Giving recognition and paying respect are two ways of ensuring the eradication of ignorance, which hampers cohesiveness, President David Granger said yesterday in an address at Arrival Day celebrations held at Plantation Highbury Memorial Site, in East Bank Berbice.
Noting that May 5th, which marks Indian Arrival Day, has been set aside to commemorate the arrival of all Guyana’s peoples, the President remarked that diversity is a precious asset, which must be prized and protected by ensuring that everyone could co-exist in peace and mutual respect for the validity of each other’s culture.
He noted that Arrival Day commemorates the transformation of the country bythe people who came – the Africans, Chinese, Indians and Portuguese – together with the Amerindians, the people who lived here from time immemorial.
“We should not hesitate to pay homage to each group that arrived. It is only in giving recognition and by paying respect to people that differences will not be obscured, that ignorance will be eradicated and that real integration will be assured, the President said.
Explaining the significance of the day’s observance being held at Highbury, Granger stated, “The Indian presence in this country is associated with this community. It was at Highbury that the S S Whitby, bringing 128 Indians, docked on May 5th, 1838, 179 years ago.” Their arrival was reenacted at the event, which was organised by the Berbice Indian Cultural Committee.
Granger noted that Indians, who were brought to work on the sugar plantations and decided to remain and make this country their home, made an indelible impact on Guyana’s culture, economic and social landscape. They brought with them a “rich culture, their customs, dancing, dress, festivals, food, music, rituals, speech and traditions. Guyana is richer with this culture,” he said.
Stating the Indian cultural practices enabled them to overcome the adversities and abuses on the plantations, he stressed that it strengthened their resilience and resistance against the oppressive life on the plantations. “Indian cultural values encourage strong bonds of personal, familial and social solidarity,” he stated, while adding that this has also welded the Indian community closer in Guyana.
It was in this context that Region Six Chairman David Armogan, during his brief speech later said, “The sweat and blood of our ancestors are mixed in the soil of the sugar industry.” Repeating a now familiar request, he pleaded with the President to consider the workers before taking anymore decisions on closure of estates, while stressing that citizens of this country continue to depend tremendously on the sugar industry for their livelihood. He said sugar workers are going to bed with fear that that the factories they are attached to will one day close down forever.
He also asked the President to imagine the economic and social consequences that will come after closing sugar factories.
Granger had earlier noted that indentured labourers had used their return passages for plots of land, which they used to supplement their income off the plantations. “Their industry enabled them to improve their livelihood. They contributed to the diversification of the rural economy by venturing into cattle rearing, cash crop farming, coconut cultivation, paddy growing, rice growing and fishing,” he noted.
Work in progress
President Granger noted, too, that the people who immigrated to this country began mingling with the inhabitants and together they formed a cultural economic and social phenomenon that is now recognised as the “Guyanese nation.”
He said furthermore that Arrival Day is a celebration of cohesion. He explained, that social cohesion in Guyana did not come about by accident, but by forging a bond. “Social cohesion had to be built, rightfully and deliberately, family by family, community by community,” he pointed out. He added that while social cohesion is still a work in progress, it should never be taken for granted.
He told those gathered that they must preserve the country’s assets for the future generations. “Our green state can furnish us with the good life for generations to come, only if we engender a spirit of cohesion, only if we create a community in which all diversity, our differences are respected and celebrated,” the President said. “The green state must embody the cohesiveness that arises from our unique and shared path… Diversity will lead to prosperity and into a common future for us all.” He noted that while other countries are in turmoil, Guyana remains an oasis of harmony.
Also present at the Arrival Day celebration were Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin, Minister of Social Cohesion George Norton, Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan, Minister within the Ministry of Finance Jaipaul Sharma, Minister within the Ministry of Public Health Dr Karen Cummings, Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson and Minister within the Ministry of Communities Dawn Hastings-Williams, former prime minister Samuel Hinds along with Regional Executive Officer Kim Williams Stephen and Member of Parliament Charandass Persaud, among others. The special invitees and several hundred citizens gathered enjoyed the many cultural items, as they were seen clapping their hands and even dancing in their seats.
