Latest update November 15th, 2024 1:00 AM
Amerindians still not being given a fighting chance
Life at Paramakatoi
By Gary Eleazar
Paramakatoi is a village in Region Eight, which serves as home to a large settlement containing mainly persons from the Amerindian tribe, Patamona.
Clyde Edwards is a 25-year-old man that hails from that village and is of the opinion that the nation is being hoodwinked into thinking that Amerindians are being treated fairly in this country.
One such area of unbalanced treatment is Education, he says. He is of the opinion that Amerindians in that community were not being adequately prepared at the secondary level so that they can, to the best off their potential, tackle tertiary level training provided that they make it that far.
One reason he proffered for this position was the fact that 90 per cent of the teachers that teach in the community are not trained and the ones who are trained, operate at a primary level.
Another reason the young man proffered was the fact that in the 21st century the Amerindian children of that region and possibly outside of that region were not being taught how to be computer literate.
This, he said, was significantly hampering his quest at tertiary education and has been a hurdle causing him to lag behind his colleagues in class.
This was also the case with many other Amerindians who travel out of the hinterland to study at the University off Guyana, he said.
Those who fail to do this are forced to farm or work in mines. Another cause for concern for the young man who said that this was also the case with many in Amerindian villages, was balancing how to preserve their culture.
Children at School
He noted that while he understands the need to preserve Amerindian culture, the people would also like to elevate their standard of living.
“They telling us to continue to build houses with thatch roof and mud walls but they are living in big fancy houses.”
He said that as young Amerindians educate themselves and eke out a living for themselves they too, like the coastlanders would like to enjoy some of the finer things in life.
Edwards said that the community farms cash crops of a high quality given that the land was extremely fertile. Many of the vegetables are exceptionally large, and would fetch a good price in Georgetown could they be transported at a reasonable cost.
Previously, the colder climate was thought to be adequate for the cultivation of Irish potatoes, and this was tried, but the high cost of air freight to transport the potatoes did not allow for a lucrative business venture. As a result, the planting of potatoes has, for the most part, stopped.
“The air freight out of Paramakatoi is high, and there are no proper roads linking this mountaintop village to the rest of the country,” according to Edwards
Plans may be in the cards, some time in the future, for the construction of a road linking the village to the lower-lying lands of Guyana.
Almost all of the residents of Paramakatoi make their living by subsistence farming and mining.
According to Edwards, the Agriculture Minister preaches about grow more and the community could and is prepared to expand its farms but there is no market to sell their produce. In addition, it is extremely difficult to transport these to Georgetown.
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