Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj says T&T-born US Congressman Mervyn Dymally, who died on Sunday, never gave up on the people of T&T. Dymally, 86, of Cedros, died in Los Angeles after a brief illness. In an interview yesterday Maharaj said Dymally was "instrumental in helping a lot of Trinidadians and Tobagonians in the United States. He always believed that there should be unity in diversity in Trinidad and Tobago." Maharaj said T&T?had lost "a great son of the soil and the US a great warrior."
Maharaj said he would remember Dymally as "a man who always help the oppressed and those who were being taken advantage of." Maharaj said Dymally also played a critical role in ensuring former prime minister Basdeo Panday was not harassed by the former government. Maharaj said Dymally worked closely with him on human rights matters over the years. He said Dymally was never properly recognised and honoured in T&T, but he would not recommend any posthumous award for Dymally, "because the national awards have been demeaned recently by the present administration."
And Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran, in a statement issued yesterday, said T&T "should recognise the significant role played by the distinguished son of our country." Dookeran added:?"For the Lieutenant Governor to have served in the California State Assembly and the State Senate during the height of the Civil Rights Movement is indicative of the respect and high regard in which he was held in American early politics."
Dookeran said Dymally's life was "a fulfilment and an engagement that was timely, joining with the Rev Martin Luther King Jr in their resilient advocacy for civil rights," and Dymally "will long be remembered for his strong principles and values and his tireless humanitarian initiatives in Africa."
Before entering politics Dymally worked as a teacher.
He was the first foreign-born black Assemblyman in 1962, the first black senator in 1966, and went on to win his congressional seat in 1980. Dymally served as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and the House Foreign Affairs Committee where he championed economic and humanitarian aid for Africa.
International media reports said also Dymally was tainted by numerous investigations of fraud, bribery and pay-for-play campaign contributions.
Dymally maintained that the allegations were politically motivated and that he did nothing illegal. He was never charged.
