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Today, we join with our Afro-Guyanese brothers and sisters in observing another anniversary of that most historic occasion of Emancipation that took place 179 years ago, on August 1. It was a day that officially brought to an end the most iniquitous and inhumane system ever created by man for treatment of his fellow men, and perpetrated on his fellow men, because of the narrow and unsupported view that the colour of one’s skin, determined such a brutalisation of his person. Of course, the latter concept was supported by some of the most outrageous theories imagined.
It was an experience that has been well chronicled with numerous revolting and unspeakable accounts of a system that denuded all forms of personal control from the millions of hapless humans whose status as commodities rendered them as chattel property, whether on American plantations, or those in the West Indies.
In this perceived sub-human state, they became de-humanised in every form, during which they were subjected to the most unimaginable cruelties and horrors. This abhorrent institution that lasted in excess of 300 years, accounted for millions of lives taken, beginning with the terrifying horrors of the Atlantic crossing, to the millions that were crushed by the unceasing and relentless cruelty of plantation slavery.
The dozens of revolts that in time epitomised the natural spirit of man to become free from such forms of physical oppression, coupled with the gradual support of abolition and evangelical groups that were convinced as to the immorality of this atrocious institution called slavery; the influence of the Enlightenment; global economic changes that resulted in a decline in the need for slaves in the Caribbean, eventually led to the abolition of the dark and iniquitous trade in 1807. This was followed by the Slavery Abolition Act, 1833, and finally, full emancipation in 1838.
To this segment of the nation, one must extend fullest appreciation for the toil, great suffering, blood and bones of Afro-Guyanese forbears and others, upon which the great nations amassed untold wealth and built their empires; and the supreme price of freedom that millions of brave and heroic Africans paid in their bid for liberty from slavery.
Better yet, their determination to forge an independent and self-sufficient life in the very hostile, challenging, early post-slavery conditions in Guyana, as exemplified by their cooperative thrift in purchasing the first villages, is applauded. And in the many decades that have followed, their contributions to the many segments of Guyanese social life are renowned, and are also equally appreciated.
Let us extend Emancipation greetings to the wider context of the nation, as One People, One Nation, One Destiny, to also mean freedom from all forms of prejudice, hatreds, fears, and selfishness that are hindrances to a better understanding of us and greater appreciation of each other as Guyanese. For these are ills that are self-degrading and self-defeating, that can only serve as hindrances for our individual spiritual and material advancement. Most important is that these negatives, if not expunged from our psyche, prevents each of us as individuals, and collectively, from doing the very best for our country.
It was an experience that has been well chronicled with numerous revolting and unspeakable accounts of a system that denuded all forms of personal control from the millions of hapless humans whose status as commodities rendered them as chattel property, whether on American plantations, or those in the West Indies.
In this perceived sub-human state, they became de-humanised in every form, during which they were subjected to the most unimaginable cruelties and horrors. This abhorrent institution that lasted in excess of 300 years, accounted for millions of lives taken, beginning with the terrifying horrors of the Atlantic crossing, to the millions that were crushed by the unceasing and relentless cruelty of plantation slavery.
The dozens of revolts that in time epitomised the natural spirit of man to become free from such forms of physical oppression, coupled with the gradual support of abolition and evangelical groups that were convinced as to the immorality of this atrocious institution called slavery; the influence of the Enlightenment; global economic changes that resulted in a decline in the need for slaves in the Caribbean, eventually led to the abolition of the dark and iniquitous trade in 1807. This was followed by the Slavery Abolition Act, 1833, and finally, full emancipation in 1838.
To this segment of the nation, one must extend fullest appreciation for the toil, great suffering, blood and bones of Afro-Guyanese forbears and others, upon which the great nations amassed untold wealth and built their empires; and the supreme price of freedom that millions of brave and heroic Africans paid in their bid for liberty from slavery.
Better yet, their determination to forge an independent and self-sufficient life in the very hostile, challenging, early post-slavery conditions in Guyana, as exemplified by their cooperative thrift in purchasing the first villages, is applauded. And in the many decades that have followed, their contributions to the many segments of Guyanese social life are renowned, and are also equally appreciated.
Let us extend Emancipation greetings to the wider context of the nation, as One People, One Nation, One Destiny, to also mean freedom from all forms of prejudice, hatreds, fears, and selfishness that are hindrances to a better understanding of us and greater appreciation of each other as Guyanese. For these are ills that are self-degrading and self-defeating, that can only serve as hindrances for our individual spiritual and material advancement. Most important is that these negatives, if not expunged from our psyche, prevents each of us as individuals, and collectively, from doing the very best for our country.
