Something is missing Ger-Hard.

I agree with you Gerhard that the PPP does not care about peoples history, When Gail Texeira was the Minister in charge of the Achives she refused to have us digitalize the Indian Indentured Records. She could not have told a blackman the same thing if a similar request was made. When we approached Khemraj Ramjattan ( at that time he was in the PPP)  for help he asked us "Ah you want fuh go back to India fuh live" -"look go da side. Now Gerhard what will you do to ensure tha the Indentured Immigrants record and indeed all records are digitalized and put on line. In Surinam this has already been done. Stop talking and do something.

I do plan to get to the bottom of this Dondadda.  Those pics were taken in 2008 and for all you know it is in order now.  However, no doubt, valuable documents would have already been lost.  If it is in a worse state, I will certainly advocate for intervention.

Stop talking and do something, good advise!1

Archives? Dat not important, sirs.

De police need more motorbikes and trucks and handcuffs.

De harmy needs more guns and planes and rescue boats.

Dem old yellow-to-brown papers in de archives already cracking up and becoming cornflakes and powder. Nat even de Almighty can intervene now.

what happen to the pics, all I am seeing is X

I still seein dem.  But here are new links:

thanks, looks like the junk in my garage

That boy gmoney don't know how to post picture. YOu open the source of the link and you get gmail. This is the kind of donkey cart politicians we have, cardboard computer and gmail attachments requiring a login posted as picture. hahahha

Sorry about that with the pictures.

That chicken man and his cohort batti khan who wanted to digitize pictures had sinister motives. They didn't have the proper training nor qualifications to handle these historic documents, They probably wanted to set up a website and charge people for viewing what should be free access to information.  chicken man is similar to that imam now in legal trouble in Guyana for he story with lil boys.

Gerhard, I am glad that you plan to deal with this issue. The papers are too old and are breaking up into pieces. It is true that Raymond Chikerie was also advocating for this a and he did a lot of hard work, but thatthe PPP  mother dogMinister  Gail Texiera refused permission, and when we saw Ramjattan and he insulted us, we hung our heads in shame at what the PPP were doing to Indian people. Because of the state of the documents the project was not going to cost the government a cent. Labour, equipment and all other costs would have been covered by us. We wanted to put it online, just like it is in Suriname so that people can do their own research for free. We need to preserve these recrds for future generations - our children are beginning to ask questions about our ancestral background and we have no answers for them.

It is just that a lot of Indians in Guyana do not know that the PPP is using their ass to stay in power but don't care a sh*t about them. Lookng at those pictures of the archives four years ago is sickening and speaks volumes of how reckless and nasty the PPP were in preserving our history.

Your claim that we wanted to charge a fee is just hogwash. We did not want a penny from anyone. Now, I understand that in the modern material world nothing is for free, but let me you that the most precious thing in this world is for free , and that is the air we breathe every second. How much did you pay for yours

What was the reason that Gail refused permission? My understanding was that you folks were not qualified to handle fragile documents and Gail was concerned that you might have had plans to use the private information for sinister motives. 

Everyone on the team were amply qualified and experienced in handling historic  documents. If the staff at the the archives can handle those documents why couldn't we. Hey, didn't Jagdeo tell the people that he know who kill Sash Sawh? Didn't he tell the survivors of the two missing cancutters from Enterprise who were farming aback of Buxton that he will find them? You believe the PPP s*it that they feed you.Let me tell you something, whether it is the PPP or the PNC( or anybody sleeping in the PNC bed) in power, Indian people always suffer.

Oh, I forgot one thing - maybe the mother f****r Gail, and Prak were just waiting for us to bribe them.

This is one issue where the Government stands condemned.   It has proven that it does not place the preservation of these records high on its list of priorities.   As if that is not bad enough it has rejected every overture from the private sector to alleviate the situation.  In the meantime the situation gets progressively worse.   Shameful and disgraceful!

Dondadda, if your offer still stands, can you please get in touch with me, or someone in your group who has no issue revealing his/her identity via my email, gerhard.ramsaroop@gmail.com?

That I believe, it is the culture in Guyana. However you will note that the US held her up as one of the few ministers in the PPP with integrity who condemned govt officials association with drug lords.  You are being facetious, you are not giving the full story of what really transpired, just an abbreviated version to cast aspersions. 

This is not a claim but more of a suspicion.  Why would private citizens with no affiliation with prominent academic or historic organization want to digitize records? Did you people even had training on how to handle fragile historic documents or the effects of scanning and handling on the fragile papers?

Gerhard, unfortunately our offer no longer stand. Two of my colleagues on the team passed away, in a serious car accident and the other with a heart attack. These were the guys with the knowledge, skills and experience and equipment to handle these historical records.

This is a national issue and should be treated as such. If any party has the gall and interest in pursuing this matter, I would suggest that they tell the nation on the day earmarked to celebrate Indian Immigrate Day that they will undertake to digitize the Indian Immigration Records and indeed and all other materials of historical naure. hey should also promise to get it online, free of charge and within a year, that is before the next celebration in 2013.

GerHard, how about Putagee records, I never heard of such?

I need to check if Iman got any rich relatives in Madeira.

Cain, these two sites may lead you to how you can go about this;

http://www.guyana.org/special/portuguese.html

http://www.yourislandroutes.co...adeiransguiana.shtml.

Guys we need to bring back Bookman (Hemraj) from Canada and Baseman let them get that place organized.  It is disgraceful indeed.  It is a mortal sin if people do not know their past.

Maybe Gail   is a US spy, if you ask me. Run back and go tell she. Other than that, I have no time to waste with you.

United Nations need to get involved like they did with the Timbuktu library.

One of our Region Councillors, Donna Mathoo, reported this morning that the contents of these archives have been moved to Georgetown.

Gerhard is now becoming like the rest of politicians, posting pictures to stir up emotions when in fact it was a lie that the documents were left unattended. 

Stop posting lies and snake oil. Ask your recent executive member who resigned about your AFC dictatorship leadership and their snake oil. I applaud that man for speaking out against AFC dictatorship and snake oil.

Gerhard, the materials are housed in the National Archives Building behind Durban Backlands, in Gerogetown. You should know who the line Minister is and can probably work in a co-operative way to get this thing done.

Listen yujji, I not defending Gerhard, but I am defending the truth here - a picture is worth a thousand words. The man is right, the archives is a blasted disaster and our damn history needs to be preserved. If Gerhard can make this possible, we should encourage him to do it. The PPP government was in power and did nothing to preserve those precious records. I wonder what you would tell your children or grandchildren, if you have any, when they start to ask you questions about about their ancestry. You better don't lie to them.

As I said all the political parties should come together and make a committment on the commemoration of Indian Indentureship celebrations to get all the records digitized  and put on line within a year. Further, while song and dance is fine, they need to do something that will be concrete lasting for future generations.

I would take these pictures that gmoney post with a grain of salt. After all he has political motives behind his actions and is a politician with the opposition party.  He could have taken these pictures anywhere and claim they are from the archives. 

***Burp***

I will work on it, Dondadda.

Gerhard is now behaving like any other politician. First, the documents were left in neglect, now that the documents are safe he is pretending that he will try to "save" it. 

Shame on the AFC for spreading another lie.

Reading all the comments here, I see that Gerhard and Dondadda have a common interest in preserving our patrimony in our national archives.

This is not a partisan political issue; it concerns all Guyanese at home and overseas as well as people from Britain and Holland whose families had links with Guyana during the colonial period.

Action should focus on two things: professional preservation of the actual paper documents and digitization.

There is a growing desire among Guyanese to know their ancestors. Gilbakka wants to know how his great grandfishes reached British Guiana and from which river in India. Gilbakka is willing to pay the National Archives a fee to access the relevant immigration records. But Gilbakka understands this is no easy task.

Here's what the Guyana/British Guiana Genealogical Society says in its website: "Although the vital records (from 1880 forward) are in Guyana, at present, there is no known way of gaining access to them or of ordering copies.  It is feared that time, weather, and lack of care and preservation have greatly diminished the original records in number and condition.    It is doubtful that the records can be saved as the government does not provide any preservation methods and offers to do this free of charge have been rebuffed."

Gilbakka wants to know why the National Archives is rebuffing free offers of help. Someone in authority should answer.  

Just for the boneheads here, read and understand.

(Quote)

Here's what the Guyana/British Guiana Genealogical Society says in its website: "Although the vital records (from 1880 forward) are in Guyana, at present, there is no known way of gaining access to them or of ordering copies.  It is feared that time, weather, and lack of care and preservation have greatly diminished the original records in number and condition.    It is doubtful that the records can be saved as the government does not provide any preservation methods and offers to do this free of charge have been rebuffed."

Can you provide the link to this claim ?