Dear Editor
LAST Sunday, after the event held at the Pan African Gardens, Merriman Mall, one citizen contended that except for the President, and perhaps, the prime minister, our top officials and administrators seem to have little understanding about
(i) Our independence struggles (1763 – 1966)
(ii) The political ravages of the Cold War and
(iii) The impact of the Bretton Woods Financial Institutions on Guyana and small states. Some bemoaned the fact that because of this lack of knowledge, there is not good guidance.

For that reason, I write about the St Andrew’s bi-centennial celebrations. Happily, with my wife and family members, we shared in the celebration. St Andrew’s is the oldest church built in the city; it opened its doors for public worship on 27th September, 1818.
The present moderator, Rev Maureen Massia, is doing a commendable job and deserves our highest commendation and support. Rev Massiah is the second Guyanese to hold this exalted ecumenical office and the first Lady in the Region to be Head of the church body. During the prayer breakfast, we had presented a history of the Scots Church in Guyana – we need to congratulate those who made the effort.

However, it struck me that the ancestors who caused massive change in this and other religious bodies in Guyana seem to have been ignored or forgotten. It is important to know all of our past in order to anchor our actions today on the reality of our journey and so give us the intellectual and spiritual vigour to craft a glorious, godly future for the benefit of succeeding generations.

Responsible citizens should never be afraid to deal with all aspects of our past. In the Holy Bible, it is written, “And you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32. When St Andrew’s opened its doors for public worship, our slave ancestors were not considered ‘people.’ In fact, a sign stating ‘Negroes and Dogs not allowed’ was erected at the entrance of the church.

We must know these things so that we can celebrate with gusto, acknowledging those who travelled the rocky but righteous road to freedom, paving the way to a place where all of our people can share in the satisfaction of freedom, particularly freedom of worship.
Shortly after independence, we dismantled the inherited colonial position where society was characterised by the institutionalised system of High and Low Churches. We earned the displeasure of those who believed that man-designated church status mattered and must not be tampered with.

We must honour all those who traversed that rocky road to see us where we are today, when a lady who may be the descendant of an African slave can proudly and rightly mount the pulpit at St Andrew’s, where earlier her ilk could not even enter the building.
Five years after 1818, Lord Bathurst, the Secretary of State in Britain, put to the British House of Commons, measures to make less harsh the conditions of African slaves in British Guiana and elsewhere. The local plantocracy resisted this humanitarian initiative. British slave owners were hostile and refused to take measures to ease the inhuman conditions on the plantations.

The ‘Court of Policy’ of Demerara and Essequibo was adamant. African slaves do not deserve good treatment. In the forefront of this resistance was Lieutenant Governor of Demerara, John Murray, he himself was the owner of slaves in Berbice.
For that reason, one of the last acts of the Late President, L.F.S. Burnham, OE, SC, was to have Murray Street renamed Quamina Street during Emancipation Month, August, 1985.
Of interest, is this note in Murray’s Journal of October 21, 1822; – “Oh, that the Colony should be governed by a man who sets his face against the moral and religious improvement of the Negro slaves.”

Quamina Gladstone was a Deacon at the Bethel Chapel, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara. He was tutored by Rev John Smith, a young English Missionary, who became known as the Demerara Martyr.

John Smith was tried and convicted, accused of supporting the 1823 Slave Uprising. He was condemned to death after a brief court martial. Only 34 years old, he died of tuberculosis, being held in a damp, unhealthy cell. It is interesting to note the date that Smith arrived in Demerara, being sent by the London Missionary Society. He arrived in 1817, on the same date that we celebrate our republic anniversary and the same date of the 1763 revolt, that is, February 23.

It was therefore, in order that at that prayer breakfast, Pastor Justice Oslen Small, representing the church established in honour of John Smith was asked to offer a prayer. (Smith’s Congregational Church).

Quamina was the son of John Gladstone, an African slave. Quamina was the leader of slaves who had learnt that London had passed laws to give them some degree of freedom, but the planters were ignoring this ‘new Law.’ Quamina only wanted confirmation of what he had heard from the authorities in Georgetown. The church, as indeed all Guyana joined as we celebrated the 1823 uprising on August 18.
Fellow citizens, today let us with pride, honour our ancestors who rose up, English

Missionaries, such as John Smith and Abolitionist, the likes of William Wilberforce. These distinguished persons navigated the troubled waters which laid the foundation for our freedom and independence. A freedom enjoyed by all irrespective of race, age, colour or creed.

As we gaze upon the environment today and think about the actors of the 1800s, it may be instructive to repeat the words of two great Americans, one white, one black.
In chronological order:-(a) Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President (1809 – 1865) said “To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men”(b) Martin Luther King, Jr (1929 -1968) observed “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
Good luck to the Presbyterians, Christians and all God-fearing people.

Hamilton Green
Elder