Happy Independence to all Guyanese!

May 30, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Maybe it was due to lack of space in your newspaper but our Independence message to the people of Guyana that was sent to your newspaper was not published – not even in Wednesday’s (26-05-10) newspaper as we had hoped.
However, the celebration has passed but the time has not passed for wishing all Guyanese the best as they go about their daily lives after 44 years of Independence. Indeed the achievements, or lack thereof, would be contemplated by many for days to come.
When one thinks back to May 26, 1966 and the days and night leading up to Independence, one could quite imagine the preparation, which began several days before, and the excitement leading up to this historic event that would change the lives of every Guyanese forever.
To the people who fought and sacrificed for this; to actually see their dream eventually come through, no amount of words could begin to describe how they must have felt at the lowering of the British Union Flag and the moment when Lieutenant Desmond Roberts of the Guyana Defence Force raised the Golden Arrowhead, Guyana’s National Flag, witnessed by $40,000 plus 3,000 officials and visitors at the now named National Park. At that very moment Guyanese realised that the future then belonged to us with all our hopes and dreams to fashion as we saw fit. At last, the economic and social changes fought for by Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Forbes Burnham, Ashton Chase, Janet Jagan, and all the others can now be implemented.
Now, 44 years have gone by since this historic event that made us a free nation. Our leaders came and went, learning through trial and error how best to lead this beautiful country of ours both internally and in the international arena. Have our leaders had our best interests at heart always? Did the decisions they made benefitted us in anyway that we felt their consideration for us was always at heart? And when things did not work out as planned, were we made to understand properly and respectfully why things did not go right? Were we consulted in the decision-making processes when there was a need to do so? What have we achieved since becoming an independent nation, or, what decisions our various leaders made that affected us in a positive way? These are the questions Guyanese should be asking themselves.
There is no doubt that, as a nation of six races we have grown. We have even added another race, the mixed race, which bodes well for lasting love and peace. This also ought to encourage more Guyanese, come elections time, to vote on issues rather then race.
But back to our achievements – there are many and folks of varying ages can attest to this. If we have made these achievements within a reasonable timeframe is highly debatable, especially if we take into consideration the fact that we are still a young nation.
And if one takes a look at what is happening presently we must agree that we have just made an excellent move in the right direction by unanimously passing a new law in the National Assembly – one pertaining to sexual offences which will protect our children, women, boys and all vulnerable groups. This present day history is definitely a positive consideration for the people of Guyana and the Hon. Priya Manickchand who piloted this bill through parliament must be congratulated for a job well done.
On the international front we are marching forward and being recognised through sports (thanks to our many athletes who are determined to place Guyana permanently on the international map and are doing so rising above all odds); our people’s genuine kindness and hospitality (our response to Haiti’s tragedy being one of them); Nature and Adventure tourism (the interior is great but our city needs to be cleaned up before we can tout it as a tourist attraction); and now our Low Carbon Development Strategy. All these are definite and positive achievements (some in progress) that we can all be proud of.
Our first peoples, the Amerindians; have also had their lot improved since Stephen Esterban Campbell fought to ensure, that with independence, the rights of the indigenous people to their lands and their own culture would be safeguarded.
One can safely say that, albeit 44 years after independence, they are walking towards that path. It was a long wait and still more to be done but for Stephen Campbell, somewhere in a good place where all the brave and courageous people go, there must be a hint of a smile on his face.
All in all, when we look back through the years and try to list the things that matter that we have achieved as a nation we will be surprised to find out that we have done well. This should naturally make us feel proud to be Guyanese.
Our leaders all brought with them something positive that they wanted us to experience. Some were and are great and some were and are not, but we can safely believe that the thought behind all started with wanting the best for our people and our nation. And we must realise that our leaders were, are and will continue to be our choices.
Independence to any human being is powerful and life-changing and we must respect it, honour it and make meaningful and positive decisions by it.
With this in mind we wish all Guyanese a Happy Independence and best wishes on your life’s journey ahead.
The United Force Party

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