-in this Land of Many Waters 
“FREEDOM! Freedom! We is free now!”
Kweku was awakened by this loud and insistent call. It was the ‘spit-press’ at work. Word was spreading fast and far. No more slavery!  All Africans were free. There was joy, disbelief and gratitude. There were those who seemed lost in this new and unfamiliar world, like a boat without a captain.
The drums and conch shells called back-and-forth, and people began to come together in celebration. Men, women and children were gathering to share this new gift; they were no longer anybody’s property.
Music and dancing was everywhere. The joy was almost palpable. Tears, laughter and lamentations for those who had died for this cause, made the mood very fluid, but the crowning feeling was  triumph. They had won!
By the next day, word got around that 83 freed slaves had purchased Plantation Northbrook for $10,000. Excitement and new hope filled everyone. The elders sat together and talked. Word was sent to the Plantation owner that more slaves wanted to buy land.
The only trouble was: The prices had to be paid in coins, because this was how they were able to save their earnings. Due to the weight and difficulty in transporting the money, they decided to use wheelbarrows. Soon, Enmore, Paradise, Hope and Grove were theirs. There seemed to be an urgency to get away from the plantation.
As more slaves joined together to buy more land, the owners quickly seized the opportunity to radically raise the price. The cost went from $10,000 for Northbrook through an upward spiral, so that the purchase of Friendship in 1814 cost $80,000. But this did not daunt the spirits of the free people. They continued buying, and accumulated some 40 villages.
Homes were built, and farmsteads started. Soon, under wise village governance, the new communities began to thrive. The impact of some slaves abandoning the estates caused havoc on the profits of the owners. They soon went about systematically destroying the livelihood of the people in order to force them back to the sugar plantation.
The owners stopped them from fishing in the canals; their pigs were killed; and their fruit trees and kitchen gardens destroyed by flood from estate canals. Entire villages were flooded out. All this was done in order to force the former slaves back to the estate.
The Africans had literally built the sugar plantation. They planted, did the drainage, harvested the crop, and maintained the estates. Yet, their efforts to build their own village and farm were being sabotaged.
Due to the financial burden of buying land with their savings, these setbacks created by the plantation owners caused great hardship. There was little or no money left to maintain infrastructure or repair any damages that may have been caused. Some continued to work on the estate while still trying to establish their economic freedom.
After enduring the hopelessness and powerlessness of slavery, as the property of slave masters, the Africans showed integrity, resilience and courage while struggling to survive the onslaught of the owners.
Many saw education as a way of breaking this shackle. Christianity was another support system for them. Soon, many began to excel in the field of sports, education, trade unionism, medicine, politics and entertainment. It was the Africans who made careers out of the emerging Civil Service in the then British Guiana. Even though people of African decent continued to face the challenges of social exclusion, economic stagnation, discrimination and injustice, many have managed to clear these hurdles and were able to fulfill their true potential. These remain heroes and icons to the generations that followed. Names like Cuffy, Kwamina, Critchlow, Burnham, Chase, Rodney, Hoyte, Field-Ridley, Blackmoore, Forde, Lloyd, Fredericks, Croft, Saul, Luncheon, Thomas, Denbow and others reflect a proud and determined people capable of surmounting any obstacle.
In reflecting on the experiences of our Afro-Guyanese forefathers and their journey to the New World, these words come readily to mind:

SLAVERY
Mutely as I sat one day,
Up in a tree well hidden away.
I saw my parents snatched from me,
Into the ‘hell’ of slavery.

Whenever these thoughts come to mind,
A quiet place I try to find.
What better place is there for me,
Than sitting high up in a tree.

As a tribute to our ancestors and as an awakening of consciousness for us all, here are the names of the villages bought by the Free People of our country, Guyana: Victoria, Golden Grove (ECD), Golden Grove (WCB), Bagotsville, Plaisance, Belladrum, Litchfield, Nabacalis, Den Amstel, Agricola, Hopetown, Friendship, Sandvoort, Gibraltar/Fryish Courtland, Beterverwagting, Baracara, No. 53 Union, Kildonan, Liverpool, Sisters, Ithaca, Prospect, Dingwall (No. 40 Village), Joppa (No. 43 Village), Phillipi (Corentyne Coast), Seafield (No. 42 Village), Kingelly (WCB), Lovely Lass (WCB), No. 41 Village, Woodlands & Friends Retreat (No. 10 Village), Dartmouth Village, Eversham Village, Airy Hall Village, Calcutta Village, Recess Village, Weldaad Village, Ann’s Grove Village, Bachelor’s Adventure, Good Intent & Perseverance.
These monumental achievements are a source of pride and gratitude. Their legacy is a powerful one which speaks of courage, sacrifice and perseverance. We can never take for granted the rights and privileges we now enjoy. We owe it all to those who suffered, struggled, and died to carve out a nation where all are equal.
HAIL TO OUR ANCESTORS!