Kudos to M&CC

Dear Editor
I refer to an article in the issue of the Guyana Chronicle dated Friday 18, September 2015 under the caption “$100M to clean key areas of Georgetown – and surrounding communities”. Against the above, I salute the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown for its vision, commitment, fortitude, resolve, resolute and sustained stance in not giving up on Georgetown against all odds, over the past decades; and now recommitting itself and the human and financial resources available to it in support of a Clean, Green City.
For those persons too young to remember, or those who have no personal knowledge or experience of Georgetown, the beautiful garden city, I crave your indulgence as I go down memory lane. I am reminded of my early and youthful experiences of Georgetown: I came to Georgetown from the East Coast of Demerara as a boy to attend high school in 1955. At that time Georgetown was inhabited by citizens who took pride in its charm and exquisite beauty. The roads were all laid out at right angles, with white lines on the margins demarcating the well-kept avenues and parapets. Macadamized roads met the grass and tree lined streets which extended to the pavements.
The well-kept pavements and drains were a pride and joy to behold. One could enjoy the city by just going on an afternoon or evening walk or bicycle ride. Young people would “dress-up” just to go around and enjoy the city, which was well lit at nights. Fast forward to today’s consciousness of the decline of the physical environment and general infrastructure of the city, and one would appreciate the gratitude felt by many for the policy being articulated by the Mayor and City Council that seeks, not only to arrest the decline, but also to lay out a programme for a clean, green and beautiful city which under the PPP/Civic Administration was starved of financial resources and by extension punished for no other reason than the majority of the citizens were perceived as non-supportive. The experience could be categorized as a slow death by suffocation.
It is my wish that the implementation plan for the Clean Green initiative will be projectised, and the expected outputs identified and developed as businesses which can attract Private Sector, Government and NGO financing. Against the above each of these businesses could be monitored and evaluated, their levels of costs and efficiencies known, and stamped with the hallmark of transparency and accountability. I want to lay out a programme of activities which fits into the MCC campaign.
It is my belief that all officially demarcated places for human burial or cremation are sacred and should be treated as such. How we manage and maintain such places are reflections on us who are alive. Let us consider two of these final resting places in Guyana – The Bourda cemetery and the La Repentir cemetery. These two sites which are now being cleaned had, over the last two decades, become embodiments of neglect, and deteriorated into garbage dumps.
Many countries have used the historic cemeteries as magnets for attracting and promoting tourism. In Latin America and the Caribbean not only do we have many historic burial sites such as exists in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Brazil, Argentina etc., but we also have many historic (16 to 19th century) burial sites which have been developed as projects and financed by Jewish organizations, the UK, Canadian, French and Dutch Governments and Funding Agencies in those countries. During the Spanish Inquisition, many of the Jews who were expelled from Spain settled in the Caribbean and Latin America. Also many of the early British, French, Dutch and other colonial administrations left large numbers of their citizens interned in former colonies.
Over the last four or so decades, many Central South American and Caribbean countries have been rehabilitating these early cemeteries and transforming them into parks and other green spaces. These are now used as tourist products. Here in the Caribbean former Jewish cemeteries and burial sites in St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Jamaica and colonial military and civilian burial sites are being rehabilitated and maintained principally to attract tourists. Many of these tourists are taken on guided tours that include Mayan, Elizabethan, Georgian, Victorian architectural buildings and sites.
The Bourda cemetery, the military cemetery in Kingston and other burial sites in Berbice and Essequibo etc. have all the characteristics to qualify and be developed or rehabilitated and marketed as such. Le Repentir has a rich and celebrated history and has attractions for members of the Guyana Diaspora. Many members of the Diaspora on their numerous return visits home would like to visit the graves of their relatives and loved ones, but in many cases cannot do so because of the lack of upkeep of these places. A few years ago my uncle was buried in the wrong tomb at La Repentir. He wanted to be buried in his brother’s tomb, but on account of the jungle like situation at La Repentir the workers guided us to an accessible location and buried him in a tomb, which later we were told was not that of my other uncle.
Some Caribbean countries have been able to attract development aid from the International Jewish community, the British, Dutch, French and Canadian governments and International Funding Agencies and Organizations to finance rehabilitation works. The Ministry of Tourism should be supportive of such projects. Think about the spin off businesses that could develop from such a programme.
• Clay brick / cement block production and sales
• Horticulture / floriculture production / expansion
• Masonry contracting
• Park / cemetery maintenance / upkeep
• Tour guides
• Taxi, horse and cart operators
• Research students / attendance
• Painters etc.
In Belize a sister CARICOM Member State, the City Council, the Ministry of Education and NGO’s have partnered to rehabilitate one Colonial cemetery and have begun repairing tombs and planting trees that will transform the cemetery into a local park. Graves of former colonial military officers, administrators and private business leaders who served the colonial system are being identified with their period / date of service recorded to form part of a database. There are guided city tours which identify the colonial buildings such as St. John’s Anglican Cathedral, the House of Culture, other “Old Belize” landmarks and the Colonial Cemetery.
Many of these former Colonial Civil Servants, Army Officers and Business Operatives have relatives in the UK, the USA, Canada etc. and piggy back on 1-3 week vacation trips and also one day (stop over) cruise ships visiting the country to pay homage at the graves of former relatives. Also researchers and scholars use these sites to gather historical data. In closing let me again record my appreciation to the Mayor and City Council for their grand initiative, and hope that the Ministries of Tourism, Communities, Education, and places of learning such as the University of Guyana and the Cyril Potter College of Education will find some value in this presentation.
Respectfully,
Hugh Saul

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