A WAVE OF NATIONALISM IS SWEEPING THE LAND

“I feel like Guyanese again.”  “Suddenly I feel as if this land is mine and I have a responsibility to nurture it.”  These are only a few of the nationalist sentiments being expressed by citizens from every age grouping across this land. The national songs that were written and put to music in the early 20th Century were like a balm for bruised Guyanese psyches in 2015.  The airwaves during the recent Independence observances and celebrations were filled with this singularly Guyanese music and folks out and about conducting their day-to-day activities were singing out loud the songs that some had heard for the first time. A wave of nationalism is now sweeping this land and people everywhere are reacting in the most positive ways.  They are re-learning the lyrics of our national songs and teaching them to their children who had no idea that Guyana had national songs.  One or two have surmised that these songs may very well make their way back into school concerts and choirs in the not-too-distant future. This 49th Anniversary of Guyana’s Independence neatly coincided with the inauguration of a bright new government that is fully committed to “redesigning” the fortunes of this bountiful land around the people of this land.  When the late William ‘Billy’ Pilgrim penned the lyrics to “Let us Co-operate for Guyana” in the mid 1900’s, he certainly had not foreseen the pressing need to rebuild the entire nation, neither did Valerie Rodway, the highly acclaimed writer of “Oh Beautiful Guyana” and “Guyana the Free”, nor Hilton Hemerding who wrote and sang nostalgically about the land just off the Atlantic, “Land of jungles, waterfalls and sweet scenery; Where poor people farm the lands and hunt the waters, And all live in peace and harmony”. The beautification of the landmark Independence Arch and its environs at Upper Brickdam for the Independence Day Flag-Raising ceremony this year seemed to have heralded a tidal wave of nationalism.  Few, if anyone, could have foreseen that it would be the precursor to a massive citizen-driven exercise to clean and beautify the capital city, the towns and villages. Several commentators on social media and one particular newspaper columnist who all reside overseas, just could not grasp the significance of this outpouring of support from the business community, civil society, from young people and religious bodies.  The columnist’s contention was that the people were cleaning the mess they made themselves. A long stretch of the imagination may find some rationale for this inane comment, but the short version points to the war of words and deeds that the previous government had waged for years on the city, town and village councils, depriving them of adequate funding and denying their proposals for self-raised funds; then devising strategies to deliver in 10-year intervals (a generous estimate) one-time clean-up projects at great expense to the taxpayers’ physical, psychological and financial health and social wellbeing.  Some called this the Santa Claus syndrome, but placed in Guyana’s context, it ‘boiled down’ to a diabolical way to garner political support. Now, however, is no time to dwell on past circumstances.  We have a nation to re-build and a people to lift up from the clutches of degradation.  Our survival is heavily dependent upon rapid-fire advancement across the board and our ability to participate and compete on an even keel in the international marketplace. Our people are already demonstrating their willingness to move this nation forward working side-by-side with their new untainted government. They are aware of their value to the new government’s nation-building programmes.  They know that the coalition was founded on the collective belief that the people of Guyana are the most resourceful in this hemisphere, and with progressive, astute governance, will once again become the most literate and numerate. LIFTING UP OUR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES This wave of national fervour has reached the hinterland regions, but the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs is facing an uphill climb to raise the standards of life and living of our First Peoples.  The many tribes have worked for centuries to sustain their various cultures in the hinterland regions. The reality, however, is that they have been deliberately cut off from mainstream media which made them vulnerable to political manipulation.  They had access only to the newspapers and radio stations under the control of the PPP. During election campaign seasons, and not only in 2015, they were ‘gifted’ with outboard motors for their boats, the sole means of transportation for thousands living in riverain villages; ATVs for those in inland areas; solar electricity systems; imported food items and other consumables.  Then those who supported other parties had their ‘gifts’ rudely taken away.  Insidious threats were made and many were carried out. The new Minister and staff have now added another element to their expansive agenda.  They are faced with the task of erasing the pictures of unthinkable horror that were painted on the psyches of some villagers by the now Opposition PPP/C during the last election campaign.  The development programme will necessarily involve close interaction with village chiefs and villagers, collaboration, constant communication and the means for access to modern media. The rapidly growing hinterland population must be kept abreast with developments in the country and the rest of the world. The agenda also includes enhancement of cottage industries for craft items, preserved meats, fruits and vegetables, and indigenous root-based products.  This of course, will require the intervention of professional agriculturists to guide them towards modern farming techniques including soil rejuvenation and produce handling.  With the world of trade now shrinking into one global space, our indigenous peoples now must be equipped and educated to accommodate the advanced needs (and demands) of the modern consumer, including tourists. Most indigenous communities have traditionally used the timber and other natural resources in their environs for their own sustenance and notably in a sustainable manner to ensure continuity for the generations to come.  Beside their small-scale logging activities, they also utilize non-timber products as medicine, craft, food and tools which in most instances, do not involve the felling of trees. The Ministry is prepared to confront the destructive social issues plaguing some communities. These include alcohol and illicit drug addiction, joblessness and the young women’s vulnerability to sex traffickers (Trafficking in Persons).    The youths and women require separate programmes that will facilitate their access to higher quality education.  The plan is to tailor the circumstances, remove the need for children to travel many miles by small boat or on foot through narrow forest paths, and bring the educational resources to the villages.  The empowerment programme for women will involve actual interface tutelage on basic economics, i.e. income generation and sustenance of small businesses with food, fashion, utilitarian and decorative products that evolve from their own environments. One more high priority item on the Ministry’s agenda is land titling and boundary demarcation.  They must now confront the complex issue of rights to natural resources that lie both above and beneath titled Amerindian lands and the waterways that fall within.  For about a decade our Indigenous Peoples have been lobbying for the right to own as well the resources that lie beneath their titled lands.  This right has always resided in the State and it will be addressed by this Ministry. Those communities have borne the brunt of the severe damage to their environments caused by mining and timber harvesting, and the concomitant destructive social changes introduced to their lives.  The new ministry’s interventions will of necessity demand collaboration with the Ministries of Health, Education, and Natural Resources among others. This government is well aware of its duty to ensure that the rights of indigenous people are protected.  In the past, the state had been slow and sometimes recalcitrant in responding to lobbies for protection, changes in policy and legislation, and the enforcement and monitoring of those protection policies.  That will remain a thing of the past.

WAY DOWN DEMERARA

R.C.G. Potter

When your ship has passed the islands and the blue sea turns to brown,

And the leadsman calls ‘Five Fathoms’ when he casts the lead-line down,

And you see a long flat coastland and a smokeless wooden town,

You can reckon you are nearing Demerara.

Demerara, Demerara, you can reckon you are nearing Demerara.

When you’re wakened in the morning by a cheerful kiskadee,

And you see a sakiwinki by a mukka mukka tree,

And the very homely features of the slimy manatee,

You can know that you are down in Demerara.

Demerara, Demerara, you can know that you are down in Demerara.

When you spot an alligator who is waiting for a feed,

And observe a salempenta (of the iguana breed),

And you dodge the marabunta (ripe for any evil deed),

You are somewhere, without doubt, in Demerara.

Demerara, Demerara, you are somewhere, without doubt, in Demerara.

When you sail up mighty rivers and you scarcely glimpse a hill,

And you see the great Kaieteur (which perhaps you never will),

When you pay your fare in shillings, though it’s dollars on the bill,

You will boast that you’re at home in Demerara.

Demerara, Demerara, you will boast that you’re at home in Demerara.

Silvertorch.com