OPINION: Sayonara, Sarah Ann Lynch for job nicely done, mission accomplished

Last Updated on Friday, 9 September 2022, 17:04 by Denis Chabrol

By GHK Lall

I learn that her Excellency, Ambassador Sarah Ann Lynch is soon to on her way to the bright lights and big time.  I am still working through whether to be delighted or disappointed.  But this much I know for certain: Ambassador Lynch served her and my America well.  My only issue is that in so doing, my country, this Guyana of mine, fared so poorly.  It is what striving, tireless, resourceful ambassadors do well, how they measure up to expectations.

I study the mystique of this American doyenne of the diplomatic corps, and wished that we had political presences and public servants like her in Guyana.  I am reminded of that flamboyant American of legend, one General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur, who was all about: Honor, Duty, Country.  Of course, something had to yield ground in the face of such indomitable will, and in this instance, Guyana turned out to be in the way, had to be made into the fall guy.  For, to cut to the chase, Ambassador Lynch held herself together in the simmering cauldron that is political Guyana, and carried the day amidst the clashing war parties.  Love her or leave her, she was and is as American as apple pie, and Guyanese had better not forget that, as Exxon and Hess Corporation rejoice over the power of the American Government in their corner.  Who could have asked for anything more?  Who could have done better?  It is at times like these that it pays to be of American pedigree, American strain.

 I think back, and to the best of my recollection, I have never heard the name, or the word, Exxon cross the American Ambassador’s lips.  She did not have to, since free and fair, and democracy, and rights of the people were the code words used instead, and served just as well.  She didn’t have to mention Exxon, yet everybody felt the long, formidable shadow of the American oil superpower, and knew where things stood.  If there was one thing that Guyana’s dear President Ali ever got right, that was it.  And the word around Georgetown first was don’t mess with the Americans, and after that, don’t mess with Texas.  American groundwork, as piloted by Ambassador Lynch, paved the way for Exxon to be the behemoth that it is in Guyana today.  Alistair Routledge’s machismo is based on Ambassador Lynch’s muscle and mind set like a bear trap.  Without a spearhead like her clearing away the leadership turbulences of Guyana, he is nothing but an empty suit, and this is including his vaunted sanctity of contracts and all.

Excellency Lynch was the right warrior at the right time in the right place.  She held one and all under her sway.  Why, some Guyanese even want to name streets after her, erect monuments in her honor.  It is an indication of how much imperialism and foreign adventurism still reigns supreme in the minds and hearts of countless Guyanese, who should know better, but are still caught in a time warp, as they long for a time gone by.  The American Ambassador was not doing what was good for Guyana, but what was good for Exxon and America.  The dearly beloved and departed Queen Elizabeth II of England and the Colonies couldn’t hold a candle to the departing American diplomat.

To repeat myself, she has served America well.  To Guyanese basking in the glow of her exploits that favored (or upset) their side, all I say is this: get some sense folks, it was all business, and neither personal nor political.  To paraphrase that long-ago big chief from General Motors and what he left for literary lore: what is good for Exxon is what is good for America.  And in the still immortal words of a now ancient occupant of the White House: the business of America is business.  If anyone sees anything about Guyana in either of those, then they are either dumber or smarter than I am, which takes a lot of doing

And to repeat myself still some more, if only we had political leaders, political representatives, and political contributors with just a smidgen of Sarah Ann Lynch’s delicate sensitivities, consummate diplomacy, unswerving nationalist integrity, and steadfast dedication to duty, then Guyana could very have already started its own journey towards a clearer appreciation and some idea of what true greatness represents.  When we ought to have leaders soaring as kings and queens in our friendly oil skies, we have to settle for carrions and other craven vultures all too satisfied in making preys of their people.

So, we now prepare to say hello and welcome to the Cajun about to take the ambassadorial reins here.  Her cultural heritage alone gives her the kind of cast-iron stomach necessary for dealing with the local road warriors, knee-cappers, and backstabbers pretending at governors here.  Her stints in Kabul and Karachi should serve her just fine here, for we have our wn version of the Taliban.  Meanwhile, we get ready to bid sayonara to Sarah Ann Lynch, and God speed.  It was nice knowing you, time well spent, and mission accomplished.