace the history of Guyanese literature and see what we find: First, it was the empire writing out literature; then the emergence the local voice; followed by that voice writing back to the empire, as it were. Now, our literature has found a niche in world literature, adding to the flavour of world literature, and academics from abroad are delving into our literature; off the cuff, there are academics who have been, or are doing their Ph D dissertations on Martin Carter, Wilson Harris, Edgar Mittelholzer etc.

Now, we take another look at our literature from a different perspective; we take a look at our literature from the Amazonian standpoint. And this is where Prof Miguel Nenevé comes in. From your background, it seems that you are looking at world or comparative literature, and that means you are studying various types of literature. What attracted you to Guyanese literature?

MN: That is a good question. In Brazil, when I started studying literature in the Department of English at the university, it was only English and American literature we studied. Somewhere along the line, I asked myself why; this was sort of triggered by my visit to Canada. Canadian literature was the first literature in English I studied, besides American and British Literature. Writing my dissertation on Margaret Laurence from the postcolonial perspective, I could and should read many postcolonial writers from the Caribbean, from Africa and India. I attended lectures by Dr. Frank Birbalsingh, a Guyanese teaching postcolonial literature at York University.

Dr. Birbalsingh was very important to me by directing my attention to Guyana´s literature.

Much later, I met Cyril Dabydeen at a ‘Postcolonial Education Conference’ in Ottawa. I still didn’t know he was from Guyana. I saw his books on the shelf, and what drew my attention was the title: ‘Born in the Amazonia’. At the beginning, I thought it was just another book written by travelwriters who want to condemn Brazilians for the burning of the forest, the destruction of life in the Amazon (books written from the perspective of ‘imperial eyes’). By reading the book, I saw it was a different book, poem written from other perspective, sometimes satirizing the colonial view of the Amazon. Then I talked to Dabydeen and found out that he was from here; from Guyana. So I thought this is good for us Brazilians that live in the Amazon. And it is written from a post-colonial perspective.

In my introduction, I said that our literature was first written by our colonial conquerors. With the opening of the Takatu Bridge, the peoples on both sides are looking or prospecting for various financial interests. There is a possibility that the literature of the two countries will not be featured in this upsurge of activities. We know the importance of literature; we know the role of literature in the all-round development of a nation. Having said that, the literatures of both countries will serve to open the cultures of each to the other, which will translate in enormous benefits in the longrun, and we the custodians of our respective literatures should ensure that our literatures are not neglected in this process….

MN: Yes; this is very important, because I think literature is a way of integrating much more than we think sometimes. If we want to start business, understanding of culture is important…There is a translation of Pauline Melville’s book, ‘The Ventriloquist’s Tale’, in Portuguese. So, Brazilians are reading Guyanese literature. So, translation of our respective literature is important.

Translation is an important bridge, too; translation of Guyanese literature into Portuguese, for example. I am, in fact, translating Dabydeen’s book, ‘Born in the Amazon’ into Portuguese.

Wow! That’s great news! This is indeed a great development! I know that there is a collection of poems by Martin Carter in Spanish, and some of Seymour’s poems are in Portuguese. This is an area we must explore… I neglected to say in my introduction that many of our books were/have been translated in other languages…

MN: I just remembered that Wilson Harris’s ‘Palace of the Peacock’ was translated into Portuguese. The translator had some difficulties in translating some expressions from the original ‘Palace of the Peacock’. The translator couldn’t reproduce some Guyanese terms and phrases into its context; it is necessary to know the context and the language in particular situations. For the mis-translation, the book was withdrawn from circulation.

Did the translator produce a glossary?
I think in this case, translators are advised to do so. He should have done, but he did not.

Still on the subject of translation, let’s turn our attention to Pauline Melville’s ‘The Ventriloquist’s Tale’ and its translation into Portuguese, ‘A História do Ventriloquo’.

MN: This is interesting. I went to Lisbon on a conference, and presented a paper on translation, mis-translation, and failure of translation. Melville´s ‘The Ventriloquist´s Tale’ is a rewriting of the Brazilian work, ‘Macunaima’. However, Melville read ‘Macunaima’ in English; not in the original Portuguese. So, she had to use the (mis)translated text. And it is interesting that the Brazilian translator of the ‘The Ventriloquist´s Tale’ seems to ignore that ‘The Ventriloquist´s Tale’ is somehow based on a Brazilian work…. Melville, one can say, rewrote ‘Macunaima’ in a postmodern way. The narrator of the novel, for example, is saying: ‘I am a liar, so don’t trust me.’ Or, quoting: ‘We, in this part of the world, have special veneration for the lie, and all its consequences and ramifications. We treat lie seriously ...’ Besides, the narrator says that his camouflage is a required skill for the Amerindian. So, it is like saying, do not trust what you hear, or what I tell you. It is a translation of a translation ... or is it camouflage?

I think Melville covered that in the prologue...
MN: Yes! And we can say that, thinking in this way, Melville´s work is a translation of a translation... Because, she read Mário de Andrade in translation, done by E A Goodland. (And Mário de Andrade himself translated Koch-Grunberg´s book on the Pemon culture and the myth of Makonaima.)

So, the translator [Goodland] lived for a long time in Guyana?
MN: Yes! As far as I know, E A Goodland, he was working for a company in Guyana when he got acquainted with, and later translated, Mário de Andrade´s work. It is funny, for example, that the expression, repeated many times in the original, ‘Ai! Que preguiça!’, which could be translated as ‘Aw! Such a laziness!’ or ‘Oh! I am lazy!’ was translated into English as ‘What a f------ life!’ And Melville keeps this expression, ‘What a f------ life!’ More interesting than this is that the Brazilian translator of Melville translated as ‘Ah! Que saco de vida!’ which is very far from ‘Ai!Que preguiça!’ So, the Brazilian translator just ignored the connection between ‘Macunaima’ and ‘The Ventriloquist´s Tale’.

This came out in the Prologue of ‘The Ventriloquist’s Tale’.
MN: What a f------ life! Melville took the translation. We can say that Mário de Andrade´s translator was thinking about Guyana, as we can see in another example: In Portuguese, we have ‘Port wine from Minas Gerais’. Minas Gerais is a state in northeastern Brazil. But in the English version, one reads: ‘Correia genuine Spanish port from Georgetown’. Why he translated Minas Gerais into Georgetown, and why he inserted Correia, are very good questions.

So, he translated with a Guyanese audience in mind.
MN: Exactly. And he dedicated the translation to Edwina Melville, a relative of Pauline Melville.

What about the missing pieces of Makonaima, from the original German by Koch- Grunsburg?
MN: I have not read the whole book by Theodor Koch-Grunberg (‘Von Roraima Zum Orinoco’, published in 1924). It is interesting that this German ethnologist or anthropologist is considered a good contributor to study of South America's indigenous people, in particular the Pemon people in the Amazon region (Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana). However, he also depended on translators to write his book. And Mário de Andrade, in his turn, translated only what was of his interest.

We should ask Pauline [Melville] if she had seen those missing pieces. But this doesn’t take away... this translation of a translation, this does not take away from Melville’s effort, her perspective, her arrangement ...

I think the book is excellent. The book in fact warns the reader about (mis) translation or failure in translation. The boy, ‘Bla-Bla’ (a character in ‘The Ventriloquist´s Tale’), for example, dies because of a failure in translation. The American working for an oil company in Guyana said ‘Chofoye!’ trying to warn the boy against explosion. He thought it was the word for explosion. As the narrator of the novel says, ‘the stupid Americans didn´t even realise the boy spoke English, and that we have different languages anyway (343-44).’ So, Melville´s book is a little about that too; it carries the message: Don´t trust the teller; don´t trust the translator... But she tells a very nice story, from the Amerindian perspective, in fact, revealing many perspectives from which one can tell the story.…

In oral literature, this is what happens... a story can be enhanced, embellished with each telling, perhaps to suit the audience, the time, and place... as long as the story remains in orality. It is true, but the moment it is written down, it becomes fiction. Remember that part?

Yes! And the narrator (of ‘The Ventriloquiat´s Tale’) says that his grandmother did not like the writing; she trusted the oral, not the written story. The narrator´s mother says that ‘all writing is fiction.’

Despite it all, we are happy now that we have the original (of Makonaima myth) in German... then the translation in Portuguese... and then from Portuguese to English. And now the story is extended by Melville….

MN: Yes. Melville, in a postmodern way, she reveals that there are many positions from which one can interpret a story. Even the myth of Makonaima is retold from many views.

So, we must thank our literary ancestors (Koch-Grunberg, Mário de Andrade, E A Goodland) for making this nexus between Brazilian and Guyanese literature. You need to come again to talk about translation, mis-translation and failure of translation…

Yes. Thank you. It is a pleasure for me to discuss this connection between Guyana and Brazil in literature.
I hope your stay here is very rewarding.
Thank you. It is really rewarding.
(To respond to this author, either call him on (592) 226-0065 or send him an email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)

WHAT’S HAPPENING:
• Look out for the second novel by Brenda Do Harris, ‘Calabash Parkway’ and the third collection of poems by Janet Naidu, ‘Sacred Silence’.

Judge’s misdirection frees convicted rapist
By Barclay
CONVICTED burglar and rapist, Boodram Lall, who in 1967 was found guilty on the unsworn evidence of a child that corroborated sworn testimony of the mother, appealed and was freed by the Guyana Court of Appeal.

That court, constituted by Chancellor Kenneth Stoby and Justices of Appeal P A Cummings and Victor Crane, found that the trial judge had erroneously told the jury at the trial that the child’s unsworn testimony was capable of corroborating the mother’s evidence.

As a result, the appeal was allowed and the convictions and sentences quashed.

The facts of the case disclosed that the appellant was indicted on two counts, firstly, for ‘burglary with intent to commit rape’ on K, the mother of KR, a nine-year-old girl.

The trial judge questioned the child and recorded the opinion that she was of sufficient competent understanding to give evidence, but he did not permit her to be sworn, as he did not think she understood the nature of an oath, and as a result, she gave unsworn evidence. Her testimony, if admissible and if believed, afforded strong corroboration of her mother’s evidence.

The jury were directed that the rule of practice was to look for corroboration of the mother’s evidence. Quite properly, the trail judge told them that they could convict on the uncorroborated evidenced of the mother, but he also told them over and over again that K R’s unsworn evidence corroborated the mother’s testimony.

That court held that: (i) The unsworn evidence of a child could not be used to corroborate the sworn testimony of another person; (ii) the directions were of such a nature that it was impossible to say whether the jury relied for their verdict of “Guilty” on the uncorroborated evidence of the mother alone, coupled with the warning that they were entitled to do, or, on the evidence of the child as corroborative of the mother’s testimony.

That court, which allowed the appeal – quashing the convictions and sentences – had made reference to nine cases.

Queen’s Counsel Mr. J O F Haynes had represented the appellant, while Mr. NA Graham, Senior Crown Counsel, appeared for the respondent.

Delivering the judgment of the Court, Chancellor Stoby said that the Jury trial took place in April,1967 at the Demerara Assizes.

After a trial, which lasted two days, the accused was convicted on both counts and sentenced to concurrent terms of imprisonment of seven years.

According to him, at the trial, a nine-year-old-girl, KR, was called by the Crown as a witness.

The judge questioned the child, and at the conclusion of the questioning, recorded that in his opinion, she was of sufficient competent understanding to give evidence. The judge did not permit her to be sworn, as he did not think she understood the nature of the oath, and in the result, she gave unsworn evidence. Her evidence, if admissible, and if believed, afforded strong corroboration of her mother’s evidence.

The main ground of appeal, said the Chancellor, was whether the trial judge was correct in directing the jury that the unsworn evidence of a child could corroborate sworn evidence.

As he explained: “The manner in which the law developed to permit the unsworn testimony of witnesses is not without interest. In early times, all evidence had to be given on oath and on the Gospel; no one but a Christian could testify.

“Competency to testify,” he said, “depended upon acceptance of the witness’ belief in the Gospel . Non-Christians and children of tender years were deemed to be ignorant of the nature and obligations of an oath; they were not allowed to be sworn and so could not testify. Such was the state of the law until the celebrated case of Omychand v. Barker, (1744) 1 Atk 22 in which the depositions of Indian witnesses of the Gentoo religion, taken by Order of Court according to the local ceremonies on commissions in the East Indies, were admitted and read in evidence after being objected to.”

Expanding further on the matter, Justice Stoby said: “In the report of this case, at page 29, LORD CHIEF JUSTICE LEE remarked that it was determined at the Old Bailey, upon mature consideration, that a child should not be admitted to give evidence without oath; and LORD CHIEF BARON PARKER, in the same case, said that it was so ruled at Kingston Assizes before LORD RAYMOND, where, upon an indictment for rape, he refused the evidence of a child without oath.”

The old cases of R. v. Powell (1775) 1 Leach 110 and R. v. Braster, (1779) 1 Leach 199, he said, “both emphasize the fact that though there was no precise or fixed rule as to the time within which infants are excluded from giving evidence, the testimony of an infant was not receivable under any circumstance except under oath.”

fter reviewing a number of cases, and perusing the directions of the trial judge, the Chancellor declared: “It is impossible for us to say which of these two alternative situations the jury accepted - whether they relied for their verdict of ‘Guilty’ on the uncorroborated evidence alone coupled with the warning as they were entitled to do, or on the evidence of the child as corroborative of the mother’s.

“Indeed, the jury, having been told that it would be dangerous for them to act on the uncorroborative evidence of K alone, may very well, it is contemplated, have heeded the judge’s warning and convicted with the help of the evidence of the child which was repeatedly suggested to them as being capable of corroborating the mother’s.

“It seems to us that the likelihood of a verdict of ‘Guilty’ returned in such circumstances without the proviso (14) being explained to them is unsafe, and founded as it is on a non-direction which amounted to a misdirection in law ought to be set aside in the interests of justice.”

So saying, Justice Stoby declared the appeal allowed and the convictions and sentences quashed. Both Justices Cummings and Crane concurred.