Today marks 75 years since the shooting to death of five sugar workers at Enmore, East Coast Demerara. The five: Rambarran, Pooran, Lallabagee, Surajballi and Harry, became known as the Enmore Martyrs following their deaths on June 16, 1948. This year, the anniversary coincides with the universal observance of Father’s Day. That makes for special and possibly painful reflections by their descendants.
Martyr, by definition, connotes the ultimate sacrifice that one selflessly makes generally for the betterment of others and country. The Enmore martyrs paid with their dear lives for the cause of better working conditions for sugar workers.
The arduous task of harvesting cane manually is well known. One of the workers’ contentions then was the added burden of having to load the cane into punts some distance away after having cut the cane; referred to as the “cut and load” system. This back-breaking method, which was introduced in 1945, was clearly unpopular with the workers, who demanded that it be replaced with “cut and “drop”; they cut and others load.
At the time, social and economic conditions were less than desirable. That saddled workers with poor wages and living conditions on the estates. They also wanted the then Guiana Industrial Workers Union (GIWU) to be recognized as the union to bargain for them. In their minds, these were justifiable demands, and having been unable to have them met, they resorted to strike action in April of 1948.
The use of scabs to fill the void the strike created did not resolve the sugar producers’ dilemma. As production became seriously affected, they introduced drastic measures in an effort to force the striking workers to comply. Having felt betrayed by the union, the Man Power Citizen’s Association (MPCA) that represented them, the situation became exacerbated and ultimately led to what transpired on that fateful day of June 16, 1948.
The context of that incident must not be lost. They were simple workers who unselfishly stood up to the authority, demanding that their welfare not be ignored. After all, they were contributing significantly to the enrichment of the masters, who seemed totally unconcerned of the plight the workers were forced to endure.
The death of the Enmore five resonated across the country. That incident was a pivotal moment in our nation’s history and our politics. It profoundly impacted a young Dr. Cheddi Jagan. The strikes, prior to the shooting, were supported by the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), of which he and his wife Janet were among the founders. They helped to raise funds and operated soup kitchens to assist the striking workers and their families.
The deaths of the five workers touched him in many ways, and at the gravesite on the day of their funerals, he pledged to dedicate his life to the cause of the Guyanese people; to free them from bondage and exploitation. It was that pledge that propelled and guided him in his relentless struggles for an independent Guyana and championing the rights of workers. He founded the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in 1950, which led subsequent struggles, culminating in the return of democracy in 1992.
While the five workers died during their quest for betterment, their sacrifices further heightened awareness of what they experienced, galvanized sentiments, fuelled hope, and helped to intensify the struggle, not just for improved working conditions for sugar workers, but for all Guyanese.
