Dear Editor,
My concern for the Leonora Park Cricket Ground, I believe is greater than my concern for a PPP government getting back in power. After reading this letter readers would understand why. At the outset I would like to state that my concern for the Leonora Park goes back to 2007 (and beyond) when a letter of mine was forwarded by the Stabroek News to the administration of GuySuCo. Promptly came the reply that the Minister of Housing Mr Irfan Ally would have taken up the matter with the aid of the GAWU union, the private sector and a community development body.
In the interval, I have had meetings with a group of young men from Leonora Shantytown, Mr Anand Sanasie from the Guyana Cricket Board and Dr Randy Persaud, who I know worked in the President’s office. This guy gave me the assurance that the government would ensure the resuscitation of the park. Recently at a political meeting in Leonora Mr Irfan Ally made it clear that the park was abandoned, so the government had taken it over. The conversion is now to be into a synthetic track. This marks a double evasion by Mr Irfan Ally and vulgar bullyism by the PPP government.
Leonora Park came into being at the behest of the Moyne Commission of 1939, after the rebellion at Leonora in the same year. This commission was sponsored by the British Government, adopted by the British Guiana parliament, and expedited by the sugar planters once it was passed through the local parliament. Clauses within this report catered for house lots, loans, housing areas, community centres, cricket grounds, labour department and wages board. As a matter of fact this commission in particular was responsible for the dismantling of the plantation logie system. The Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund (SILWF) was primarily established to ensure the sustenance of nearly all the social changes that were responsible for the elevation and emancipation of sugar workers from further social degradation. Every ton of sugar produced necessitated that money be put in the coffers of the SILWF to ensure that sugar workers social welfare be adequately sustained.
Once the Leonora Park and a welfare centre were established for Leonorians, the expatriate administration ensured subsidies were adequately provided. Given that the young people of the era were provided with opportunities Leonora began to go places. Cricket more than any other sport, but also weight-lifting and body-building, table tennis and volleyball were the order of the day. After one time comes another, when the PNC began to have its grip on the society. Leonora was the first to pay the bitter price. By virtue of the fact that the personnel department was the expeditor of the SILWF allowances, it ensured the ground was not clipped on time, or a machine was not available to prepare the pitch. One excuse after another. Their principal concern was cricket and to produce sugar. Once the PPP entered office, their ingratitude was such that although they won power in 1992 they never thought to remedy the situation even though the whole of Region 3 was their stronghold. Cricket and the pastimes of their people were never their concern. How to fill their pockets was all that mattered. The park under their security was cannibalized. The zinc sheets on the north, east and western section were moved away. It was not until after I began to highlight the resuscitation of the park that the management of Uitvlugt estate delegated a supervisor with fifteen persons along with a tractor and trailer and took away 117 zinc sheets that barricaded the southern roadside boundary.By virtue of the fact that cane/sugar is still produced from the canefields of Leonora, that it is enshrined by the Moyne Commission, that we have won and enjoyed these privileges before, it becomes absolutely unacceptable for this PPP government to bulldoze us at Leonora with respect to the culture we love the most. There is no objection to the government wanting to build a synthetic track, but why the deliberate confiscation of the park which was bequeathed to us more than fifty years ago and was once the wellspring of our society, won by sweat, blood and tears!
Mr Donald Ramotar is the head of the GuySuCo land sales committee.
Again Editor, I forward to you documents of relative importance. One is a copy of my letter published by your newspaper whereby I challenged an officer of the SILWF and the president’s office on the confiscation of land in the Leonora Para Field. Since our forefathers came to Leonora, they burned Holika at this particular spot for more than 166 years. I was fortunate to be forwarded two copies of interesting information emanating from the SILWF Committee and the Ministry of Housing and Water. The letter from the SILWF is signed by one D Ramotar. It tells quite a lot. I am told the D Ramotar is Mrs Deolakshmee Ramotar, the wife of the presidential candidate of the PPP. The letter by her took the new stand that Holika burning will be shifted to parcel 168 far away from where our forefathers pristinely burned Holika at the Phagwah season. The gospel truth was the whole of lots 146 and 147 were left for a playfield for three housing schemes in the Leonora area. Secondly the northern section was consecrated to the Arya Samaj group within the community. This was the understanding made in the society by one of the estate managers, Mr Balfour. That this decision was taken by the SILWF Committee to push that piece of land on us Hindus to burn Holika at that particular 200ft western section tells us of their callousness. It would have been better for the committee to tell us the justification. The UN Charter on Human Rights, Articles 22 and 27 gives us certain freedoms to participate in the cultural life of the community. It says: “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” By changing the burning spot of the Holika from an open space to a backyard environment the SILWF Committee chooses to insult the Hindu community. What we do know now is the lands are taken away by the committee and given to those who do not belong to Leonora.
In all the cases we know that Leonora pays the full penalty at the hands of PPP leadership. It warrants therefore, that this matter be thoroughly investigated by none other than the Human Rights Committee of the UN.
Every day good thinking of the PPP leadership is eroded. I search for wisdom and can scarcely find any.
Yours faithfully,
Vaidram Persaud
