Dear Editor,

I would like to thank Ms Iana Seales of this newspaper for her excellent journalism on the Barakara Falls issue. She is the reason we have justice today.

Wonderland Tours has been fighting for 21 years for tourism in Guyana. My father Richard Ousman devoted his life to this country. He had very strong views and was not afraid to share them. He contributed to Guyanese musicians, the most popular being Sammy Baksh and the Yoruba Singers. He was one of the founding members of THAG (Tourism & Hospitality Association of Guyana). He was the first person to invite a cruise ship to Guyana. He developed a lot of the tours that are offered by every tour operator today. He travelled the world promoting Guyana. Most of all he loved Guyana with every cell in his body. This is what I grew up knowing and every chance he got he instilled this in me.

After living 7 years in New York I returned to Guyana three years ago. I spent only 2 weeks with my father before he died. He tried to teach me as much as I needed to know but our time was cut short. I then had to battle this new venture alone. Luckily my mother was there and she had to guide me through this journey. She has now become my confidant and best friend. I also connected with my long time friend Mario, who is now my husband and the driving force behind the business.

My first experiences in the tourism industry in Guyana were stressful. Everyone seemed to be selfish and hesitant. I understood this because I was a new player in the game. My New York experiences became an asset to my persona and I was able to fight a good fight. I managed to secure Wonderland Tours’ status and the presumption that the company would fall was evidentially proven wrong. This did not sit well with a lot of players who wanted to capitalize on our misfortune. This has left a bad taste in my mouth and as a result I have become very aggressive and guarded about my business.

The recent event that has taken place in Guyana has proven to me that I am alone in my fight; this is not a problem with me. My father geared me for this my whole life. Wonderland Tours did not receive any support from any other tour operator, ministry, private sector or organization. However, after my failed attempts for support we decided to take it on by ourselves. A lot of prayers and advice from family members prompted us to make all of the right moves and justice was served.

It fills my heart with hope for Guyana to know that by ourselves we accomplished such a big task. The destruction of Barakara Falls would have devastated my world. Imagine losing a place with all of those good memories, thousands of tourists with thousands of pictures. It would truly have been a catastrophe.

Tourism in Guyana has grown tremendously in the last 3 years. The public might not see this but as a tour operator who deals with visitors every day, it’s evident. Guyanese now have to be prouder of our country and what it has to offer. We have to take pride in our surroundings and clean up our garbage. We have to realize that it’s a blessing to be born in Guyana. There are few places in the world where you can visit the market and get the freshest vegetables and fruits, a variety of fish and sea food. We can enjoy disease-free beef and chemical-free chicken. Even our Chinese food is rated one of the best; Guyanese all over the world will tell you this. M&M Snackette’s egg ball and Cane Juice is world famous. It is talked about in almost every Guyanese community around the world. German’s soup is also a food that people love and miss. It’s one of the first things people want to eat when they get here. When you live in places that are in no way similar to your home, you miss these small things the most.

This proves that the everyday things that we enjoy are taken for granted, and this should stop. If we as a people take more pride in our country, our surroundings, our government, our natural resources, our rainforest and most of all ourselves, we can enjoy a better standard of living.

We as a people should be proud of being self sustainable . We should thank our forefathers for teaching us how to grow our own food. We all could proudly say that no one in Guyana could go hungry. Even the very poor know how to survive and feed their family. We are one of the places on earth that is not threatened by the thought of hunger.

Tourism should be seen as our future. As a tour operator I assess the country by the flow of my business. My understanding is that one tourist that visits Guyana is generating business from the top to the bottom. Money is circulated to the international airline, the hotel, the taxi driver, the tour operator, the bus and boat companies, the restaurants and caterers, the tourist destinations, the local airline, the craft shop, the vendor on the streets, the market and even a beggar on the street. One tourist contributes to all of these entities. This is how we generate foreign currency in our country and our money doesn’t lose its value.

I will make sure that Barakara is restored and accessible and will ask all Guyanese to preserve it and keep it clean. I will also be conducting some research on the Marshall Falls area.  In the future I will be rallying to save all of our waterfalls throughout our country from any destruction. This is our future.

Our country is our legacy and we have to preserve it so our children and their children can enjoy it as much as we did. I hope that my battle has given Guyanese courage to stand up and speak.  This is your country and no matter how big your opponent might be, go in with a full heart and a big breath.

Our biggest battle should be returning Georgetown to the status of being the Garden City. This would be the biggest victory for our future.

Yours faithfully,
Alisha Ousman
CEO
Wonderland Tours