The ultimate sacrifice for social justice

Jun 18, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
On June 16, 1948 62 years ago, five young cane-cutters, were shot and killed by the Colonial police, as a result of peaceful industrial action taken against the Colonial Masters on plantation Enmore on the East Coast of Demerara in the Colony of British Guiana (Guyana).
These brave souls were passively fighting against, and resisting the socio-economic hardships that were meted out and imposed on all workers and their families during that time of the British Plantocracy.
Workers in British Guiana were treated with disdain, as if Slavery and Indentureship had not been a thing of the past.
The conditions under which the workers toiled and were housed were unacceptable. The Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance was in most cases flouted, wages were extremely meager, in most cases not enough to support a family of three. Conditions in the field and factory were terrible; there were no forms of occupational safety measures in place.
There was no insurance scheme in place to provide for sickness, unemployment or retirement.
The workers had mobilized themselves to fight against the injustices, unaware of the deadly consequences to follow.
According to the book “The West on Trial” by former President Cheddi Jagan O.L., “the planters launched an attack on the militant cane cutters in early 1948.
The planters changed the system of `cut and drop’ to `cut and load’. Thus making the ‘punt loaders’ redundant and to act also as a measure to increase productivity, to the detriment of cane-cutters.
Workers as a result mobilized on all eight sugar estates on the East Coast of Demerara and staged a 4 1/2 month strike, grinding production to a halt.
The strike adapted the slogan “sit and starve rather that work and starve”. This theme was a very appropriate one since it mirrored exactly what was going on during the 1940’s for the working class.
As tensions rose, production halted and a loss of revenue, the ruling class responded to this strike, by way of denying the workers the right to assemble and strike, they resorted to the use force, this saw police shooting and injuring 12 and killing five know as, Lalla Bagi, Pooran, Rambarran, Dookhie and Harry. Today we refer to these men as the five Enmore Martyrs.
As we reflect on the lives and struggles of these brave men, we must be cognizant of the fact that these men made the ultimate sacrifice, for social justice. The sacrifice made not only benefited the working class then, but continues to reverberate across the entire labour front of Guyana.
The incident at Enmore started and ignited a revolution which, lead to the fight for improved working conditions, annihilation of workers abuse and ultimately Political Independence. These brave martyrs, and men alike will always be remembers in the annals of history as heroes.
Ronald Harsawack

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