Georgetown : President Donald at the launching of Amerindian Heritage Month 2, at the Amerindian Village, Sophia Exhibition Complex last night said that only under the People’s Progressive Party (PPPC) did Amerindians experience development.
The President said that historically Amerindian development posed a tremendous challenge. He said that during the colonial era, the neglect was almost absolute in Amerindian communities and during this period, it was thanks to the churches, that in some areas, basic education was afforded to Amerindians.
He said the first spurt of development in Amerindian communities can be traced back to the period of 1957 to 1964. This was the time when the PPPC was in Office. President Ramotar said that during this period, the then PPPC Government started to expand the education opportunities in the Hinterland and also introduced the Hinterland Scholarship.
We also introduced at that time health services, a service that was almost totally absent in Amerindian communities,” he said.
All of these services disappeared or at best stagnated after 1964, the President said. He said the second period of Amerindian development is the one in which Guyana is presently going through, and is one that began in 1992, with the return of democracy to Guyana and the PPPC Party to the administration.
He explained that “the PPPC Government from the very onset saw that it was important to give meaning to our motto of ‘One people, One nation and One destiny’ and to give profound meaning to having equal opportunity for all.”
“We believe then, as we do now, that democracy cannot be sustained unless we have equal opportunity for all our people and we provide them with basic and even more than basic services for their development,” he said.
Hence, Government’s heavy investment over the years ensured that all phases of development reached Amerindians, even those in the remote communities in the country.
These investments which translated into billions of dollars had the necessary impact as Amerindians are today more empowered and are contributing more to the country’s development.
During his address, the President posited that he believes strongly that the transformation being witnessed in the hinterland has to do with the administration’s investment in education and because of the presence of more educated Hinterland residents.
This year, Amerindian Heritage Month celebration is being held under the theme, “Honouring our culture; advancing our future.” President Ramotar tonight suggested that one of the ways Amerindians can preserve, develop, advance and build on their culture is to preserve their language.
He pointed out that “language is extremely important in any culture” and that “losing a language is losing a large part of the culture.”
He urged that the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs do all it can to help the nine tribes preserve their language.
During the event, Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai reaffirmed and recommitted the Government’s position to be “that supportive partner of the Amerindian nationals in working to consolidate and revitalize Amerindian cultural heritage” and to work with leaders to avert any future lost of the rich indigenous culture.
Minister Sukhai credited the late President Cheddi Jagan for having the vision of assisting the First People to regain their identity, which was deflated following years of pressure, neglect and marginalisation. “There is no doubt that there is a wealth of rich tradition and cultural heritage of Amerindians but it is overwhelmingly obvious that transferring knowledge, custom and cultural heritage have not been pronounced. Such an action must be corrected,” the Amerindian Affairs Minister said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.