By Penelope Howell
Penelope (Penny) Howell is a trained teacher, and a community activist. Her husband Timothy is from Barbados. They are the proud parents of one son – Matthew Howell.
I can still see him today, tall, dark and handsome. Well outfitted in his military fatigues ….how I loved him.
My dad was a proud soldier. I was very thrilled at that fact too, I always felt protected and safe, especially in the 1980’s, when as children, we were made aware of Venezuela’s claim to the mighty Essequibo. I was not perturbed one bit, as my father was a member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), and would join with the rest of the GDF to let our neighbours know that ….we ent givin up nutten…..
Dave Martins and the Tradewinds did us proud, with their rendition of Guyana’s second national anthem …..”Not a Blade of Grass.” We were not sure how we would prevent any attempt to take any of our blue sakis, rice grains or cuirass then; what we knew however, was that we were not giving away our nation to others, or, at least that is what we thought.
I got older, my dad retired from the GDF, and I fell in love again, with another soldier, from the Guyana Defence Force. I later married this former solder.
My dad, and later my husband recalled their times at Camp Ayanganna, Garden of Eden, Matthews Ridge, Kimba, Arakaka, Botanabo, Tacama, Timehri, Jaguarundi, Eteringbang, etc. How I relished hearing these stories again and again, of parachuting, encounters with Guyana’s wildlife, of those dangerous training exercises, of camping out in the jungles, of the friendships they formed.
My mom also captivated us with stories of her childhood too, of growing up at Coverden, playing, fishing, and swimming at Low-Wood, paddling their balahoo with its flat bottom in the Demerara River, of the different types of watercrafts of that day – there was the wooden boat with its ridge in the middle bottom, so designed for easily “cutting” its way through the water; the canoe – made of a single piece of dug out log or a single tree bark; the Launch – their major transport to and from Georgetown and Timehri; the RH Carr with its propeller –much larger, which travelled to and from Georgetown; and the very large cargo ships which ferried bauxite from Mackenzie and Wismar. Of living close to nature, with their Kerosene oil “flambeau” at nights, and very early in the mornings, since there was no electricity at Coverden in those days, and of having to set the drums and buckets to “ketch” rainwater, their source of potable water. These trips down memory lane were often told to us children during the blackouts nights when the power/electricity was off. I often dreamed of reliving those bygone days, as I felt robbed for not being able to swim like both of my parents, and somehow marveled that I may never be able to have my children as spellbound like I was during these oral history sessions.
Mommy painstakingly explained the differences between creeks, springs, rivers and trenches, of the difference between the organic, coca cola black, sweet, creek water and the salty river water with its several tributaries which fed the various trenches, of high and low tides, and the assortment of various fishes she knew by sight.
With so much Guyanese heritage injected into me, I did the best that I could always, proudly flying the Guyanese flag, and extolling the Land of the Mighty Roraima as an ecotourism destination, where visitors could experience our unique culture and fill themselves on our fusion of culinary delights, while sampling the several guided tours crisscrossing the Guyanese landscape.
Today however, I find myself questioning the senseless changes that are happening in Guyana, and with great trepidation too, as I now feel powerless to tell potential predators that “….we ent givin up nutten, dat belongs to we……”. I am also wondering if Dave Martins and the Tradewinds would be as delighted today to sing “Not a Blade of Grass” as before, to the several marauders who are not only trying to take away our blue sakis, rice grains and cuirass, but our land as well, and all this while our eyes are wide open.
A few short months ago, some of us at Coverden did all we possibly could to dissuade the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from granting the Global Oil Environmental Service (GOES) the go ahead to Operate a Waste Treatment Facility for transfer, storage, treatment and disposal of Oil and Gas waste in Block ‘X’ T’ Huis te, Block I, T’ Huis te Coverden, East Bank Demerara.
We tried all we could to point out the long-term destructive implications of such a contract, and were dumbfounded when against sound reasoning and all of the scientific research proffered against such a move, that GOES was given the go ahead. We were aghast.
While we were still recuperating from that astonishment, another notice was posted on the EPA website, this time stating that Trinidadian based Non-Destructive Testers Limited (Guyana) Inc. was requesting a permit to locate and operate a storage plant for Sealed Radioactive Sources, at Lots 1 and 2, T’ Huis te Coverden, East Bank Demerara Guyana. What was Coverden coming to, we wondered?
We again voiced our protest to the EPA. Conversely, this time, we felt that our pleas were heard, when we were enlightened (through the grapevine, mind you), that the Non-Destructive Testers Limited (Guyana) Inc. application was rejected, for reasons we are not sure about as yet, since the people of Coverden were never officially informed by the EPA one way or another.
While still applauding what seemed to us as a wise move by the EPA, we were alarmed at the impudence of the Non-Destructive Testers Limited (Guyana) Inc. which refiled their application, with just a few minor changes here and there. Once again we are protesting this reapplication, and have filed an appeal, but given our experience the first time around, we are not as optimistic this time at all.
It seems that we Guyanese are now second, or third-class citizens in our own country, as the powers-that-be are just taking us through a charade, of making us believe that they are following due process and coming to a favourable conclusion after considering what is best for Guyana. These favourable conclusions are not in our interests, do not follow proper process, which includes full disclosure of information; proper and meaningful consultation with communities that stand to be affected; following the scientific evidence.
Our experience is that the message today is that Guyanese must not be seen or heard. Our word and deliberations have no weight whatsoever. Our plans, dreams, desires, and aspirations should be readjusted to suit foreign investors and big business. “Foreign investment” comes before the national good, at least, that is the way that we are feeling when we consider what is going on in Guyana, the way the EPA is thoughtlessly allowing others to plunder our land and heritage, robbing us of all that is near and dear to us, along with our health and wellbeing. Are we going to sell our souls for the short-term gains of a few? What will be left for future generations?
May God help the Co-operative Republic of Guyana!
May God help The Environmental Protection Agency to truly look out for the interest of our environment!
Who is listening to us?
Is Guyana really our land?
Do Guyanese have any say in what goes on in our country?
We ent giving up we country… “that belongs to we.” It’s time we took those words to heart! Until and unless Guyanese stand up, speak out, work together, this eye pass and pillaging of our resources will continue.
