Dear Editor,
From time to time, in interviews here and there, I’ve taken time to make the point that whatever I am as an artist I owe largely to Guyana, and that, despite the truly daunting problems the country faces, the crucible that is Guyana has forged qualities in its sons and daughters that underpin their successes all over the world.
Two days ago, I received an email from Terry Ferreira, a stalwart friend of mine who lives in New Jersey, in which he ex-pressed those sentiments beautifully. (This is the same Terry Ferreira, by the way, who rode a bicycle from Guyana through Central America to Atlanta in 1996 – over 7,000 miles.) I have Terry’s permission to share the note he sent me. Here it is:
“Of all the things I am, have done, claim to be, or was brave enough to dream about, the most important aspect of my being is buried in the lucky shot that I was born Guyanese. I would dislike being from elsewhere – let me put it that way. “We are such a bright bunch of people; common sense and ability galore. As individuals, we are usually ready for the chance, the task and the challenge.
How many times we hear about one of us who started out with nothing, not even a proper cricket bat, school books, even shoes, or the ability to construct a proper sentence, bare-foot but hungry for improvement, making it all the way to the top of his or her endeavour? Think, for example, about our own “four time” Olympian, Ian D’Ornellas. Who is to say Ian wasn’t the world’s first Lance Armstrong?
“Give me my people’s company, and I am most happy. Give me my country’s spirit, give me my people’s outlook and I am boss in anything I choose – fixing, reaching for, or solving anything that is often a headache for others, is often a breeze for us. I can’t imagine where we would be in the world if indeed we came from a well-run country. Viva Guyana! Long Live North America where I find myself.” I’ve read Terry’s words over and over, and each time they move me anew.
Any time there’s an official Guyanese function, they should be read. Through the pages of your newspaper, I hope that his tribute – for that is what it is – reaches Guyanese, wherever they live, and stirs a gratitude for Guyana and its culture that we should all come to feel one day.
Yours faithfully,
Dave Martins
