Dear Editor,
The Guyana United Artists (GUA) salutes the United Nations General Assembly declaration of this year, 2011, as the “International Year of Peoples Of African Descent” in recognition of the dynamic contributions made by Africans all over the world.
In celebration of this year the GUA will be mounting a series of exhibitions that pay tribute to Guyanese heroes of African descent – Cuffy, Accabre, Atta, Quamina, Damon and internationally acclaimed Guyanese historian, Dr Walter Rodney, who, during his short lifetime made an indelible contribution to the promotion of racial harmony.
As befitting the occasion the works on display will be exclusively sculptures – an entire chronological collection from the Atlantic Slave Trade; Conquest to Revolution; the Slaves who Abolished Slavery; Breaking Loose, the History of Guyanese Struggle – by well known Guyanese sculptors.
The rights that we have inherited that are enshrined in the Guyana Constitution were not given to us by some mealy-mouthed politician. These rights were fought for and won by our foreparents; it is our duty to safeguard our rights for future generations. The plantocracy only conceded when they had absolutely no choice. It was the resolute and determined struggle by the slaves that abolished slavery. The vicious capitalist system did not become humane overnight and decide to bring an end to slavery.
Europe became vastly enriched by the plunder of the Indigenous civilizations of the Americas and slave labour. It is on account of the numerous revolts on the plantations and the terrible reprisals by the slave masters that the abolition movement came into existence, which highlighted the inhumane slave system and the gruesome conditions on the plantation, and the struggle by the African slaves.
While in Guyana for more than 200 years African slaves engaged in an unceasing struggle. They engaged in the herculean task of reclaiming the coastland from the great Atlantic Ocean, digging canals with mere shovels in what Guyanese historian Dr Walter Rodney described as the “humanization of the Guyanese landscape.”
Thousands were driven to their death through exhaustion and the harsh, cruel plantation life; other succumbed to malaria, snake bites and other tropical diseases.
This sordid chapter has gone down in Guyanese history with very little account of the thousands of men and women who remain faceless and nameless. And this all occurred many years before the arrival of the Portuguese, Chinese and Indian indentured servants, who have since played an important part in developing the economic infrastructure of Guyanese society and in contributing to our uniqueness as a nation with diverse cultural patterns.
In this regard, Guyana belongs to all Guyanese. Our foreparents have all paid the price with their lives, blood, sweat and tears in unmarked graves. Our destiny does not lie in our stars but in ourselves; our destiny is ours to mould.
It is indeed a fitting time for Guyanese of all ethnic backgrounds to come together in unity, in celebration of the contribution made by the people of African descent, in the making of the Guyanese nation.
Yours faithfully,
Desmond Alli
General Secretary
Guyana United Artists
