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The wait is still on for the tantalising Seaga collection
By Kimone Thompson Observer Senior Reporter Special Coverage Unit specialcoverageunit@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, May 03, 2009
THE long, excruciating wait is not yet over. Researchers and lovers of authentic knowledge who have been drooling and salivating for the past four years, will have to wait just a bit longer for the pending Edward Seaga Collection, a tantalising set of historical documents compiled by the Distinguished Fellow that gives hitherto unpublished information into some of the most exciting events of the last 50 years, from his vantage point as a politician, government minister, opposition leader and prime minister.
It was during Seaga's tenure as prime minister that the unravelling of the Grenada Revolution took place in October 1983, when members of the New Jewel Movement killed Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and three of his ministers.
Distinguished fellow at the School of Graduate Affairs and Research at the UWI and Jamaica's fifth prime minister, Edward Seaga (left) and Gordon 'Butch' Stewart look at possible covers for Volume I of Seaga's autobiography at Thursday's launch. (Photo: Karl McLarty)
The United States invaded the tiny eastern Caribbean island and put down the insurrectionists. Many of the documents giving insights into those bloody events would have been available to Seaga sent Jamaican troops to help restore order in Grenada.
The Workers Party of Jamaica, then headed by Dr Trevor Munroe, was central to the event.
The University of the West Indies (UWI) which houses the collection, staged a whet-the-appetite launch last Thursday at the Main Library on the Mona Campus at which benefactors like Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, Maurice Facey, and government ministers Mike Henry and Andrew Holness, among other dignitaries, came to give their blessing.
Already described as the "most extensive" collection of Jamaica's social and political history in one location, the body of works comprises a compilation of 27 speeches made by Seaga in the past four years titled Revelations: beyond Political Boundaries; a book titled The Grenada Intervention: the Inside Story; Seaga's autobiography in two volumes; a digitised collection of papers and recordings and a compilation of macroeconomic data from 1950 to 2007.
The collection - catalogued under the UWI's West Indian Collection, and undertaken with funds raised by the institution's development and endowment fund - was put together by Seaga who was made a Distinguished Fellow in the UWI School of Graduate Studies and Research in 2005.
The historical and educational values of the work, especially since done from a first-hand experience, have not escaped local thinkers.
"Mr Seaga has been involved in every aspect of Jamaican life for the greater part of 60 years. He is an institution in himself and he has significant institutional knowledge," said Holness, the minister of education.
Seaga served as prime minister of Jamaica between 1980 and 1989 and as leader of the Opposition from 1974 to 1980 and then again from 1989 until he retired from active politics in 2005.
His contribution to Jamaica's development during those years spanned numerous sectors including finance, rural development and environment and cultural development. Among the entities with which he has been credited for establishing, encouraging, promoting or introducing are the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaica Unit Trust, the Student's Revolving Loan Fund for Higher Education, the Jamaica Mortgage Bank, National Development Bank, the Agricultural Credit Bank, the Ex-Im Bank and the Self-Start Fund.
It was also under his leadership that the Urban Development Corporation was established in 1968 to transform the derelict waterfront areas of Kingston, Montego Bay and Negril into resort, residential and corporate office complexes.
"When Mr Seaga retired from active politics, the idea came at the university to create the position of distinguished fellow for him so that we could get the benefit of the vast knowledge and background experience he had," chairman of the development and endowment fund, Dennis Lalor told the Sunday Observer. "What you see now is him having fulfilled those terms of reference," he said at the launch.
"Given the paucity of real valid statistics or information about the past, one of the major things that we wanted was for him to put all of this kind of information in one place that would be readily accessible, and also he was to lecture and give tutorials and write his memoirs," Lalor added.
And as Seaga, Jamaica's longest-serving politician - 45 years - told the Sunday Observer, he loved doing it.
"I have always wanted to do something like this because I'm naturally inclined to research and writing. I spent my early years living in villages and in inner-city communities and it has allowed me to have a broader view of Jamaica and of politics. I entered politics to be able to have a platform to bridge the Jamaica in which I lived and the Jamaica from which I came; the two Jamaicas," he said Thursday.
Not all components of the collection are complete. The compilation of addresses is scheduled to be printed within a week; volume one of the autobiography should be in book stores by October while volume two will be on sale by the middle of next year; the macroeconomic database will be posted on the university's website and should be available to the public by July this year; the digitisation process has at least another year to go.
"The title of the book Revelations: beyond Political Boundaries is not intended to be sensational, but rather to indicate that now I am free of political constraints, my views can be more analytical, forthright and refreshing," said the former politician as he addressed the audience.
Of his autobiography, he said the work was not the usual biography of a personal life.
"I would be doing a disservice to the country if the scope was that narrow. Having lived through the critical period of Jamaica's modern history, from the 1950s, I was involved in public life and party to virtually all the major decisions of public policy. Yet there is no comprehensive historical record of what shaped our history. These two volumes are my contribution to a deeper understanding of that period when I was involved in, as the title says, 'Shaping History'," said Seaga, who turns 79 this month.
"It (body of works) is of great value," Lalor continued. "Students, academics, planners, government can look at trends and the relevant info in the particular areas, make comparisons, see the results of decisions taken in the past and decide whether or not to repeat them. It has significance beyond all recognition."
Principal of the university, Professor Gordon Shirley agreed.
"This is a very important body of work that is being done. Mr Seaga is not only documenting the period in which he was a politician but he's going back all the way to 1950.and speaks about the social work that he has done as a cultural icon, the full gamut. Beyond his own contribution he's creating a data series from the 1950s all the way to the present which will be updated with all the major economic statistics for Jamaica, so it's an enormously important body of work," he said.
"In respect of its contribution to the UWI, we have here one of the most unique collections in the Caribbean, the West Indian Collection. It has many of the works of our major authors; it includes all the research done on the Caribbean and from now on will have Mr Seaga's work as a prime minister for a very important period in the development of Jamaica and also an important player in the history in the Caribbean in the period 1980 to 2000. It is vitally important in furthering the uniqueness of that collection and now all of our students will have not just the anecdotal information but the core documents, the actual information and the work of the man himself in his own words as a part of that," Professor Shirley told the Sunday Observer.
Commenting on the video clips and document excerpts viewed as part of Thursday's unveiling, Minister Holness said: "I was very impressed by what I saw. Some of the things I have a personal attachment to and personal knowledge of and to see it displayed in this way was a little bit emotional but it's good because Mr Seaga in particular has suffered at the hands of many critics and he's a man who is misunderstood in various ways. There are many misconceptions, misperceptions and I think this will lay him bare so the public could really get full information about him and to clear up misperceptions, misjudgements and misconceptions about him and his actions and to place him in his true context and I think that is what creating these archives of his life will do".
Stewart, in brief remarks, said he felt strongly about Jamaica preserving its heritage in terms of the people who have offered themselves in public service. He described Seaga as a national treasure and lauded his humour and witty one-liners.
"I don't think there's anybody in Jamaica who's had the experience or the capacity to do this kind of work," Stewart said, pointing to the length of time Seaga has dedicated to Jamaican politics. "He turned himself into a social engineer. I don't think there's any aspect of Jamaica, be it culture, business, music, planning or economics, that Mr Seaga has not had this tremendous effect and influence on," said Stewart.
"We remember the political activities of the '70s and the kind of fearlessness of that campaign and of his becoming prime minister. [He took] over a broken economy and turned it around.to what I consider a second-world country given the amount of progress that was made in those eight or so years. Only somebody with the kind of experience, intellectual ability and managerial skills that he had could have turned Jamaica around to the point where I believe [it] had become a second world country," he said.
"I've been a beneficiary of a lot of the work you have done and we look forward to you batting for many years to come," Stewart told Seaga.
The wait is still on for the tantalising Seaga collection
By Kimone Thompson Observer Senior Reporter Special Coverage Unit specialcoverageunit@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, May 03, 2009
THE long, excruciating wait is not yet over. Researchers and lovers of authentic knowledge who have been drooling and salivating for the past four years, will have to wait just a bit longer for the pending Edward Seaga Collection, a tantalising set of historical documents compiled by the Distinguished Fellow that gives hitherto unpublished information into some of the most exciting events of the last 50 years, from his vantage point as a politician, government minister, opposition leader and prime minister.
It was during Seaga's tenure as prime minister that the unravelling of the Grenada Revolution took place in October 1983, when members of the New Jewel Movement killed Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and three of his ministers.
Distinguished fellow at the School of Graduate Affairs and Research at the UWI and Jamaica's fifth prime minister, Edward Seaga (left) and Gordon 'Butch' Stewart look at possible covers for Volume I of Seaga's autobiography at Thursday's launch. (Photo: Karl McLarty)
The United States invaded the tiny eastern Caribbean island and put down the insurrectionists. Many of the documents giving insights into those bloody events would have been available to Seaga sent Jamaican troops to help restore order in Grenada.
The Workers Party of Jamaica, then headed by Dr Trevor Munroe, was central to the event.
The University of the West Indies (UWI) which houses the collection, staged a whet-the-appetite launch last Thursday at the Main Library on the Mona Campus at which benefactors like Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, Maurice Facey, and government ministers Mike Henry and Andrew Holness, among other dignitaries, came to give their blessing.
Already described as the "most extensive" collection of Jamaica's social and political history in one location, the body of works comprises a compilation of 27 speeches made by Seaga in the past four years titled Revelations: beyond Political Boundaries; a book titled The Grenada Intervention: the Inside Story; Seaga's autobiography in two volumes; a digitised collection of papers and recordings and a compilation of macroeconomic data from 1950 to 2007.
The collection - catalogued under the UWI's West Indian Collection, and undertaken with funds raised by the institution's development and endowment fund - was put together by Seaga who was made a Distinguished Fellow in the UWI School of Graduate Studies and Research in 2005.
The historical and educational values of the work, especially since done from a first-hand experience, have not escaped local thinkers.
"Mr Seaga has been involved in every aspect of Jamaican life for the greater part of 60 years. He is an institution in himself and he has significant institutional knowledge," said Holness, the minister of education.
Seaga served as prime minister of Jamaica between 1980 and 1989 and as leader of the Opposition from 1974 to 1980 and then again from 1989 until he retired from active politics in 2005.
His contribution to Jamaica's development during those years spanned numerous sectors including finance, rural development and environment and cultural development. Among the entities with which he has been credited for establishing, encouraging, promoting or introducing are the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaica Unit Trust, the Student's Revolving Loan Fund for Higher Education, the Jamaica Mortgage Bank, National Development Bank, the Agricultural Credit Bank, the Ex-Im Bank and the Self-Start Fund.
It was also under his leadership that the Urban Development Corporation was established in 1968 to transform the derelict waterfront areas of Kingston, Montego Bay and Negril into resort, residential and corporate office complexes.
"When Mr Seaga retired from active politics, the idea came at the university to create the position of distinguished fellow for him so that we could get the benefit of the vast knowledge and background experience he had," chairman of the development and endowment fund, Dennis Lalor told the Sunday Observer. "What you see now is him having fulfilled those terms of reference," he said at the launch.
"Given the paucity of real valid statistics or information about the past, one of the major things that we wanted was for him to put all of this kind of information in one place that would be readily accessible, and also he was to lecture and give tutorials and write his memoirs," Lalor added.
And as Seaga, Jamaica's longest-serving politician - 45 years - told the Sunday Observer, he loved doing it.
"I have always wanted to do something like this because I'm naturally inclined to research and writing. I spent my early years living in villages and in inner-city communities and it has allowed me to have a broader view of Jamaica and of politics. I entered politics to be able to have a platform to bridge the Jamaica in which I lived and the Jamaica from which I came; the two Jamaicas," he said Thursday.
Not all components of the collection are complete. The compilation of addresses is scheduled to be printed within a week; volume one of the autobiography should be in book stores by October while volume two will be on sale by the middle of next year; the macroeconomic database will be posted on the university's website and should be available to the public by July this year; the digitisation process has at least another year to go.
"The title of the book Revelations: beyond Political Boundaries is not intended to be sensational, but rather to indicate that now I am free of political constraints, my views can be more analytical, forthright and refreshing," said the former politician as he addressed the audience.
Of his autobiography, he said the work was not the usual biography of a personal life.
"I would be doing a disservice to the country if the scope was that narrow. Having lived through the critical period of Jamaica's modern history, from the 1950s, I was involved in public life and party to virtually all the major decisions of public policy. Yet there is no comprehensive historical record of what shaped our history. These two volumes are my contribution to a deeper understanding of that period when I was involved in, as the title says, 'Shaping History'," said Seaga, who turns 79 this month.
"It (body of works) is of great value," Lalor continued. "Students, academics, planners, government can look at trends and the relevant info in the particular areas, make comparisons, see the results of decisions taken in the past and decide whether or not to repeat them. It has significance beyond all recognition."
Principal of the university, Professor Gordon Shirley agreed.
"This is a very important body of work that is being done. Mr Seaga is not only documenting the period in which he was a politician but he's going back all the way to 1950.and speaks about the social work that he has done as a cultural icon, the full gamut. Beyond his own contribution he's creating a data series from the 1950s all the way to the present which will be updated with all the major economic statistics for Jamaica, so it's an enormously important body of work," he said.
"In respect of its contribution to the UWI, we have here one of the most unique collections in the Caribbean, the West Indian Collection. It has many of the works of our major authors; it includes all the research done on the Caribbean and from now on will have Mr Seaga's work as a prime minister for a very important period in the development of Jamaica and also an important player in the history in the Caribbean in the period 1980 to 2000. It is vitally important in furthering the uniqueness of that collection and now all of our students will have not just the anecdotal information but the core documents, the actual information and the work of the man himself in his own words as a part of that," Professor Shirley told the Sunday Observer.
Commenting on the video clips and document excerpts viewed as part of Thursday's unveiling, Minister Holness said: "I was very impressed by what I saw. Some of the things I have a personal attachment to and personal knowledge of and to see it displayed in this way was a little bit emotional but it's good because Mr Seaga in particular has suffered at the hands of many critics and he's a man who is misunderstood in various ways. There are many misconceptions, misperceptions and I think this will lay him bare so the public could really get full information about him and to clear up misperceptions, misjudgements and misconceptions about him and his actions and to place him in his true context and I think that is what creating these archives of his life will do".
Stewart, in brief remarks, said he felt strongly about Jamaica preserving its heritage in terms of the people who have offered themselves in public service. He described Seaga as a national treasure and lauded his humour and witty one-liners.
"I don't think there's anybody in Jamaica who's had the experience or the capacity to do this kind of work," Stewart said, pointing to the length of time Seaga has dedicated to Jamaican politics. "He turned himself into a social engineer. I don't think there's any aspect of Jamaica, be it culture, business, music, planning or economics, that Mr Seaga has not had this tremendous effect and influence on," said Stewart.
"We remember the political activities of the '70s and the kind of fearlessness of that campaign and of his becoming prime minister. [He took] over a broken economy and turned it around.to what I consider a second-world country given the amount of progress that was made in those eight or so years. Only somebody with the kind of experience, intellectual ability and managerial skills that he had could have turned Jamaica around to the point where I believe [it] had become a second world country," he said.
"I've been a beneficiary of a lot of the work you have done and we look forward to you batting for many years to come," Stewart told Seaga.
