During
the course of last week, it was revealed that the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry and the Guyana Foundation signed an agreement to distribute some 28,000 pieces of clothes, in thirty seven communities in Regions 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9.
It is reported that the donation of clothes is intended for the enhancement of the “social and economic well-being of Guyana’s indigenous peoples”. This comes after a popular airline assisted with donations of “shoes that grow”, proudly distributed by First Lady Sandra Granger, earlier this year.
However, this news is interpreted as extremely insulting to Amerindians who believe that it is not with hand-outs that they would be able to secure their future livelihood. One former Toshao on social media clearly expressed this view by stating the following:
“(…) Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs will be providing clothing to a number of Amerindian communities. This is total disrespect; I know that these [people] can afford to buy their own clothes. What they need is their land!!!! Give them the land that was promised to them during the [elections] campaign”.
Indeed, donations of clothes and “shoes that grow” have little impact on the socioeconomic development of any community. For Amerindians, development depends on land, not short-lived hand-outs, and they know this.
The policies geared toward indigenous peoples’ development have so far under this coalition administration, proven to be unsubstantial and untenable, and are hardly likely to contribute to the long-term social and economic development of our first peoples.
On the other hand, the Government of Guyana is cultivating a trend of accepting donations from third parties, as though it is unable to fund a container of used clothes for Amerindians, if they really needed it. More donations in agreement with the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry are to be envisaged, according to reports emanating from the Guyana Foundation. This begs the question of what exactly the Government is doing to promote indigenous peoples’ development.
Ironically, in terms of social policies, there has been no innovation. Instead, social benefits were removed by the Government, such as the 000 back to school voucher per child, electricity and water subsidies for pensioners (where applicable) and, the removal of technical support jobs for 1972 Community Support Officers (CSOs).
In terms of policies promoting economic development, again, progress is minimal. The GRIF funded Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) project is practically a failure, while the Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) Project suffered more than seven months of interruption. So what exactly should we expect in the next four years, in terms of social and economic policies for indigenous peoples?
Incidentally, Guyanese do not know what the Government has in store for indigenous development in the near future, since this year the subject budget debate was reduced to a scandalous 10 minutes in Parliament. However, the Government seems to think that hinterland development is synonymous of indigenous development, whereas this is not quite the case. As a matter of fact, developing townships in the regions will not necessarily guarantee Amerindian socioeconomic development. On the contrary, it can sideline development in Amerindian communities, by encouraging migration to towns in search of better opportunities, while draining them of their human resources. This may in turn, negatively impact village economies. While priority is being placed on the townships, Amerindian land titling seems to be progressing at snail’s pace, and now faces challenges from civil actors opposed to the methodology followed by the Government of Guyana and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
One organization noted for its indigenous rights activism is reportedly pitting some villages in the Rupununi against the Amerindian Land Titling Project, as it disagrees with the procedures involved. Reports are that the villages in question are being induced into taking this direction with bribes inclusive of food.
Au finale, Amerindians are condemned to face not only the Government’s myopia, but also the greed of organizations within the civil sector, which seem to be more interested in their glorification rather than in indigenous development.
But shoes, food and clothes are not what Amerindians need. Instead, they should be empowered through sustainable and growing village economies, education and social welfare plans designed to suit their needs and particularities.
Land must remain the central axe around which development must progress and Amerindians must be made the masters of their own future.
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