[Inside GUIANAME, Bi-National Magazine, Donald Sinclair and Sean F Taylor (Eds.), Vol.01, No. 01, George-town, December, 2021. 94pp.]
The Republic of Suriname carries deep and varied meanings for the people of the Republic of Guyana. It is a country that stands out prominently in the popular consciousness of Guyanese, as a close neighbour and friend, both in governmental diplomatic terms and in the common daily communion between people on the ground. Yet there are times when the name Suriname evokes fury as a foe claiming ownership of Guyanese land-space in a centuries-old border controversy which still spells harassment for fishermen on the Corentyne and neighbouring waters.
But the bonds are ancient and deep, going back to a history when the entire north-eastern shoulder of South America known geologically and geographically as the Guiana Shield and culturally as the Guianas, knew no boundaries. Several migratory Amerindian nations moved freely across what they called Guiana, before the advent of European colonial occupation which carved up the area into British Guiana, Dutch Guiana and French Guiana.
