Hope consumed in raging inferno
“I used to eat, breathe and sweat Subway…I used to walk by Fogarty’s and watch it…” Brian Yong, co-owner of Subway
By Ruel Johnson
Guyana Chronicle
December 21, 2003

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THERE are two phrases that are going through my head right now as I write this. The first is spoken by American newsman, Walter Cronkite. As he watched the ill-fated Hindenburg airship burst into flames, he couldn’t help but exclaim, his voice wavering “Oh, the humanity.”

The second phrase is from a Neil Diamond song named Hurricane: the chorus in the song is a simple statement: “When a hurricane blows, it goes for the heart.”

What so many people witnessed last Friday was a hurricane of sorts; the flames, the fireballs, the black smoke billowing, became in essence the tragedy of the Hindenburg in what might be called an infinite rehearsal.

For us in the media – even in a year of incest cases, of robbery, of rapes, and murders, even after another devastating fire – it was the ultimate hard news story. The name `Muneshwer’s’, having been one of Guyana’s most monolithic social edifices, it burned brightly in our imaginations.

It held an almost equal fascination for the average citizen, the man in the street and the politician and the businessman as well.

But for us, it represented something more. What the American media would call “the scoop”. In that sense we were more vulture-like than all the would-be looters. Most media houses sent the largest possible contingent of their employees as was possible.

And that same evening, and the next morning, we got pretty much what we wanted: lead stories, front-page pictures, bylines, what have you.

In the weeks to come, especially in the print media there is going to be the normal updates, the letters, the comments from here, the accusations from there, the assessment by that person…you get the picture.

That’s what the hard news is there to get you, isn’t it. As complete a picture as possible of events that fall within the public interest. The irony is that the public’s interest is a fickle thing. It has an average lifespan of about a week. And one week is often too little time to present a truly accurate picture of anything.

So, as long as the public’s interest focused on this current hard news story, let me help as much as I can to present to you that elusive “accurate” picture.

I covered the fire for the Guyana Chronicle. I spoke three times to Armanath Muneshwer: the night of the fire; yesterday morning; and late yesterday afternoon. I asked him for an update and he said that he couldn’t give me any. The insurance claim adjusters would be visiting the site soon and probably sometime next week, a clearer picture is going to emerge as to what might have actually caused the fire. This was verified by one of the directors of the company, Anil Raghuraj. Mr. Muneshwer joked that I was kind of late if I wanted the story to go to press in the morning.

I told Mr. Muneshwer that I knew his son, Robin. We had similar literary interests and were in correspondence at one time. He smiled and said that I should e-mail him (Robin) some time. At that moment there was a sort of awkwardness, the sort of thing that they don’t teach you how to translate in communications class.

I left to interview another person affected by the fire: Brian Wong. I had met Wong a few months back at my usual Friday night drinking hole. When I arrived at Palm Court, a business Wong had not too long ago invested in, he offered me a drink and led me to a table a bit away from the friends with whom he was having a drink.

To condense everything, this is what I learned. Brian Wong is 32 years old and has a degree in both computer science and mathematics. He left Guyana at age 17, spent about 10 years in the U.S. and two in Canada. He came back and started Subway with his sister, Abigail.

Two years ago, after being spurned by the manager of a wireless ISP he had gone to request some service, he and his friend, Navin Narine – with just US$300 in capital – set up Broadband Inc. Broadband Inc. served a large number of customers, providing private citizens as well as businesses and government agencies with high-speed internet access. Their dish, located on the tower of the Muneshwer’s building, was irreparably damaged in the fire.

Despite the success of this business however, it is Subway that Yong will miss the most.

“I used to eat, breathe and sweat Subway…I used to walk by Fogarty’s and watch it…”

It represented for both him and Abigail a sense of achievement. He said that they had designed the large glass windows so that it could give people passing outside the feeling as if they were looking at a framed photograph or painting.

“When we were building, we kept the windows covered with paper. When we were finished, a group of us went to the junction of North Road and Avenue of the Republic and then had someone put on all the lights and then pull down the paper.”

Yong says that he was there when Royal Castle was devoured by flames. He said that he felt it for Brian Yong and was thinking at that time that he hoped it never happened to him.

Friday, of course, the unthinkable happened.

Still, Brian Yong says that he is “a pathological optimist”. He was reading a diary the other day when he found a quote “Friends are relatives we make for ourselves”.

“I’ve got the best in the world. They were there last night. Holding hoses…”

Optimist or not, and even with the best of friends, it is obvious that Yong is hurt. And so is the older more experienced, Armanath Muneshwer. And so is the unidentified girl in the picture, being consoled by the young man. And so are the scores of others who find themselves without a source of income come next year.

The fire that raged through the Muneshwer building on Friday night burned more than just plastic flowers and paint and drapery.

It consumed hope.

In the final analysis, there is only one thing to be said about hard news. It very often is just that.
Hard.