Essequibo Coast elders reflect on May 26, 1966

By Raywattie Deonarine

Scores of elders living in the Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) still have vivid memories of how Essequibo used to be prior to the country gaining its Independence.
One such person is 89-year-old Ramdai Dashrat of Spring Garden along the Essequibo Coast.
The Sunday Times was fortunate to reach out with two elders who were excited to reflect on the days of British Guyana. Despite the changes, the elders remain optimistic that Guyana has transformed over the years and they welcome the changes.

Dashrat reflected on Guyana’s first independence in Region Two. She reminisced that she was in high school when the new holiday was welcomed in the region and the Golden Arrowhead was seen all over the Cinderella county.
At the time, she was very sceptical about whether Guyanese would actually call their country “Guyana” and not “British Guiana” anymore. She noted that on that special day, they lowered the “Union Jack” and hoisted the “Golden Arrowhead”.
During the interview she said that “Independence” for her and most Indian-Guyanese in 1966 meant something different from other Guyanese. For Dashrat, there was a great deal of apprehension about what laid ahead. As a young woman, she had been weaned of the expectation that independence would bring so much joy and peace to her fellow Guyanese brothers and sisters.
“When I were a student back in the days, I was always excited to draw and colour the new flag of Guyana… the flag with five bold colours; narrow white and black strips along its sides, was set on a green and red background, with narrow white and black strips along its sides,” Dashrat proudly reflected.
Speaking with another elder from Aurora village, 68-year-old Jannet Hussain said, “For elder Guyanese, I realised that we are special. We were living under the ‘Union Jack’, and now under the ‘Golden Arrowhead’. Now I am 66 years old, I can vividly recall all the memories of colonial British Guiana when attending school, we sang ‘patriotic’ songs, recited a whole different National Pledge comparing the pledge we stand at attention to.”
When Hussain was asked about their lives before Guyana gained independence, she said during the several decades of British colonial rule, Guyana’s road to political independence was indeed turbulent. She noted that during the 1953 General Elections, the resounding victory was under adult suffrage that astounded many.
She said that the Government that was imposed consisted of many individuals who themselves suffered humiliating defeats at the hand of the toppled nationalist candidate.
Hussain further explained that later on in the years, the nationalist movement itself split. She said that the split led to a racial strife and insecurity where strikes and disturbance erupted.
“During that time, there were the loss of several lives, the destruction of properties, and severe banning of food items were the sad reality of life during that extremely harsh period of our country’s history. As time passed by and many Guyanese fought for their lives during that dark period of time, new electoral systems were elected and as such they worked hard and shoved efforts in moving the country towards becoming an independent nation,” Hussain related
Hussain emphasised that she is grateful for political Independence which was achieved on May 26, 1966, when her fellow Guyanese walked proudly and cheered lustily as the Union Jack was lowered and our bold, colourful and attractive national flag was hoisted high in the air to signify the birth of a new, ambitious and independent Guyana.
The elders also said that with Independence, the construction industry was transformed in that more persons chose concrete over mud houses. The construction landscape has transformed since more and more hardware stores were established, making it affordable for persons to be homeowners.