In the wake of Angelo Bissessarsingh’s death at his Siparia home yesterday, his father Rudolph announced plans to transform the house into a museum dedicated to his son’s work.
Describing his son as a man whose personality transcended all prejudices, Rudolph said Angelo, 34, had made friends in every circle of society and was a true son of the soil.
The beloved historian, author and Sunday Guardian columnist was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in 2015 and died at his Brooks Garden, Siparia home around 10 am yesterday, surrounded by family members.
When news of his death spread, social media was flooded with tributes as Angelo was hailed for his contributions to T&T and for preserving the country’s heritage.
President Anthony Carmona and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar were among those who shared tributes to Angelo. He was a Hummingbird Gold Medal recipient in 2016.
When his body was removed from the house by undertakers around 1.20 pm yesterday, loud screams could be heard from inside the house and cries of “Angelo, don’t go.” Speaking to the media soon after, Rudolph said the pain of losing Angelo had stunned him.
“I have never experienced pain like this in my life,” he said.
He said he was angry that his son’s life had been cut short as he said before Angelo was diagnosed doctors ran tests on him for four years without finding a cause for his excessive weight gain.
“When he started to put on weight so rapidly, people were unkind to him and I paid thousands of dollars to doctors so they could tell us what was wrong — they took all of the money and found nothing wrong with him. I had to pay $43,000 for them to put a fibre optic cable in his stomach and tell him he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer.”
He said he believes if Angelo had been diagnosed sooner, he may have had a chance at beating the cancer. “And when Angelo found out he was going to die from the cancer, he turned to me and said ‘Come Pa, let’s go from here, I have my work to do.’”
And it was his indomitable will to document the history of the country that cemented Angelo’s place in the hearts of both those who knew him and those who only knew his story. Rudolph said Angelo was not aware at the end, as he had been in and out of consciousness for the past two weeks.
“He was being given morphine for the pain and he was not lucid when he was taking it, as it is a very potent drug, the last time we have a proper conversation was about two weeks ago,” Rudolph said.
Rudolph said in that last conversation, Angelo made two requests, “He told me he wanted Winston ‘Gypsy’ Peters to sing his extempo and for me to finish a series of paintings I started about women bathing in the cocoa estates.”
He said Angelo counted Carmona, and his wife Reema, and many politicians as his friends.
“He never saw politics or skin colour or religion or class, Angelo was a man who transcended all those things. He cut through all prejudices and the only measure he divided things by was their value to the national identity.”
“It was his life’s goal to ensure that we have a national identity —he was redefining history and the way we see ourselves, how we treat each other and how we speak to each other.”
He said all he wishes for now was that Angelo be remembered by his work. He also thanked a number of people including former Guardian editor-in-chief Judy Raymond for giving Angelo an opportunity to delve deeper into his work through his weekly column in the Sunday Guardian.
In addition to being awarded the Hummingbird Gold Medal in 2016 Independence Day awards, Angelo was also given the keys to the city of San Fernando by then Mayor Kazim Hosein (now Local Government minister.)
His books, Walking with the Ancestors—The Historic Cemeteries of Trinidad, published in 2013; Snapshots of the History of Trinidad and Tobago, Virtual Glimpses into the Past; and Pancho’s Dilemma, all published in 2016, have also earned him many accolades.
Angelo was the founder of the Virtual Museum of T&T and has been lauded by many as a guardian of the country’s history.
Tributes pour in
As news of the death of beloved local historian and author Angelo Bissessarsingh spread yesterday, many people poured their hearts out for him, including those who hold this country’s highest offices.
Bissessarsingh lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at his Brooks Garden, Siparia home around 10 am yesterday.
President Anthony Carmona, in a release yesterday, hailed Angelo as a remarkable human being. Carmona presented the Hummingbird Gold Medal to Angelo in 2016 for his contribution to History and Education.
“I am devastated by the loss of a remarkable human being who was trying to save us from ourselves. We owe him a priceless debt of gratitude for championing the greatness of our culture, history and heritage and the goodness that lies within us all,” the release said. “To his loving family and dear friends, my deepest condolences and may God give you all solace, strength and peace in this trying moment of great grief.”
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who Angelo’s father Rudolph Bissessarsingh said shared a good relationship with his son, also expressed his condolences, describing Angelo as a shining example of a citizen.
“Angelo will be remembered as a man driven by his passion to explore and share the rich history of Trinidad and Tobago and for his national service he was awarded the Hummingbird Medal Gold in 2016. His work as a cultural archivist and author shows us that the task of preserving our country’s history is not the work of academics and formal institutions,” a release from the Office of the Prime Minister stated.
“He has proven that people with curious minds and a love for knowledge can be some of our most shining examples of citizenship.”
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar also expressed her sorrow at Angelo’s death.
According to Angelo’s father, Persad-Bissessar’s husband, Dr Gregory Bissessar, supported Angelo financially during his battle with cancer.
“I share the hope of his father, that Angelo’s “consciousness will live on” and that he will “never die”. Indeed, Angelo’s immortality is ensured through the work he has done in creating the Virtual Museum of Trinidad and Tobago, his many books about us as a people and his writings in the press,” Persad-Bissessar wrote.
“Angelo’s wit and charming smile brought joy to anyone who interacted with him, and he will truly be missed. Angelo possessed a strong will and thirst for knowledge, and devoted much of his lifetime to exploring and documenting this country’s rich history. His work did not stop there, he sought to impart as much knowledge as he could to his fellow citizens.”
She also issued a call for Angelo’s books to be included in schools so that future generations can learn from his work.