November 16, 2008, Kaieteur News, Jim's "uncool" kool-aid, by Peeping Tom,

November 16, 2008, Kaieteur News, Jim's "uncool" kool-aid, by Peeping Tom,

The Parrot was a lil boy when, arguably, Guyana’s most infamous incident occurred. I had just entered high school; Form One. The news was slow in breaking but spread like wild fire subsequently. I recall my "daddie" coming home very early the day when the news for public consumption had reached the outskirts of the city. He seemed a bit haggard. I still remember his words; “big murder in Jonestown”. He didn't have much information and we didn't have telephones. None of the neighbours either. For the rest of that day everyone was glued to the radio. Electricity in our area at that time was a dream. Televisions, if we had, would have been useless.

The street corners were filled as the conversations abounded; so too did the soot from the “jug lamps”. As more news came in, we found it, well the adults really, we weren't so engrossed, hard to believe that such a tragedy had occurred just a few miles from where we were living.

Jonestown was small and very popular; losing over nine hundred people was inconceivable. The adults, including my “daddie”, were preparing to head to the tragedy-hit area. Just as their mode of transportation, a few horse-drawn carts, were turning the street corner, it was disclosed that the incident didn't happen at the Jonestown they knew, but hundreds of miles away in our dense jungle.

The disappointment of not being able to visit the scene showed on their faces. We, the children that is, were overjoyed; we took advantage of the horse carts and prowled around the village, leaving the adults to wallow. I understood their anguish. They all thought, us children too, that the Jonestown made infamous by the suicide debacle was the village of Agricola which was known by the same name. The disappointment gradually gave way to sighs of relief when it was reported that those who died were Americans and not countrymen and women they would have known. The sighs of relief later gave way to perplexity and curiosity.

Shopkeepers were complaining; complaining about the immediate diminished sale of kool-aid. This lack of sale continued within the coming months and even years. Kool-aid phobia quickly rivalled wildfires in spreading. Noise also spread; noise from the whirring of U.S. helicopters which were seen transporting coffins. We, the children, were excited to see these "birds" with coffins being airlifted to the Timehri airport. Never did we see so many choppers. Thirty years after, the proverb “once a man, twice a child” resonates as U.S. Black Hawks and Chinook choppers from the USS Kearsarge, fly in our airspace for humanitarian reasons. Things have changed since.

What hasn't changed are the same questions asked in 1978; questions that are still pertinent thirty years later. Tuesday, November 18, 2008 marks three decades since. The mystery remains. It is extremely difficult to conceive that people, American adults, would be coerced into a boot camp-like environment under the guise of religion and be subjected to the kind of treatment we later learnt they were forced to endure. The word “brainwash” became popular. At that time all of us, the children that is, hadn't a clue what it meant. I now want to believe that some of the adults didn't too. I remember one of the boys my age asking, how do you wash your brain? I am not surprised that today he is not known for any major academic achievement. No, it’s not who you think.

Having learnt subsequently what "brainwash" meant, thirty years after I am still mystified as to how one becomes a related victim. In the context of Jonestown, didn't the inhabitants see early signs of absolute control? Weren't there any hints even before they moved to Guyana? Talking about moving to Guyana, what was the role of the regime then? What was the agreement made between the Kabaka and Jim? Well, they are now in the great beyond so don't expect any answers unless you are one of those persons who can converse with the dead. What? No, I don't think Uncle Adam can do that. If he could, he wouldn't have any issues about his benefits. Uncle Cheddi gone too. Remember?

Seriously, what’s the genesis of the Jonestown settlement? How did these foreigners get the kind of concession they did? How did they get access to vast areas of land? What did they propose? How did they get the machinery and vehicles into that area? What other assistance did they receive from the then administration? Whilst the Kabaka is gone, Uncle Hammie, now the overripe Mayor, is still around. He was a prominent Minister at that time and has not been hesitant to talk. What he should talk about is the answers to the questions asked herein.

Guyanese need answers. Thirty years is a long time. The age of thirty-five is considered as the end of the scale of youth. It therefore means that all of our young people have no authentic recollection of that horrible incident. Maybe it’s a good thing in one way, but on the other hand, they need to know their history which must be based on facts.

Looking at the CNN 30th anniversary documentary on the incident, it was disclosed that three suitcases of United States currency were recovered by the "authority"; some half a million. Where did it go? That amount is basically equivalent to just over one hundred million now! What? There was gold too? Hmmm.
Jonestown cannot be erased. It’s now a ghost town. Those who are fortunate to have escaped and are talking about it will have physiological scars forever etched in their memory. A few came back to chronicle their experience for the CNN special mentioned earlier. For them, a fairly unknown country at that time can never be forgotten. Guyana and Guyanese have since moved on. The eerie site is deserted. Looking at pictures, it seems as if the souls of those who perished are still lurking. The creepy silence is deafening. It seems as if the screams of the babies and children and adults just before their death can still be heard. Jonestown will remain as another dark veil over the then regime.

In terms of related information, the internet seems the providing medium. The images of some nine hundred adults and children lying dead haunt every time they are viewed. What you said Uncle Adam? Kool-aid? Oh sorry. What? Put Hammie on the net? Squawk! Squawk!