Guyana’s indigenous people will progress materially and still preserve their culture
AMERINDIAN Heritage Month 2009 was launched last evening in grand style at the Amerindian Village in the National Exhibition Centre, Sophia, Georgetown, under the theme “Securing Our Livelihood while Sustaining our Cultural Diversity” with President Bharrat Jagdeo noting that our cultural identity is much richer today.

President Jagdeo stated that he has witnessed the growth of this month which was dedicated to specifically focus on the richness and diversity of the culture of the indigenous people by the late President Dr Cheddi Jagan.

He observed it has grown not only in terms of the numbers of people who participate, but in terms of the growth in knowledge of this rich and wonderful culture that the nine tribes of our indigenous people have preserved for centuries.

Noting that many times people focus on material improvements which are important for society and societal growth, but it is the preservation of the rich depository of human, religious, spiritual and traditional and also communal values that are also important for an all around development.

“So this is why I think this celebration is so great. I think it reflects part of what we have forged over the years,” he stated.

Alluding to the struggles which all were subjected to, he insisted, “Today, we are carving, because of this common history, a growing Guyanese identity and it is this identity that will lead us in the future to a prosperous place for all of our people.”

Expressing his satisfaction with the theme of the Amerindian Heritage Month, he noted that in many parts of the world there is the view that “indigenous people must become “museum pieces” and “they must be kept in a historically intact state”.

However, he promised Guyana’s indigenous people can progress materially while at the same time create the conditions for the preservation of their wonderful culture.

Alluding to the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), he assured that his government will never impose any development model or idea that is “alien to our culture”.

He said it has to be done with the consent of the peoples in the communities because “we respect the right of our people, our Amerindian people, to have choices”.

“We have fought a very long time to give them choices,” President Jagdeo reminded and referred to the opportunities presented to them now to have choices and at the same time retain their cultural identity.

“These are very important things for us, we fought for these things and so no development model will be imposed on any community that seeks to alter their way of life; no developmental model or idea will be pushed by this government unless it has the consent of the people of the communities involved,” he reassured.

He said the administration had embarked on 15 pilot communities and over the next two years, tens of millions of dollars will be spent on these communities based on what the people in the villages believe are sustainable.

Also, he disclosed, “We have a $2B programme that will be rolled out over the next three years that will see several roads being developed in the hinterland.”

He said additionally, close to 1000 small solar units have been distributed to hinterland communities. There are 10,000 Amerindian households and within four years every household should have a solar unit to access electricity.

He also hoped that telecommunication services can be expanded so that the hinterland communities can plug into the “future Information Communication Technology revolution”.

He also noted that training of young people in these communities are important, maintaining, “We owe it to the people who live in these areas. We owe this to them, for too long they have been left out of development.”

He stated that over the past several years, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government has approached this with renewed commitment.

“This is part of our pledge to these communities; that we are going to work every single day to ensure that a child born in one of these areas has the same opportunity as a child born on the coast,” President Jagdeo stated.

“It is not going to be easy but it is something that we are committed to,” he told the gathering, noting, “I see national well-being as very important for us to deliver on all of these things.”

He said, “We have to keep solving many of the problems that we face at the national level, having a vision for the future, getting our productive sector to be much more competitive globally, carving a place out in this competitive world, a world that often doesn’t look out for small countries,” he stated.

“This is why I see the LCDS as very important for the future too,” the Head of State noted, stating that money raised from the forest carbon trade can help to accelerate the development of the country, including the indigenous communities.

“They can catapult us forward, we don’t have to take the evolutionary path, we can in a revolutionary manner move our country forward quickly,” he stressed.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Mrs. Pauline Sukhai-Campbell also outlined some of the achievements and challenges of the hinterland people and encouraged all Guyanese to participate in the month long activities.

“Among those present were Ministers of Government, Members of Parliament, Leader of the Opposition Mr. Robert Corbin, Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. Ralph Ramkarran, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Mr. Donald Ramotar, and members of the Diplomatic Corps.