By Ravin Singh in Jamaica

ONE thousand, five hundred and forty miles away from Guyana, scores of Guyanese gathered at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Jamaica to observe the 48th Republic Anniversary of their motherland on Friday.

The short, but festive event was organised by the Guyana-Jamaica Cultural link – a group formed in 1992 by some Guyanese who migrated to the Reggae Nation.
It was formed with the aim of strengthening the work of the Guyana Consulate since it was not very active at that time, and preserving and promoting Guyana’s culture from afar. And on Friday evening, that was exactly what they did.

While the Republic had its celebration, the Guyana-Jamaica Cultural Link organised a gathering of Guyanese at the UWI, Mona Visitors’ Lounge to observe 48 years of Republican status.
Anthems of both Guyana and Jamaica were sung after which, the Honorary Consul Ms. Indera Persaud shared brief remarks. She reflected on what the achievement means for Guyana and how far Guyana has moved as a nation.

She also reflected on, and acknowledged the contributions of prominent Guyanese who studied at the UWI, Mona, including Justice Mohammed Shahabuddin who served at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and Dr. Walter Rodney.

The President’s Republic Anniversary address to the nation was also read at the event for those who would have missed it earlier in the day.

Allison Fung, another Guyanese who is attached to UWI, also recognised several outstanding Guyanese among those gathered at the event, and introduced the newly-formed Guyana Students’ Association in Jamaica (GUYSAJ).

Once the formal aspect of the event had concluded, the Guyanese, most of whom were middle-aged, could not wait to hit the dance floor and boogie to some good old soca music.
Others opted to spend the rest of their evening engaging in light conversation and networking with fellow countrymen.

But the most important aspect of the event, for most of them, was sampling Guyanese delicacies which are rare in Jamaica. Among the list of items on the menu were puri and curry, polourie, black pudding, channa, stuffed eggs and cook-up.

To complement the food, fruit punch and mauby – which was the preferred choice of drink – were also offered, while some could not resist the temptation of a shot of the award-winning El Dorado rum.