There was only one Nelson Mandela

Dec 16, 2013 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I note with interest the letters which continually fill your newsletter columns and seek to make a few comments of my own.It is indeed with heartfelt feelings that the world mourns the loss of Nelson Mandela whose contributions have touch every life who knew him.There will never be another and I repeat there will never be another who will ever walk this earth again like him. He is one in a million. I noticed a previous letter writer’s attempt in making a comparison.
It pales by leaps and bounds. It would have been better felt if that observation address what Mandela fought against instead of seeking to make equal another whom all of us know was in no way close to the giant the world knows as Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela.M. Ann Williams7)Leguan’s state is a microcosm of the nationWe share the pains, concerns and hopes of fellow islander Omesh Sharma in his letter to Kaieteur News of December 6, 2013 on LEGUAN.  While we prefer to concentrate on our island of birth the problems he referred to like pollution, conversion, and lack of cooperation are nationwide.
Some information about the history and culture of the island may help to generate a greater sense of pride in the hope that the picture he painted does not become a permanent stain. Long before Indentured Servants from India arrived in British Guiana on May 5, 1838 this island at the mouth of the giant Essequibo was humming with activity. It had 23 Sugar estates and 3 coffee plantations but the shortage of labour reduced sugar plantations to 8 by the time our ancestors made their initial contribution.
Cotton was also planted but competition with USA particularly the Atlanta area was so fierce that eventually this produce was GONE WITH THE WIND.  Cattle, rice farming and vegetables became the main sources of income on this fertile paradise. Biodegradable Leaves, part of a calabash, enamel cups or plates were main eating utensils of a people of all religions with a common culture and simple lives.
They bartered their skills when planting or reaping and had little need for money or big government. Religious holidays, weddings, a child’s birth or other similar events were  celebrated by all. A hungry baby was entitled to any mother’s milk as if it were community property. These were the days of unconditional freedom and little responsibility but just like today the laws of nature had to be respected.
The Atlantic revealed its treasures in the form of turtles, sharks, dolphins, and fishes of all shapes, sizes and colours, and when that ocean got angry the mangrove trees were there to reduce the impact of her brute force. The beaches were cricket grounds in low tide, swimming pools sometimes and the source of crabs, iguanas and other reptiles at all times.  This is not an attempt to romanticise poverty but a response to the concerns regarding lack of cooperation and other persistent social ills.  In fact not only in Leguan but throughout the country there were insanitary conditions, forced conversions, abuse of alcohol and domestic violence all which still bedevil the nation today.
These were documented in 1929 by Charlie Andrews, the Christian priest who was sent by private organisations in India to study the plight of the indentured in British Guiana. This was after he had joined forces with Mahatma Gandhi in 1913 in South Africa to protest the discriminatory laws there.  He felt addiction to alcohol was due to the cheapness of rum and the location of too many shops near wage distribution centres.
This was in stark contrast to the situation in India where the villagers abstained from alcohol. In leguan in the 1960’s the only secondary school on the island was opposite a temple and above a rum shop which was built before we were born. It still functions today even though the owners have changed while the private school closed after a few years for lack of support.  The beaches  throughout the coastland are now littered with garbage that the ocean returns with each tide repeating a clear consistent message  that we have to deal with it ourselves for she does not want it.
Plastic and Styrofoam containers do not rot and absent an elaborate system of garbage recycling and disposal these destroyers of the environment now travel free to all continents.  The first turn off for a visitor trying to escape the chill of winter is the sight and smell of garbage. This impression is not new and the problem is not localised although some areas are worse than others. Many retired former residents still visit this land of endless summer that has to be cleaned before they invite their grandchildren for a vacation.The traditional Hindu practice of cremation was illegal in Guyana until the initiative of the late JANG BAHADUR SINGH resulted in the change of the law.  But a right itself can be rendered meaningless unless it can be exercised.
Presently there is a need for more convenient cremation sites across the country. The Hindus and others must consider themselves fortunate in Leguan, where a site is located and it takes little effort to keep it clean.  However, people from Bartica and other places in the Essequibo River have to travel all the way to Rumzeight, West Coast of Demerara to complete the final rites.
This site itself has its own history of struggles, legally and otherwise, for its existence.  There are many reasons for conversion and more than one way to stop it but what is certain is that Hindus with basic knowledge of Vedic history and philosophy will not convert.  The challenge therefore is to educate them about their culture. Hindu priests are not necessarily community activists and fewer still consider themselves to be leaders.
The principles of Hinduism are too important to be left solely to self appointed priests or poorly administered temples even though they will always have a special role in the preservation of a culture thousands of years old.  Businessmen, professionals, academics and other successful residents   can make a more concerted effort to energise the temples and motivate others to participate in matters affecting the entire community.
They can sponsor pocket sized Gitas in English for every single village, and enlist volunteers to help those who cannot or will not read.  Surely Guyana has enough material and human resources to make this happen without help from abroad.  The time of learning only by listening to a few who claim to have special knowledge is gone.  Information is now available to all who seek it. Mr. Sharma’s reference to the book MOHANDAS K. GANDHI: THOUGHTS, WORDS, DEEDS has generated  inquiries regarding its availability. Hopefully a book launching may still happen but in the interim copies are available from Pandit Toolsie in Leguan,Tony’s General Store, Parika, and W D’s Hotel and Mall, Charity, Essequibo Coast.
RAMNARINE SAHADEO

 

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