Guyanese people: multi-ethnic with mixed and celebrated cultures, united heritage and diversity; one of the most resilient groups of Caribbean people.
However, with so much that has broken our society down we often forget the hope of our nation and the meaning of the word “destiny” in our motto.
We are a hardworking people. When we set our minds to something we attain it. We gain through our strengths and our ability to endure whatever is thrown at us. That’s right, endure. We have gone through a lot; race hate; independence turmoil; political crises, economic downfall, and we are still going through many struggles today.
06The people we select as leaders use our history to wound and divide us. We are constantly reminded of racism and the past era of political leadership. But being the enduring people we are we want to look past this; to get up from our knees and walk together into the future. Enduring means we can overcome and we always do, we must.
Our experiences have made us adaptable. We can sway with the wind. We are creative and artistic without even knowing.
A beautiful myriad of colours and people, languages and cultures makes us one well-admired painting. Why, then, is it that we cannot admire the work of art that we are?
We live in a state with bountiful resources. Dense tropical forests and wide open savannahs; canals and creeks; rivers and streams web all over the land and flow through valleys of towering mountains for miles and miles.
With the gold and diamond, bauxite and other minerals, even oil that is suspected to be in our lands we can rightfully say given the right investments and administration Guyana is perhaps the richest country in the Caribbean. Our resources are unlimited but the most important resource does not even know its own worth – the human factor, the people, us. We Guyanese are the most important resource of this country.
We have a right to mould our own destiny. We have a right to demand change and forge a better future. We need to remember, no matter how broken we are, how weak we may seem, who we are as Guyanese people.
Hope can spark a revolution, Hope can spark change. We need to live in hope and never forget. What are we leaving for our children and their children? The country we live in will not get better overnight and it certainly will not change if we do not stand up, if our voices are silenced, if we are afraid, unwilling, or hopeless.
Guyanese, my people don’t you see? We need to stand up together and march on with our lives, into the future. We are lagging behind and in some sectors way behind. What are we waiting for? Who is coming to help us?
We need to help each other and build each other.
Anything that stands in our way of progression is poison to us.
Remember the beauty that is you; that is us. Hope must always remain with the Guyanese people and it is from that we will find our strength to overcome the challenges facing us. It will give us the will to change these things and make Guyana the beautiful place we can be proud of.
