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“Indians have transformed Guyana”

May 6 2018

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Every year, the Berbice Indian Arrival Day Committee hosts its Indian Arrival Day celebrations at Highbury, where the first indentured labourers landed in Guyana. Hundreds would normally turn out to witness the event filled with mesmerizing performances and inspiring talent pieces.
There are addresses by Government officials. This year’s celebration was no different with President David Granger headlining the event.
There was also the address by Regional Chairman, David Armogan.
The Head of State said that it was the East Indians that transformed the country while also transforming their own lives and the lives of others.

A section of the crowd at the Arrival Day celebrations

“Indian skills in paddy and vegetable farming, coconut cultivation and cattle rearing; and their skills as boatmen, charcoal burners, goldsmiths, fishermen, hucksters, milk and sweetmeat vendors, shop keepers and tailors enriched the entire economy”.
“Indians resisted the abuse, the brutality, the confinement and domination of plantation life, with resistance of riots and strikes,” this led to the many memorial sites to the martyrs of riots, the President said.
He added that Guyana has always been a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious country, some things the citizens should be proud of.
“Our diversity is an asset, not a liability. We are proud of the variegated tapestry of ethnicity. We are proud of our shared past as we plan our common future,” he said.

President David Granger and First Lady
Sandra Granger with two young attendees

Region Six’s Chairman, David Armogan, charged those gathered to put differences aside and work together to build the country.
“That is the only way we will be able to realise our dreams and those of our fore-parents”.
He added that as much Guyana is progressing there are still difficulties experienced.
Guyana observed the 180th anniversary of Indians arriving on May 5. The event was coordinated by the Berbice Indian Cultural Committee headed by Mr. Chandra Sohan.

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Guyana has been transformed by Guyanese. Indians and Blacks must be fazed out from speeches in public. Granger's remark is unworthy to Guyanese.

FM
Last edited by Former Member
Prince posted:

Guyana has been transformed by Guyanese. Indians and Blacks must be fazed out from speeches in public. Granger's remark is unworthy to Guyanese.

Shut yuh poke!!  He was referring to Indians as an immigrant people.

FM

When Granger gives Indian credit, he's definitely looking for votes. Granger is not stupid to slap his own people in their faces. The same he did to Cheddi Jagan when he praises Burnham and belittles Jagan. It's not only my view that Granger is making Guyana blacker than brown under his presidency. Once a year Indians get sentimental over arrival day, but they are being played for fools. Why kill flies with poison when you can kill them with honey? 

FM
yuji22 posted:
Prashad posted:

Prince wants to be an Amerindian.

Prince and Buck Boy D2 can form their own Sakawinki Party.

A friendly advise. Don't go about carving people to your own likeness because you don't agree with them. 

FM

‘We are richer now with Indian immigration’ - President Granger as 180th anniversary of Indian Arrival observed

Georgetown, Guyana – (May 5, 2018) President David Granger, on Saturday, applauded the contributions of Indian indentured immigrants and their descendants to the building of Guyana, as he noted that the country is now richer, culturally, socially and politically because of these contributions. The President was at the time speaking at the observance of the 180th anniversary of the arrival of East Indian Immigrants to Guyana, which was held at Plantation Highbury, East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six), organised by the Berbice Indian Cultural Committee (BICC).

In his address, the President noted that while this day is generally recognised as ‘Arrival Day’ to commemorate the arrival of the Indians, Portuguese, Chinese and Europeans to what was then British Guiana, it is a day to celebrate East Indians and the contributions that they have made to the nation. “I like to call May 5 Indian Arrival Day because it recognises, not only the historical event of arrival, but also of the survival of Indian indentured immigrants and their descendants. It was their resilience, their resourcefulness that allowed them to overcome adversity and it was their endurance that allowed them to change challenges into opportunities in particular ways,” he said.

The Head of State noted that Indian indentured immigrants played an important role in the transformation of the economy. Noting that many of them traded their entitlement to a return passage to India for land in Guyana, President Granger said that these migrants, coming from India’s rural regions, helped to diversify and expand Guyana’s rural economy.

“They turned their indentureship into citizenship. From an economic point of view, Indians helped to transform the country that they adopted, what was then British Guyana. Indian skills in paddy and vegetable-farming, coconut-cultivation and cattle-rearing; and their skills as boatmen, charcoal-burners, goldsmiths, fishermen, hucksters, milk and sweetmeat vendors, shopkeepers and tailors enriched the entire economy. These are skills they brought from their homelands. All of these skills enriched the Guyanese society. We are richer now with Indian immigration. They brought their customs from the Indian villages and created villages in Guyana based on those customs and culture. Indian resourcefulness and their agrarian roots in rural India were transplanted in Guyana,” he said.

From a political point of view, the President noted that East Indians also helped to transform their own lives and the lives of other immigrants who came to British Guiana, through their resistance to abuse, brutality, confinement, and domination of plantation life.

“Their resistance included riots and strikes and many of them were killed. Indians, while a docile people, stood up for their rights and by standing up for their rights, they helped to preserve the rights for future generations and people like Dr. Joseph Latchmansingh was the head of the Union that struck on the East Demerara that ended up with the shooting of the sugar workers. In other ways, the political footprint of Indian Guyanese was made more prominent and other Berbicians like Joseph Luckhoo was the first Indian elected to the Combined Court. He was followed by E.A. Luckhoo, A.E Seeram and J.B. Singh, Peer Bacchus, C. R. Jacob, A.M. Edun and, later, Dr. Cheddi Jagan and others,” the President said.

President Granger noted that this year also commemorates the 100th birth anniversary of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, the son of Indian indentured immigrants as he said that Dr. Jagan’s contribution is perhaps the most outstanding of Indo Guyanese in the struggle for national liberation. In this regard, all Guyanese have shown him the respect, which is due to him. “From a political point of view, Indians were able to make Guyanese and preserve the rights of Guyanese and the contributions that they made have been able to make the lives of all Guyanese more dignified,” the Head of State noted.

Even as the country observes and celebrates the contributions of Indo-Guyanese, the Head of State noted that it is important that these observances be used as a vehicle for social cohesion and to promote a greater sense of each other’s customs and traditions. Migrants learnt to live as neighbours rather than fight each other as enemies and this must become ingrained in today’s society as well, the President said. The Head of State also noted that the country’s diversity should be seen as an asset and not a liability and every group must be celebrated.

“Social Cohesion recognises that Guyana is now and always will be, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious. It recognises these differences between various social groups and fosters respect for each other. We have fought 180 years to be where we are today and to bring our people together and we cannot turn back. Our diversity is an asset, not a liability. I am proud to be in a country of many races. I don’t want to live in a garden made up of just grass. I want to live in a garden with beautiful, colourful flowers. We are proud of the variegated tapestry of ethnicity. We are proud of our shared past as we plan for our common future. We have been told by Martin Luther King, “We may have all come in different ships but we are in the same boat now!” That is true but we are all Guyanese now and we have to make a success of this nation that we have put together. Our destinies are intertwined forever in our nation’s future. We must swim together or sink separately. Guyana, on this Indian Arrival Day, pays homage to the Indian indentured immigrants and their descendants. Indian-Guyanese can be proud of their contribution to the nation. I applaud their continuing role in nation-building,” the President said.

Chairman of East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six), Mr. David Armogan, in his remarks, echoed similar sentiments, noting that Arrival Day serves as a sharp reminder to all Guyanese that social cohesion cannot be taken for granted and that a cohesive state is the most fitting homage and the best tribute that Guyanese can pay to their ancestors. “Many descendants of Indian Immigrants have taken their places all over the world. In Guyana, they have made tremendous contributions to their country. No one can deny that. In as much as Guyana is progressing based on the hard work of our ancestors and the continuing hard work of their descendants, there are difficulties we must surmount and I believe that the time has come in this country for us to put our differences aside and work for the development of Guyana. That is the only way that we will be able realise the dreams of our fore-parents. It is the only way we can pay the greatest tribute to our fore- parents, by developing the land that they struggled so hard to leave for us,” Mr. Armogan said.

The event was also attended by First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton, Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Jaipaul Sharma, members of the diplomatic corps and the Indian High Commission in Guyana.

The first batch of Indians arrived in Guyana 180 years ago to work as indentured immigrants on the sugar plantations. Almost 240,000 Indians came to Guyana between 1838 and 1917, the year in which indentured immigration was finally abolished.

https://www.facebook.com/APNU....sts/1833127526739816

Django

Another BS. After the arrival day ceremony is over, it's back to basic where Indian will receive short end of the stick. Why didn't he mention the sugar workers who are out of work because of him? Action speak louder than words, not the other way around. 

 

FM
Last edited by Former Member
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

He should assure them that their votes would not be stolen in 2020.

Are you hoping for a miracle from a known hypocrite? From what you have read about Granger since he took office, you still have an ounce of trust in him? Oh Lord, have mercy on BRB. Bhai, its too late to laugh. Meh pickny them will think ah going mad. Lol

FM
Last edited by Former Member
Django posted:

‘We are richer now with Indian immigration’ - President Granger as 180th anniversary of Indian Arrival observed

Georgetown, Guyana – (May 5, 2018) President David Granger, on Saturday, applauded the contributions of Indian indentured immigrants and their descendants to the building of Guyana, as he noted that the country is now richer, culturally, socially and politically because of these contributions. The President was at the time speaking at the observance of the 180th anniversary of the arrival of East Indian Immigrants to Guyana, which was held at Plantation Highbury, East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six), organised by the Berbice Indian Cultural Committee (BICC).

In his address, the President noted that while this day is generally recognised as ‘Arrival Day’ to commemorate the arrival of the Indians, Portuguese, Chinese and Europeans to what was then British Guiana, it is a day to celebrate East Indians and the contributions that they have made to the nation. “I like to call May 5 Indian Arrival Day because it recognises, not only the historical event of arrival, but also of the survival of Indian indentured immigrants and their descendants. It was their resilience, their resourcefulness that allowed them to overcome adversity and it was their endurance that allowed them to change challenges into opportunities in particular ways,” he said.

The Head of State noted that Indian indentured immigrants played an important role in the transformation of the economy. Noting that many of them traded their entitlement to a return passage to India for land in Guyana, President Granger said that these migrants, coming from India’s rural regions, helped to diversify and expand Guyana’s rural economy.

“They turned their indentureship into citizenship. From an economic point of view, Indians helped to transform the country that they adopted, what was then British Guyana. Indian skills in paddy and vegetable-farming, coconut-cultivation and cattle-rearing; and their skills as boatmen, charcoal-burners, goldsmiths, fishermen, hucksters, milk and sweetmeat vendors, shopkeepers and tailors enriched the entire economy. These are skills they brought from their homelands. All of these skills enriched the Guyanese society. We are richer now with Indian immigration. They brought their customs from the Indian villages and created villages in Guyana based on those customs and culture. Indian resourcefulness and their agrarian roots in rural India were transplanted in Guyana,” he said.

From a political point of view, the President noted that East Indians also helped to transform their own lives and the lives of other immigrants who came to British Guiana, through their resistance to abuse, brutality, confinement, and domination of plantation life.

“Their resistance included riots and strikes and many of them were killed. Indians, while a docile people, stood up for their rights and by standing up for their rights, they helped to preserve the rights for future generations and people like Dr. Joseph Latchmansingh was the head of the Union that struck on the East Demerara that ended up with the shooting of the sugar workers. In other ways, the political footprint of Indian Guyanese was made more prominent and other Berbicians like Joseph Luckhoo was the first Indian elected to the Combined Court. He was followed by E.A. Luckhoo, A.E Seeram and J.B. Singh, Peer Bacchus, C. R. Jacob, A.M. Edun and, later, Dr. Cheddi Jagan and others,” the President said.

President Granger noted that this year also commemorates the 100th birth anniversary of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, the son of Indian indentured immigrants as he said that Dr. Jagan’s contribution is perhaps the most outstanding of Indo Guyanese in the struggle for national liberation. In this regard, all Guyanese have shown him the respect, which is due to him. “From a political point of view, Indians were able to make Guyanese and preserve the rights of Guyanese and the contributions that they made have been able to make the lives of all Guyanese more dignified,” the Head of State noted.

Even as the country observes and celebrates the contributions of Indo-Guyanese, the Head of State noted that it is important that these observances be used as a vehicle for social cohesion and to promote a greater sense of each other’s customs and traditions. Migrants learnt to live as neighbours rather than fight each other as enemies and this must become ingrained in today’s society as well, the President said. The Head of State also noted that the country’s diversity should be seen as an asset and not a liability and every group must be celebrated.

“Social Cohesion recognises that Guyana is now and always will be, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious. It recognises these differences between various social groups and fosters respect for each other. We have fought 180 years to be where we are today and to bring our people together and we cannot turn back. Our diversity is an asset, not a liability. I am proud to be in a country of many races. I don’t want to live in a garden made up of just grass. I want to live in a garden with beautiful, colourful flowers. We are proud of the variegated tapestry of ethnicity. We are proud of our shared past as we plan for our common future. We have been told by Martin Luther King, “We may have all come in different ships but we are in the same boat now!” That is true but we are all Guyanese now and we have to make a success of this nation that we have put together. Our destinies are intertwined forever in our nation’s future. We must swim together or sink separately. Guyana, on this Indian Arrival Day, pays homage to the Indian indentured immigrants and their descendants. Indian-Guyanese can be proud of their contribution to the nation. I applaud their continuing role in nation-building,” the President said.

Chairman of East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six), Mr. David Armogan, in his remarks, echoed similar sentiments, noting that Arrival Day serves as a sharp reminder to all Guyanese that social cohesion cannot be taken for granted and that a cohesive state is the most fitting homage and the best tribute that Guyanese can pay to their ancestors. “Many descendants of Indian Immigrants have taken their places all over the world. In Guyana, they have made tremendous contributions to their country. No one can deny that. In as much as Guyana is progressing based on the hard work of our ancestors and the continuing hard work of their descendants, there are difficulties we must surmount and I believe that the time has come in this country for us to put our differences aside and work for the development of Guyana. That is the only way that we will be able realise the dreams of our fore-parents. It is the only way we can pay the greatest tribute to our fore- parents, by developing the land that they struggled so hard to leave for us,” Mr. Armogan said.

The event was also attended by First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton, Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Jaipaul Sharma, members of the diplomatic corps and the Indian High Commission in Guyana.

The first batch of Indians arrived in Guyana 180 years ago to work as indentured immigrants on the sugar plantations. Almost 240,000 Indians came to Guyana between 1838 and 1917, the year in which indentured immigration was finally abolished.

https://www.facebook.com/APNU....sts/1833127526739816

Djanjo do you agree with the President remarks.

FM
Prince posted:

Another BS. After the arrival day ceremony is over, it's back to basic where Indian will receive short end of the stick. Why didn't he mention the sugar workers who are out of work because of him? Action speak louder than words, not the other way around. 

 

And how is this different than under the PPP?  Discuss the fate of bauxite workers.  Yes the bunch of you screamed "black man lazy" and showed no sympathy for them.  And don't wail about "cheap electricity" unless you want me to think that given sewing lessons and a few other perks is worthy compensation for those sugar workers who lost their jobs.

FM
Prince posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

He should assure them that their votes would not be stolen in 2020.

Are you hoping for a miracle from a known hypocrite? From what you have read about Granger since he took office, you still have an ounce of trust in him? Oh Lord, have mercy on BRB. Bhai, its too late to laugh. Meh pickny them will think ah going mad. Lol

Yes you prefer the man who screamed that PPP people are rural Indians and then wailed that "we gun tek back Guyana for us".  Yes YOUR Jagdeo!  Even his buddie, Ramotar said that Jagdeo was right when he called the PPP a "coolie people party" explaining that its Indians who voted for the PPP and who dominated its leadership.  And then we have his daughter writing racist remarks about blacks on her FB and the same Rohee explaining that she didn't do anything wrong. Then the PPP Chronicle editorial lambasting blacks as a useless people good for only crime and violence.

But the hypocrite that you are you don't think that this is an indicator that the PPP is just as racist as you claim APNU to be.

FM
Last edited by Former Member

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