Iris (Freiburg),
Khalid (Toronto),
Franz (Merida, Venezuela).
Orwell
Today: Personal Life Experiences -
Franz - Part IV: 1962 - 1977
(This Chat I dedicate
to my son, Franz Lee, Jr.)
24th October, 2000 (Slightly Corrected Version)
DISCUSSION PERIOD
(Extracts)
frogmobile:Franz
in those days was a "slim", handsome fella!
panta98: Any questions? Any
comments? Remember the topic is: REVOLUTION!!!
frogmobile: Ha!
ha! ha!
CarlzimC:There never was any
revolution.
CarlzimC:Castro
tried. I met him in a rally in Central Park, NYC, USA in 1950.
frogmobile:
Wow!
panta98: So,
so! I'm not "handsome" anymore? Yes,
Khalid, the revolution keeps one slim, fit and trim. Not the "flex appeal"
and "body building" torture of today!
panta98: Why,
Carl? Why "never a revolution"?
CarlzimC: I talked with some
of Castro's buddies. One called Alberto Mayo who was training anti-Batista
guerrillas in Mexico
panta98: Then,
what really happened, Carl?
CarlzimC: Franz, because most
people fear change.
CarlzimC:
Franz, there have been a series of counter-revolutions
panta98: Well,
Carl, what do you think about my first 40 years? Did I fear change?
CarlzimC: No, you were unusual.
panta98: Whom
or what did I revolutionize? What did I change?
Einai2000: Yourself,
Franz.
CarlzimC: Yourself and your
immediate circle.
panta98: And,
what is usual? And why is it usual?
panta98: Correctly
so, Carl! At least that is something "revolutionary".
CarlzimC:Phony = revolution.
Counter-revolution is usual.
panta98:What
do you think, Khalid?
panta98: Tell
us whom you met in 1977.
panta98: What
did you think about him?
frogmobile: His
name then was "J.T" .
panta98: Yes,
I forgot!!!
panta98: Continue
....
frogmobile: We
all liked him a lot in those days.
panta98: Why?
frogmobile: We
saw hope and "help" in realizing our emancipatory dreams.
panta98:To
like him, you all had to be lovable too. Young, fresh and adventurous!
panta98: Real
tropical "hornets"!
panta98: And,
what did J.T. do or say?
panta98:Actually,
you could write those following famous two Guyanese years for us now.
panta98: I
sit back, I'm listening, tell us all about "J.T.".
Einai2000: ...listening....
frogmobile: J.T
tried to convert the Burnhamites, encouraging them to fight for the "real"
revolution, and not just a bogey "co-operative socialism".
panta98: What
do you remember?
frogmobile:They
were not aware of what we really were criticizing, about our ideas of socialism.
panta98:Yes,
how did he do this?
frogmobile: Strange,
they liked him because he was a South African "revolutionary", we too.
panta98:What
about J.T.'s permanent radio speeches, about his classes at the University
of Guyana?
panta98:Who
organized the "revolutionary classes" in Hyacinth Ville, also the radio
shows?
frogmobile:Your
buddy, yours truly! Franz was highly respected at the University, and he
became the Head of Department of Law and Politics. Many of his students
came to his home, where we all had special revolutionary classes. Later
many of them became leading figures in the government and in the opposition.
panta98:What
happened to my "buddy", to his mind?
frogmobile: Franz
was daring and not even President Burnham knew what he was really up to.
panta98: Concerning
"mind control"? Religion?
frogmobile: One
of our buddies got killed with a bomb, another got arrested!
panta98: It
took South Africa five years to note that I opposed Apartheid, and who
I realy were.
frogmobile: And,
of course, Khalid "ran"!
panta98: My
original name was not Franz J. T. Lee. I was baptized as Frantz
John Lee, and as such it appeared in my South African passport.
panta98: This
is what my birth certificate says! I changed it when I arrived in Germany.
The Germans, just like the Venezuelans, forever, wrote my name wrongly,
hence I changed it, making it easier for the authorities. It took the South
african secret agency five years to identify the two persons as one and
the same. They even thought that my father, Franz T. Lee, was me.
panta98: Burnham,
the Machiavellian dictator died, not
knowing that I never loved him, loved Big Brother!
panta98:What
did we, Jagan, Rodney and all of us do?
Einai2000:Where
are all the revolutionaries now, what are they doing now, and in the first
place, what caracterizes a revolutionary?
frogmobile:Good
question Iris. The revolutionaries have become "mellowed"
frogmobile: Jagan
never really liked me.
panta98: Perhaps
because you were also just another "coolie"? Who knows? He liked me though!
Einai2000: "mellowed",
sorry, what does this mean, Khalid?
frogmobile: But
I took Franz many times to see him.
frogmobile: "cooled-downed"
panta98: Marshmellow,
cool like a cucumber, Iris, sweet and plumpy!
Einai2000: Ok,
got it, thank you.
Einai2000: Neutralized,
in other words - those who survived?
panta98: Proceed,
Khalid.
Einai2000: Please
proceed...
frogmobile:The
Jagan guys, the "communists", liked Franz and eventually visted him and
the ULA in Merida.
panta98:How
did we get to Guyana's greatest thinker and revolutionary?
panta98:What
did all of us, including Walter Rodney, have in mind?
frogmobile: We
tried to help him in his emancipatory endeavours, but the poor guy was
too advanced for his time (Walter Rodney).
frogmobile: According
to Rodney, he wanted to kick the "butt" of Burnham, to kick him out of
power!
CarlzimC: Why was he too advanced?
frogmobile: As
indicated before, he went beyond simple revolutionary ideas.
panta98:
Now, imagine, Khalid, how "advanced" we are! I knew so many famous guys,
had so many famous students, met so many famous men, yet, I never bothered
to utilize their fame, less for my own development and interests. Rodney
did likewise. He was a simple man in Guyana.
panta98:Yes,
as stated, Rodney clearly stipulated that he and his political party wanted
to overthrow the racist, exploitative Burnham government.
CarlzimC: If Burnham was kicked
out, would this just have been a local advance?
frogmobile:Oh!
Yes.
frogmobile:
He
was a practical revolutionary that instilled fear in the Burnham government.
He became "too popular" and a "threat" to U.S. interests. Geopolitically,
a revolutionary success in Guyana would have had repercussions in the whole
Caribbean region, also in the non-aligned movement.
panta98: Khalid,
your turn!
panta98:Explain
further, please.
....
frogmobile:Rodney
was a very brave soldier of the oppressed world.
CarlzimC:Why did the USA perceive
Rodney as a threat?
frogmobile:Rodney
was probably one of the most warm and polite human beings that I have ever
met.
Einai2000:...I'm
listening, please proceed....
panta98:In
those days, of many things we never thought. Youth is a strange defence
against fear.
panta98:And
Rodney's speeches, his international analyses? In 1978, the Venezuelan
President, Carlos Andres Perez, came to Guyana. At the university, Franz
and his colleagues explained to him their views on the "border conflict".
frogmobile:He
dressed in Rasta style when he visited us at my mum's shop, which was in
a very dangerous "Burnhamite area".
CarlzimC:If Rodney had succeeded,
what would have been the threat?
panta98: The
USA, Carl. Another "Bay Of Pigs"! Before, in the '60's, the CIA heavily
had intervened, to stop the "communist" Jagan to get into power. Burnham
was the US darling: "Our Man In Georgetown".
frogmobile: There
could have erupted similar "revolutions" in the Carribean, especially in
Jamaica.
panta98: They
feared another Cuba in the Caribbean region!
CarlzimC:The USA created and
has supported Castro.
CarlzimC:
To control the world sugar market.
panta98: Khalid,
please, tell us more about Rodney.
frogmobile:The
guy trusted me and I can never forget his bravery. Once we met in a graveyard
in the middle of the night in total darkness.
panta98: That
must have been eerie, but not enough to fear any ghosts!
panta98: In
essence: Of
the "communist" Jagan, and the "socialist" Burnham, the forces of reaction
were not afraid, but the revolutionary, heading towards emancipation, of
Rodney, they were not so pleased. they "nipped" him in the bud!
frogmobile: That's
correct, Franz.
frogmobile: Remember,
then, he was already world famous as a political revolutionary.
frogmobile: In
Guyana and the Caribbean, he attracted huge crowds at meetings.
panta98: Yes,
he was already a charismatic figure, even before he began revolutionary
work in Guyana itself. Like Frantz Fanon, he just wrote one book, telling
the truth, and that was sufficient to make him world-renowned, and his
major work a "classic".
panta98:What
Frantz Fanon and Walter Rodney warned about; years ago, George Orwell had
explained in "1984", and which is a reality today!!
panta98:How
European Capitalism had underdeveloped Africa, was followed by the "under-development"
of the globe, by the USA!
frogmobile:I'll
always remember the last time I met him. Guyana had experience its worst
political street violence. Rodney touched me on the shoulder in disguise
and asked me to arrange an urgent meeting with an active member, who was
working inside the government; however, before the meeting could take place,
Rodney was assassinated.
CarlzimC:Rodney's and Orwell's
reality, which they illustrated, had been going on for centuries.
CarlzimC:
Not only, USA - all global powers!
panta98: However,
Carl, that nowadays is called the famous Globalization, and the USA runs
the show. What Hitler, Nero, The Crusades, Dschingis Khan,
Alexander The Great and Stalin had intended to do, is now totally magnified
in geometric progression and proportion.
CarlzimC: Soviet Russia collaborated
in the enslavement of Africa.
frogmobile:The
Russians did not like Rodney
frogmobile:nor
the Cubans
CarlzimC:No surprise
panta98: Carl,
and so did the USA with reference to Apartheid. At any event, compared
to the USA, Europe and Japan are just little jokes! Small fry, small sharks!
Like Africa, they have already disappeared from the global map, from world
history. Soon they'll just be irrelevant merging elements. Just like the
ex-world powers, Spain and Portugal, in the "German" European Union today.
frogmobile: Rodney
was independent of all the "main stream" ideologues.
frogmobile:The
Jamaicans banned him from Jamaica.
panta98:Who
will control, channel, guard, apply, end Globalization? Any other power
than the USA?
frogmobile: Globalization
is here to stay.
panta98: Yes,
Khalid, the Rockies may tumble, Gibralter may fall, but our US Globalization
is here to stay! Surely not China or Russia!
frogmobile:Nobody
and Nothing can stop the USA. Its too advanced.
panta98:The
USA is here to stay!
CarlzimC:Yep!
frogmobile:
Advances
in Science and Technology have made it possible.
frogmobile: Only
a natural disaster could still shake things up.......!
panta98:I
can imagine how proud many an Americans must be to be a world, global citizen.
Imagine, my son made it too -- soon he'll be an American, global citizen.
I just made it to the Aryan "race".
panta98: Iris,
still around???
Einai2000:Yes,
Franz.
panta98:What
kind of natural disaster, Khalid?
panta98:A
comet hitting Globalization?
frogmobile:Probably!
Not even that. There is nothing to stop it, man.
panta98:But,
as far as I remember, there's a way out: Tesla Technology, New Energy,
the Hornets!
frogmobile: Or
probably an internal conflict - remember Americans are very divided politically
frogmobile: Yea!
may be that, a comet, better Tesla Technology, could work!
panta98: "New
energy" is modern emancipationfare. The problem
is how should this be launched against Globalization?
frogmobile: Franz,
even that you can't.
Einai2000:Are
we talking now about a "Problem" which is somehow "out there", gentlemen?
CarlzimC:Agreed. Israel, Palestine,
Iran, the Arab countries will all be under USA control
frogmobile:They
are all under since 40 years ago
panta98: Out
there, 'to get us", on July 4th, any suggestions, Iris?
frogmobile: I
don't know, Iris.
Einai2000:The
"evil", the "system", "globalization" - which is lurking around independently
from us?
frogmobile: That
is how America has secured its oil.
panta98:Are
the North Americans also divided economically, Khalid? Or are they "globalized"?
In the election campaign, all boast about the current economic paradise.
frogmobile: Agreed,
Iris.
CarlzimC: It controls the oil
drilling technology.
frogmobile:
It's
just the "packaging" of the leaders.
CarlzimC: There's division
worldwide.
frogmobile:
The
people are the least aware of what is happening.
CarlzimC: Yep. Divide and conquer.
panta98: Yes,
Veni,
vidi, vici! The USA came, it saw, it conquered!
.....