Dear Editor,
After being at Providence, East Bank Demerara, I wish to point out the seminal contribution the Guyana Amazon Warriors are making to our national development. First there is the matter of “national cohesion” of which we have heard so much during the past three years. But who has done more for national cohesion than the Warriors, during that time?
Once again, they have created such a positive buzz in our country that the doom and gloom threatening to put us into a national depression has been dissipated like a bad morning mist. This time it was young Shimron Hetmyer from Canje who provided the sparks during the first game at Providence to light up and lift up the spirits of the fans in the jampacked stadium. But every year during the last five years, in every game, one or more Warriors have done the same with bat or ball, to make them the most consistent team in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). And if those past five years are any guide, the Warriors will bring together our people like no other event to give expression to the aspirational exhortation of our national motto, “One People, One Nation, One Destiny”!
But while allowing our people to actually experience that there are more that bind us together than divide us, a tremendous achievement in itself, the Guyana Amazon Warriors have brought so many more benefits to Guyana. According to the research agency SMG Insight, the Guyanese economy received a shot in the arm of US$14,183,035 in 2017 for the four pool games. This year the number will expand significantly because of the larger number of games.
But that direct cash injection is just the tip of an iceberg, with almost 500 jobs created and over 5000 hotel rooms booked cumulatively. A big part of that iceberg is the publicity for tourism since more than 19 million persons saw the very best of our people in living colour! I was also very impressed with the professionalism with which the event was organised and executed: it was flawless and should give lie to the report in the NYTimes about Guyana being a sleepy backwater.
I am writing this because as a Guyanese, I have become very tired of the negativity about our country. And when something like the CPL and GAW dispel that negativity, it shows us that things can be different if we put our minds and shoulders to creating positivity.
Sincerely,
Jenifer Semple
