Wakenaam stages impressive Arrival Day programme

May 07, 2009 News

Residents marching

The Wakenaam Arrival Day Committee planned and executed one of the richest and finest cultural shows to mark the 171st anniversary of the arrival of East Indians in Guyana. The event was held at Belle Plaine, Wakenaam, on Tuesday.
The celebrations started with a march from the Wakenaam Ferry Stelling to Sewram’s Concrete at Belle Plaine. The participants waved flags of India and Guyana as they marched to the beat of tassa drums. A motorcade also accompanied the marchers.

At Sewram’s Concrete there was a cultural show.
The audience of more than 1,000 people was addressed by former president of Guyana Teachers’ Union, Mr. Sayeed Ahmad, and also Mr. Talim Karimullah of the GPHC – a former resident of Wakenaam.
Both speakers gave a history of the coming of the East Indians and their contribution to the development of Guyana.

A section of the gathering before the cultural programme

Mr. Karimullah spoke about the sugar plantation that existed on Wakenaam and Leguan Islands. He also identified outstanding sons and daughters of Wakenaam Island, among them Baroness Valerie Amos and West Indies cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan.
Karimullah also spoke about to the Wakenaam Schools’ Association which is aiding the improvement of the educational, recreational and other developmental activities on the island.
Items were presented by all the major religious bodies on the Island and exhibited the harmony in which the residents live.

Outstandingly, two skits drew the applause of the gathering. One dealt with the food, lifestyle, housing and social factors of the early East Indians, while the other skit by the Wakenaam Nite Management Committee, depicted the need for religious tolerance, the latter in a play which centered on a Muslim boy in love with a Hindu girl.

Both of these plays exhibit our lifestyles and the need for racial and religious appreciation. The participants for the five-hour cultural programme were of all ages— from those in nursery school to the elderly.
One visitor to the island remarked that it was indeed sad that these items were not recorded for broadcast on local television. (Harry Seymour)