Dear Editor,
I am protesting against the Venezuelan claim to our Essequibo territory and maritime space, and after talking with some fellow countrymen and women and young people, I have found that there is a need for Guyanese to be educated on the controversy.
My suggestion is that there should be a long-term strategy and a short-term strategy, one for the school system and another for the public.
(1) Books should be distributed on what you need to know about the Guyana-Venezuela boundary, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to all students mainly in the Essequibo region.
2) There could be a quiz competition that will see class come up against class and then school against school in the Essequibo region, then on to the national system.
(3) An all-school rally on the Essequibo Coast should be held, to update students on the recent aggression by Venezuela.
(4) Where the public is concerned, public information booths should be set up at strategic points around Guyana and at public events.
(5) A TV programme on this issue would be appropriate, as well as the production and distribution of stickers and the printing of T-shirts.
In terms of a long-term strategy, an Essequibo Institute of Research and Development needs to be established to study the history of Essequibo; promote past and present senior citizens who made valuable contributions to Essequibo; to study the rice sector past and present, how it functions, and how much it contributes to the economies of both Essequibo and Guyana.
There should also be a study of the gold and diamond sector in the Essequibo region comparing the past with the present and showing what it contributes to the economies of Essequibo and Guyana, and a study of all the waterways ‒ lakes, streams, creeks ‒ where they are, when they were discovered, and what marine life can be found in them. Similarly, this should be done as well in the case of bird life, trees and the contributions of the latter to the economy; fruits and vegetables and the oil sector. Research into soil types, the history of villages, missions and other settlements could also be undertaken.
Yours faithfully,
Dennis Atwell
