Dear Editor,
There was a picketing exercise on Thursday, March 9, in front of the National Assembly organized by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union. In that picket were persons of different age groups, including a number of children. Parliamentarians were already gathered in the Assembly awaiting the commencement of the session. As the exercise got underway, a number of MP’s from the PPP/C joined the line in solidarity with workers. I took the opportunity to join the exercise and shared in the call for no closure to Enmore Estate. When I saw the children I instantly remembered a similar exercise which I was a part of in 1963 for the recognition of GAWU. I was then around the same age as these children.
All of us who have lived on sugar estates would understand what the closure of an estate means for the people who live there. Even when the estate is operational, the workers have a difficult time out of crop. So imagine what will happen to them when there is no work.
For me, as a daughter of sugar workers from Enmore, this is very painful. Our lives, our hopes, our dreams and our ambitions have been shaped by the environment of Estate living. We learned how to live a frugal lifestyle because we know that when it rains and when there is out of crop we will have to make do with less.
There is another reason why Enmore is so close to my heart, and that is because I grew up hearing the stories of the Enmore Martyrs. This incident took place not far from where we were living and there were some relatives who had given a ball-by-ball account of what happened; that was also part of the psyche that helped to shape our social consciousness.
While some of the younger people have opted to move away from working on the estate, many others chose to stay to earn a livelihood. People from different villages also form part of the work force, and it is always refreshing to see the camaraderie among people of different ethnic groups working and living together in harmony.
We are constantly reminded that the reason why we were all brought from different parts of the world is because of sugar. When sugar prospers we all share in that prosperity. We also know that in every industry there are highs and lows, and sugar like bauxite has had its fair share of challenges
Living in Enmore taught us tolerance of persons of different ethnic groups, different religions and respect for all ages. We were a tightly knit multi-cultural community.
Our teachers who were from Golden Grove, Buxton and elsewhere had our interest at heart, likewise they were forever in our hearts.
Another important aspect in our life was the annual events that were organized for the Enmore Martyrs. In the 28 years of PNC rule, the government event saw people from outside of Enmore participating in the events while the PPP had their famous public meetings that were held by Robert’s Square or Mongoose Square. We have had the opportunity to hear the late Dr Jagan and other PPP leaders telling us about the events of Enmore. We were educated about the struggle of the working-class and received our political education sitting on a rice bag on the ground listening attentively to Dr Jagan.
As the present government contemplates its future actions on the closure of more estates they need to remember the effects of this decision on the lives of those workers and their families.
The workers are not begging for alms, they are seeking what is just. If you have to close the estate, come up with a plan and pay the workers while they await the outcome, as the PPP did for the bauxite workers. We have enough criminals, over-taxed and frustrated people already. Many more without jobs, could become a national problem.
Some of the monies that are wasted on high rise fences and parks and excessive advisers can be used to help bail out the industry. The sugar workers do not want ‘freeness’. They want to work, to earn and to live in dignity.
Yours faithfully,
Indra Chandarpal
