Dear Editor,
The global experience, as it relates to Indigenous People, is not the Guyana experience.
The recently aired interview with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and a rep from Vice Media Group (the America/Canadian media company) demonstrated that this fact is not clear in the minds of those who would try to paint Guyana in a negative light.
As unfortunate as it is to say, it is a mindset of one too many in the developing world when it comes to developing countries, like Guyana.
The interviewer asked the Vice President whether or not enough was being done to protect Indigenous people in Guyana and the indigenous way of life.
First off, much has been done to support the rights of Amerindians in Guyana:
1. Legislation to protect our Amerindian people, the Amerindian Act.
2. The creation of a constitutional commission – the Indigenous Peoples’ Commission (IPC).
3. Land titling that has moved from Amerindians having an absolute – meaning forever – ownership of 6 per cent of Guyana to about 14 per cent. And work is still ongoing in this area.
4. Guarantee of not only right to land but sub-surface rights, meaning rights over the minerals in the ground.
5. Presidential Grants to all 215 Amerindian communities to support advancement as the communities see fit.
6. Agriculture support via vehicles, vessels and equipment to increase production.
7. Re-injection of over $700 million into the village economies of Amerindian communities with the Community Service Officer (CSO) programme. And there is planned expansion of this in 2022.
These are only some examples of the work that we see being done.
What was instructive from the interview was the interviewer asking about preserving Indigenous culture – meaning having our people remain living in the way developed countries think of our Amerindians. This is disrespectful.
As the Vice President rightly said, Amerindians across the country have opted for integration and for preserving their heritage – both aspirations being supported at a national level with Amerindian Heritage Month and the work of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. He said: “They want – the doctors, the lawyers and the accountants in our society – they want to live that life and they want to live in the city too….the communities get to choose what they want….this is not a dictatorship…once you have a titled land, it is absolute, forever….they will always have that opportunity to live off the land and utilize the resources, if they wish. If they wish! Not because we want to keep them as museum pieces to satisfy some global perception that they are preserving an indigenous way of life. The people must make their own decision. That is what we believe. The government has to give choices – if you want to go that route, you have our full support, but if you want to integrate you get full support.”
What Guyana has done for our Indigenous people surpasses the record of many countries around the world and we, as a people, will not let global perceptions and misconceived notions diminish that.
Sincerely,
Alister Charlie,
Member of Parliament
