The fault, dear Brutus, is in the Stabroek News, not in my daughter--Freddie Kissoon

JULY 12, 2015 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER FEATURES / COLUMNISTS, FREDDIE KISSOON

Civilization has failed because of the inherent selfish nature of Homo sapiens. Humans know what love is, give love and accept love in return, but cannot transcend the innate selfishness that dwells within Homo sapiens. How can civilization survive when men and women want the best for their children but would victimize other humans who are parents too? Wouldn’t those children feel aggrieved at what happened to their parent? How can civilization survive when powerful ones buy lovely Christmas gifts for their spouses but have taken away the employment of others who wouldn’t be able to make the same purchase? How can civilization survive when men and women stockpile their profits while they brutally exploit their workers? When my UG contract was terminated five months before its expiration, my daughter’s fees were paid by UG because of my years of service. UG discontinued the assistance and asked me to start paying. I wrote Vice-Chancellor, Lawrence Carrington, pointing to my years of service, but he said I was no longer a UG employee so he could not permit continuation of the assistance. That is what happens to children when their parents are victimized. My daughter left UG and answered an advertisement in the Stabroek News for an opening they had for reporters. The newspaper did not reply. I suggested that they are busy people so she should apply again. She did. She still didn’t receive a reply. Two months after, she rushed up to me to show me that the Stabroek News re-advertised the positions. I knew my daughter was a victim of my activism. Why sulk; that reality had to be faced. I never mentioned this Stabroek News story publicly or even privately to any friend only to Minister Manickchand during a telephone conversation in July 2013 when she accused me of wanting to remove the PPP Government. This is the first time I am doing so. Why didn’t I send her to Kaieteur News? She would have been employed there the next day. My policy was that two members of the same family should not be at the same company. There is a supermarket on Sheriff Street that is a virtual hell-hole. Those exploited employees should have some relief, because I plan to discuss with the new “Minister of Labour” the need to investigate this business place. Last Monday, at the fund-raising brunch of the Burnham Foundation, I confused the portfolios of Ms. Amna Ally, Minister of Social Cohesion, with Ms. Volda Lawrence, Minster of Social Protection. I am still to get accustomed to the name-changes in the Ministries. They are still confusing me. I honestly see nothing wrong with a Ministry named the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. I believe we should revert to such a title. Both Ministers stopped at the table where I was seated. But instead of telling Volda Lawrence I need some protection, I told Amna Ally that. It was Dr. David Hinds who identified for me which Minister offers cohesion and which Minister brings protection. I had that supermarket in mind when I asked for protection; I meant protection to pursue justice for these employees. Despite some controversial exchanges in the press between me and Brian Tiwarie, we had a very pleasant conversation after I called him while in the National Park on Wednesday morning. Some workers of BK International came to meet me in the Park to show me the new contract all workers have to sign. I am not an expert on industrial relations so I rang two friends from the TUC, Norris Witter and Lincoln Lewis. Two sections in the contract do not seem right. One is that the figure of $35,000 is listed as the salary for all workers. The other is that the employer can dismiss an employee without cause at anytime without notice. Witter and Norris told me both sections do not conform to the law. I called Mr. Tiwarie. He agreed to take out the second section, but said the stated figure of $35,000 is legal. I told him I couldn’t understand how employees despite their different statuses and work descriptions could sign for the same salary of $35,000. He agreed to look into it. I hope he does. Mr. Tiwarie gave me some sad news. He wants to go out of business. I hope he doesn’t. He employs a lot of workers. The reason for writing this column was the action of a father in covering his baby with his body when gunmen shot him up and killed him. That father had a brutally violent past in which he was accused of killing many persons. But he did love his child. Did he love other humans?