… GAWU urges
MAY in Guyana accommodates observances to commemorate the coming, the bringing, the arrival of immigrants to British Guyana in the nineteenth century. Prior to and after the full Emancipation of the African Slave and “Apprentice’ workforce on the European-owned sugar plantations in 1838, there was a vital need for substitutes to produce the sugar and other commodities in this part of the world, so that Britain, especially, could be kept great.
It is still a great modern-day irony that Britain, France, Holland, Portugal – the Europe which fed off the sweat and labour of slaves and immigrants in their Caribbean, American and Guiana colonies, collectively turned their backs on the descendants of the producers when the European Union arbitrarily ended certain preferential sugar prices two years ago.
It is against these basic reflections that the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) extends greetings to the present-day Guyanese whose fore-fathers arrived here in three ships on May 05, 174 years ago. GAWU refers especially to the indentured/contracted labourers brought here from the Indian sub-continent.
There is no need to recount, in any detail, the travails, the suffering and the survival of those “Bound-Coolie” immigrants who replaced the slaves and re-configured the demography of the colony of British Guiana, and later, independent Guyana.
Rather, GAWU now pays tribute to the triumph of their spirit and their contributions which, in large measure, fashioned the Guyana we know today. From politics to sport, from agriculture to the arts, from religion to government, Indo-Guyanese are part and parcel of Guyana’s identity and presence in the global community.
As one of the unions in the country’s labour landscape, all that GAWU asks during this Arrival Day weekend is that the descendants of these immigrants reflect on the values and fortitude which made their fore-fathers survive and prosper. Then use the principles of these experiences to enrich the continuing contribution they make to keep Guyana on the map. Use the celebration of arrival to demonstrate the ability to stay the course and walk the path of development, hand in hand, with your fellow Guyanese.
From the land and agriculture, to the professions and trades you contributed. To the land, therefore, you must pledge continued allegiance. Put Guyana first wherever you and relatives find yourselves.
Happy, reflective Arrival Day 2012 celebrations from GAWU