It’s of more than passing interest that more than three centuries after the founding of the three colonies that became “Guyana”, we still refer to our “interior” – an amorphous, undifferentiated blob behind our coastland where most of us continue to live! What makes it even more interesting is the founders had actually FIRST settled parts of that “interior” – the riverain areas along the rivers and creeks. They established plantations for tropical agricultural crops to sell to European markets. Look how deep in the “interior” was Cuffy’s Rebellion and Kyk over All!!
What makes their experience relevant for us today is that when the fertility of those soils were depleted within a century, they moved to the mangrove-and-mosquito infested “Wild Coast” and carved out the now inhabited “coastland”! Yet even though that coast’s become more densely packed than the tiny Caribbean Islands – we can’t even get land to build houses – though knowing the rising Atlantic’s gonna engulf us sooner rather than later. We’re still focusing almost all of our efforts to developing infrastructure on the coast!!
Why not refocus on the “interior’?? But we do have excavators, bulldozers and draglines, don’t we?? Surely we can better the Dutch with slaves who did the backbreaking work of moving millions of coastal soil!! Burnham tried but his National Service, volunteer labour was bound to fail. The US continent wasn’t opened up by volunteer labour – but by good, old, greedy Robber Barons like Vanderbilt who just wanted to make money!! If we had the will of those old Dutchmen – who were motivated by wealth as well! – we coulda long been inland and enjoying the bounty of our continental destiny!! But they say it’s never too late, don’t they??
Pres Ali appears to have that will power – and his party has long abandoned their socialist cant. They’ve openly embraced the principle that “private enterprise will be the engine of growth”!! So after he announced the building of Silica City that kicked off a couple of years ago with the first 110 houses, they still ain’t complete. Financial incentives gotta be given to the private sector – it’s money that makes the world go round – and will make the opening up of our “interior’ a reality.
The completion of the Highway to Lethem will make D’Aguiar’s “Highway to happiness” a reality. Can you see the effects on development in having a five hundred mile highway opening up 80,000 square miles of real estate for development in an oil-fuelled economy!! Guyanese have to be prepared to follow the slogan “Go South, young man – and woman”. There’s a whole new world beckoning and it will go to the bold.
And maybe we’ll then stop killing each other for coastal houselots??
…PNC’s power obsession
With the PNC opposition excoriating the incumbent PPP government for all manner of sins, your Eyewitness is reminded of Walter Rodney’s analysis of the dictator Burnham – who had him assassinated. In terms of “racism” this is what Walter said: “we should refer to the pamphlet by Jessie Burnham (Burnham’s sister), entitled “Beware My Brother Forbes”, in which she described his racist attitude to Indians, his absolute selfishness and his limitless ambition to hold others in domination. Jessie Burnham also provided evidence as to the stealthy manner in which Forbes Burnham went about his objectives.”
On the accusation of political sycophancy, here’s Rodney’s take on Burnham: “For a small nation, Guyana has produced a discouragingly large number of lackeys and stooges who hide in the shadow of the “Comrade Leader”. Guyanese constantly complain of “square pegs in round holes.” The square pegs are the misfits and soup drinkers who flourish because each one is prepared to be his master’s voice.”
And Guyana was destroyed!!
…envy
Apart from the political challenge, Burnham was green with envy of Rodney’s scholarship and verbal skewering of his pretentions of being an “intellectual”. Rodney must’ve been reminded Burnham of Julius Caesar’ assessment of Cassius.
“He thinks too much; such men are dangerous.”
