Sometimes, we ignore and condemn our achievements and distinctive cultural patterns

Aug 26, 2008 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
To many, independence means merely the formal conceding of political and constitutional power by the imperialists to representatives of the local populace.

Some may go further and contend that, to be real, it must also mean local control of a nation’s economy and destiny.

Few, however, address their minds to the need for more cultural and artistic independence; to the need for formulating cultural and artistic goals for the Caribbean nations.

In our own country, we have produced our poets, our authors, our dramatists, our painters and our sculptors, but what attempts have been made to relate our works to their history and the evolution of a distinctive culture? What has been done to commit to writing and interpret our social history?

Who, hitherto, has thought of discovering the roots our people and the community share with our brothers and sisters of the Caribbean, North America and the nations of Africa and Asia?

Like so many other people achieving independence in our generation, we have had our lives and our habits influenced and shaped by centuries of colonial rule, as a result of which our society has remained a complex of complexes, causing us to ignore and sometimes condemn our own achievements and distinctive cultural patterns.

We have been satisfied to accept the European description of our forefathers’ revolutions and struggles as mere riots and rebellions against lawful authority, instead of a pattern of a subject people’s struggle to recapture their freedom.

Whence have we sprung? Where are we going? Who are our brothers? What contributions have we got to make as members of the family of man?

These are the questions that must excite us as we move into CARIFESTA XI. This is a moment when our feelings must transcend electoral rivalries and ideological differences, and when we must acknowledge the urgent and essential role of the intellectual worker in the process of transforming our society and nations.

It is not without significance that included in this work are pieces and poems, not only by Guyanese or English-speaking artistes, but by others from the Caribbean, like Martinique and Cuba.

The net has been cast wide and the catch has been of the highest quality and of greatest portent for the future. We can now see ourselves as part of a regional and world movement.

We can be the haven for new and revolutionary thought, and the place where there can be a free exchange of ideas and concepts.

We, the working-class of Guyana, welcome again this participation by our friends, brothers and sisters in the celebration of this historic event, CARIFESTA X.

Theirs to use are the fruits of our efforts. Our achievements are theirs to claim. We know that our history and culture will be richer for their contributions.
Sherwood Clarke