OUR CARIBBEAN: Sharing the dreams of Reds Perreira

by RICKEY SINGHJOSEPH “REDS” PERREIRA has evolved into a name synonymous with sports in the West Indies, and cricket commentary in particular. At 71, the Guyanese lad of humble beginnings, stands proudly among Caribbean icons whose outstanding contributions over the years have enriched this region’s sports.A week ago today, “Reds” – as he is popularly known, a nickname inherited from his boyhood days with a full head of red hair – hosted a kind of “down memory lane” event at the Wanderers  Cricket Club in Christ Church.It was to launch his book Living My Dreams,  a 152-page work, illustrated with some historical photos of the author and the “greats”  of West Indian cricket fame. Additionally, readers will find a collection of 25 “testimonials” from among the big names  in the region’s media, sports and culture sectors, and  diplomacy and governance, all with a common theme of praise for Reds’ indefatigable spirit to triumph  over physical disabilities, social, economic and other disadvantages in pursuit of his love for sport and, above all, anxiety to be a cricket commentator of note.As that doyen of West Indian cricket writers and commentators Tony Cozier has oberved in the foreward to Living My Dreams, his own doubt that “Reds” would be able to complete his fascinating life story  was dispelled by a welcome reminder.“I should have known better,” said Cozier, “that a few hundred thousand words should be  a breeze for a boy from the Pomeroon in Guyana  who wasn’t put off his dream of becoming a cricket commentator by the little matter of a serious stammer, well into his teenaged years, or who shook off the setback of a serious stroke (in Australia) when  into his 50s to regain his strength and fervour  and be again as active as he ever was . . . .”There were some well known personalities in local and regional media at the launch to bear witness to the remarkable spirit of this quintessential Caribbean national. His dozen years as a pioneering head of the St Lucian-based sports desk of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the score  of 145 broadcast Test matches have combined to make  “Reds” Perreira a household name across this regionThe West Indian writer and dramatist Ian McDonald, who had encouraged “Reds” to write his autobiography, has noted: “Perhaps it is as a cricket commentator that Reds gained his greatest public fame. But I believe his deepest and most remarkable contribution to all our West Indian lives lies in his  life-long love and sponsorship of all sports across  the regional board. Nobody equals him in this . . . .”Living My Dreams was first launched in St Lucia and last week in Barbados, one of his “homelands”. “Reds” will do the same in Antigua and Barbuda. He will wrap up the launching series in Guyana where, in December 2004, he had established, with the cooperation of the Guyana Olympic Committee, the Reds Perreira Sports Foundation. His remarkable life story deserves a place on the bookshelves of all with a keen interest in West Indian sports.Let me conclude with the opening statement “Reds” chose to begin with – characteristic humility his life story: “As I look back on my life, coming out of a very humble, rural Guyana country environment and growing up on the banks of the Pomeroon River  in the county of Essequibo, it would only be fair  to say I have been extremely fortunate . . . .”