Dear Editor,
During this week I had the pleasure of being involved in two events which really made me feel proud to be Guyanese. First, it was the installation of the new executive committee of the Guyanese American Cultural Association of Central Florida, held last Sunday at The Venue in the Timehri Banquet Hall. Almost 100 Guyanese and friends of Guyana turned out for the event which had as its guest of honour, Judge Alli B. Majeed of the Brevard County Court.
Judge Majeed’s speech was a masterpiece. His message was bang on “We must be good Guyanese and proud Americans… there is nothing we cannot achieve if we work hard, stay focused and obey the law. We must reject homegrown terrorism in all its forms whether it manifests itself through our mosques, mandirs or churches. We must uphold values of love for family and respect for one another.”
He also spoke of the upbringing we received in Guyana which helped shape who we are today. In short, Judge Majeed, who hails from humble beginnings on the Essequibo Coast, was himself indisputable testimony to his message. The Guyanese gathered at this event of all ethnic, religious and social backgrounds, were brimful of pride not only about the ‘heights’ this son of the soil had achieved in America but of the display of genuine unity among themselves.
The second event, held at the same venue, was a town hall meeting with Basil Williams who is seeking to become the PNCR’s presidential candidate. Again, a diverse crowd of Guyanese turned out to meet him and hear his message. He was asked some really tough questions and was even heckled several times by sections of the audience. And although the majority in the audience were not PNCR supporters, perhaps not supporters of any political party in Guyana, at the end of the event they all ‘hung out’ and fired a few drinks with Basil, asking more questions about Guyana and in some cases even contributing to his campaign.
The Venue is owned by Guyanese Lake Naraine who made the facility available free of cost for both these events, as he did for a similar event last November when Prime Minister Sam Hinds visited central Florida.
One had to be at these events to really capture the genuine spirit of Guyanese unity. As elections in Guyana draw near, we in Florida invite all the candidates from the various political parties to come visit us and share their vision with us. Just let us know you want to visit and we’ll arrange the meetings here at no cost to you. We commend Basil Williams for being the first candidate to reach out to us.
Over the past five years we in central Florida have had the honour to welcome President Jagdeo, Prime Minister Hinds, the late Winston Murray, Stanley Ming, Ted Braithwaite, Alvin Kallicharran, Carol Pounder, Dave Martins, and Glen Khan. In February, we will have as our special guest for our Republic celebrations Dr Vincent Adams, currently the highest ranking Guyanese American in the US Government. We hosted Debbie Misir when she was Assistant Secretary of Labor in the Bush administration.
Orlando is Mickey Mouse town, but for us Mickey Mouse has a different connotation.
Yours faithfully,
Wesley Kirton
