National award was a pleasant surprise – ER Braithwaite

TIMES INT'L

Edward Ricardo Braithwaite Guyanese author of the book “To Sir with Love” has disclosed that being bestowed with the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH) by President Donald Ramotar was a big occasion for him, something he never dreamt about.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds shakes hands with National Awardee Mr. Edward Ricardo Braithwaite in the company of companion Ginette Ast (right) and President Donald Ramotar

“I just went to visit the president and suddenly, he gave a signal to somebody who came out and he pinned this thing on me. This was a national honour. I don’t know what I have done to deserve it,” Braithwaite said.
Speaking with director of the Government Information Agency (GINA) Neaz Subhan and friend of the author, Francis Quamina Farrier during an interview on Friday, the author said while he has seen presentations of these signal awards made to people who have deserved them, he stated that, “I stood there in a daze… I never imagined myself in that situation. I knew I was visiting with the president and… it was a surprise, a pleasant surprise.” He was acknowledged for his outstanding contribution in the field of literature and effective service as a diplomat.
President Ramotar said he was honoured to bestow the award on “a man who has made us proud and has made Guyana’s name famous by his writing”.
Braithwaite’s book was made into a popular film in 1967 starring Sidney Poitier. It is based on the author’s experience as a school teacher in the East End of London some years after he achieved a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate in physics at the University of Cambridge.
With regards to the success of his book, Braithwaite noted that he did not expect the novel to take off as it did, as he had initially written it for himself.
“I was so frustrated that I was afraid that what I had to say would haunt me, but I had to say it… so if it seems wrong and unpleasant, I had to get it out and once it was out there, it became public property,” he said.
Braithwaite, a former student of Queen’s College, and then the City College of New York, is now a member of the Order of Service of Guyana.
He was the patron of the Inter-Guiana Cultural Festival which was being staged in Georgetown.

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