– Afro-Business: Land? Manufacturing?
Firstly, two personal contextual points: my avid interest in Guyana’s social history was really ignited by the late historian Vere T. Daly; (he was in the second ever batch of trained teachers with my uncle A.B.C. Fenty and I still have a copy of Daly’s “A Short History of the Guyanese People” autographed by him); secondly, I wrote short-stories from my teens to my thirties winning the then topmost national prize in 1973 (?); that prizewinning story was based on the 1823 East Coast Uprising; two of my historical- fiction stories remain unpublished – one about “Kofi – Governor of Berbice” and “This land is mine” about a getaway Rebel Slave/Amerindian “collaboration” against the Dutch.
Now and then I do regret not attending any high school or university to become a “bright” researcher and historian- like Doctors Rose and McGowan-and His Excellency. Which all brings me to this past Sunday Stabroek editorial, then my lead caption.
Sunday’s editorial –obviously penned by an editorial writer versed in our history-stimulated my interest because of my insights from V.T. Daly and my elementary foray into the relationship among slave, master and first people-our so-called, erroneously-named “Amerindians”.
That superb op-ed, “Emancipation” was a short lesson in our history as regards the fact that the 1838 “full freedom” ushered in the multi-racial, multi-cultural nature and composition of what was to become Guyana’s national demographic. Some readers might know the mantra: “If Emancipation did not happen we might not have had Chinese, Portuguese, East Indian descendants here now”.
We were informed that during the Dutch colonial control in their three colonies and even after British Guiana was established, not all Amerindians aided and abetted the European rulers to recapture runaway slaves or were “custodians” of the plantation for the Dutch. Indeed, we are told that some Amerindian “nations” were themselves in some form of Dutch bondage at one time.
And in the 1600’s a few “free” Africans somehow acquired the status to trade with the “indigenous” groups, all overseen by the Dutch overlords.
This editorial should be preserved-and taught.
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Never actually slaves, but….
There was this Guyanese fellow of academic leanings. He too loved Guyana’s social history. Let’s call him Kwesi Assannah– once domiciled at a village on the western bank of the Demerara.
At the university whilst reading for his history major, Kwesi discovered that his own fore parents had arrived in Guiana as immigrants from Sierra Leone to join the first Chinese and other immigrants – on contract – to work on some West Bank plantations. That was in 1838 when an immigration programme was re-opened.
Kwesi was temporarily delighted to realise that-like quite a few present day Afro-Guyanese-his/their fore parents were never plantation slaves – but free contracted immigrant workers! Some even returned to Sierra Leone- like a few indentured coolies did to India.
But poor Kwesi; as he grew older into Guyana’s socio-economic realities, he accepted that even as he had educated himself at the highest level and could be deemed “successful” by many standards – his own fore-parents had been “free”- the masses of his African–descended brethren were forever struggling and losing opportunity, status and dignity to other groups who came to the “colonies” and stayed on to produce inheritors.
The now Afro-centric activist that is Kwesi, lives by the principle which espouses that in the family of mankind and by any minimum standard, “Where anyone is not free, then all are unfree” Discuss…
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Why we “arrived”, black business
Let’s take my last two captions together in the following paragraphs.
In the context of pre-Columbian and post–Emancipation socio-economic – cultural development, I invite all Guyana to reflect upon how we are now composed as – hopefully -a nation “Amer-Indians” as in American–“Indians” arrived here first. After a long inter-american trek from Mongolia. So are they really “indigenous”, native to here? Did Africans precede them? Ask ACDA’s Eric Phillips.
The Europeans came to conquer and exploit. Of their own greedy (?) expansionist volition. Portuguese Madeirans are actually – or were Europeans too and we know how and why the Africans, Chinese and Indians “arrived”.
So if the Madeirans, Africans, Chinese and Indians really had a choice, would their descendants be here today? Discuss….
Frankly speaking, last week Wednesday’s Business Conference for “Afro-Guyanese small business owners” was a giant step in the right direction. We’re in the midst of a whole “Decade” to highlight the plight and challenges of people of colour worldwide. So designated by the United Nations. So can organizers access practical assistance from that world body?
Years ago, ACDA mooted an ABC- an “African Business Council. There is now a “round table”. How can you get Afro-Guyanese youth to turn to agriculture? The mindset which teaches the virtues and value of owning and working the land is now challenged by robotics and information technologies. Which is the young people’s choice?
Perhaps the authorities must teach agriculture, lend assistance and financial subsidies as the crops grow for subsequent manufacturing. Even if you have to take dancehall stereo sets into and onto the farms! Let’s see what develops from these afro-sessions held in Georgetown, Linden and Berbice recently.
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One parting shot: Who plants, produces and /or manufactures the food we Guyanese eat?
Til next week!
