Dear Editor,
It’s with interest I read in the news these days about the leaders in Guyana playing the environmental card to the world. They are selling the package of the country’s rich pristine rain forest and natural resources for the objectives for economic interest, personal fame and the squandering of the money of the country. This is the modern-day Guyanese reality which we hope some day will change.
In the midst of this obsession for Guyana’s forest and natural resources to be highlighted in the international market there exists the indigenous population which inhabits the “The land without evil” or a Terra sem mal. These people and their land have become the spotlight because of their contribution to preserving the forest, which is also making contemporary Guyanese political leaders famous.
I have nothing against this; I believe it’s good for our beloved nation, but I hope the politicians when selling the package of Guyana’s natural resources and forest to the world, give credit to our people and their ancestors for firstly occupying and taming this wild land that eventually evolved into a nation. Sometimes their historical and cultural story gets downplayed by our politicians as they seek opportunities with their tunnel vision for economic benefits for the nation, while paying less interest to the rich culture and history of Guyana’s original conservationists.
Editor, to recompense our indigenous people who have kept the jungle safe over the years and are now providing for politicians to get famous, I wish to see the original inhabitants receive more significant projects for their contribution. For example, there should be access to quality education for more of them rather than just a very few, their cultural identity should be preserved, and they should have access to technology, among other things.
It is hoped that such worthwhile projects would contribute to the indigenous peoples’ welfare so they could have a dignified life equal to those who earned theirs by hard work and education, and not by patronising them which eventually will ruin their land. Considering today’s modern society it is also imperative to keep it balanced by assisting the country’s first people to value their culture while simultaneously embracing the Western one.
It is also hoped that if projects are offered to them by politicians they must be given in a genuine way, free from political agendas and the intention to control our original conservationists who have a tendency to be passive when they listen to politicians who promise the world to them. Ultimately politicians give limited service to a few, that results in the rest of the population becoming vulnerable educationally and financially, and also becoming passively dependent on others who would use their knowledge, etc, to get famous. In such circumstances, the indigenous people will become the victims of manipulation, as in the example of earlier political leaders who used our names and granted a ‘few’ opportunities to some of our people under conditions that ultimately contributed to most of us being indirect losers, dependents and mendicants.
Yours faithfully,
Medino Abraham
