Dear Editor,
The cultivation of sugar in Guyana commenced between the 1630 and 1658 under the Dutch rule. The Africans arrived here in the 1700s. Hence, it would have been the Amerindians and later the lower class of Europeans who would have worked on these plantations. After the abolition of slavery in 1834, labour was sought by way of the immigration system, with the arrival of the Portuguese and later from the East Indians who arrived in 1838 who worked under the system of indentureship. The Chinese arrived in 1853 after the suspension of the Indian immigration system.
Guyana’s unique ethnic composition is one that we brag about. Hence it is noteworthy that our country’s first official product saw the participation of every ethnic group.
All six races played a pivotal role the establishment, cultivation, expansion and sustenance of Guyana’s sugar industry over the centuries. Three hundred and fifty-nine years later, the industry has acquired the track record of positive growth and unparallel contribution to the economy with a decline only on two occasions, the first being in 1980s with a revival after 1992 and again in 2005 after the flood. However, recent events have revealed that the Government is somewhat unaware of these facts or they are vehemently bent on throwing out the baby with the bath water.
Social Studies teach us from an early age that sugar is one of the five natural resources of Guyana and then there is the local expression that “sugar is king.”
What we have not been taught is that because of the blood, sweat, tears and suffering of our foreparents, sugar by way of its contribution to our economy for 359 years “Have made us free.”
Yet today, as we witness and experience the rapid decline of our country’s economy, there are those who are unashamedly refusing to recognise the first official product and the oldest and largest single economic sector in Guyana.
The Government talk of “Greening the economy” but it is hell bent on discarding the industry that can be a major contributor to this initiative by way of by products which are used in the production of food, beverages, confectionery, medicines, paper and ethanol gas. The Government complained of having to bail out the sugar industry in a manner that makes it seem as a burden on the economy yet it willing to provide subsidy to other areas.
Calypsonian “Red Plastic Bag” in his calypso “Sugar Made Us Free” urged that “we need to stop and consider the consequences that we will suffer later.” The closure of the industry will have a ripple effect on individuals and the economy. Bias and visionless thinking will result in workers being placed on the breadline and the disruption of family and community life.
What sins have the workers in this aged old industry committed? Can it be that they are being made to suffer unduly based on the premise that the workforce is made largely of Indo-Guyanese, that they are ardent supporters of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), that they are represented by the Unions GAWU and NAACIE which are air marked as affiliates of the PPP or that they were the first sector that was organised by the late Dr Cheddi Jagan, Founder of the PPP.
If this is so, then it is a violation of their rights as is stated under the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Act Convention No 87 and United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Article 19-23 – Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise.
The latest vendetta is the late payment of wages and salaries to sugar workers which was overdue by two weeks without any explanation. This is a violation of ILO’s Convention, 1949 (No 95)
The final chapter on the story of sugar in Guyana is about to end on a sad note and the APNU/AFC Administration has designed its tombstone which reads “Here Rests The Sugar Industry of Guyana, 1630’s – 2017. May Its Soul Rest In Peace.”
Sincerely,
Gillian Burton
Persaud MP
