Your Eyewitness knows we just came out of a very important LGE. But still…not a word about the Enmore Martyrs on the day before?? Jeez!! How quickly we forget!! The killing by the Police of Rambarran: who sustained two bullets to his leg; Lall, called ‘Pooran’: shot in his leg and hip; Lallabagie: shot in the back; Surujballi: also shot in the back; and Harry: shot in the spine, doesn’t mean anything to us Guyanese anymore?? Their murders on June 13th, 1948 only changed the political history of Guyana!!! But, ah well…they made up on the actual day!
The issue had been very stark. The sugar industry represented the distilled essence of the exploitation of our people – all our people – by the colonials into the modern era after slavery and indentureship. And the workers were ordered to double their work – to cut AND load the cane into the punts – for the same wages as when all they had to do was cut and drop the cane into a heap for others to fetch. All the sugar workers were doing was to protest this ‘eyepass’, but they were mowed down in the fusillade of bullets shot by the planters. The “leaden argument” for natives – as one official had gloated after an earlier massacre of sugar workers.
At the funeral for the men at Le Repentir Cemetery in Georgetown – after the long march from Enmore – the 30-year-old Dr Cheddi Jagan wrote later: “At the graveside, the emotional outburst of the widows and relatives of the deceased were intensely distressing and I could not restrain my tears. There was to be no turning back. There and then I made a silent pledge. I would dedicate my entire life to the cause of the struggle of the Guianese people against bondage and oppression.”
So said, so done, because his work led to the launching of the political movement the PPP – that’s still fighting to ensure that we, the Guyanese people – all of us – can become really independent. Even the PNC should always remember that day. After all, their founder-leader Burnham certainly did, since his PNC constructed the Monument at Enmore – to which so many traipsed yesterday. Even though he split the PPP within five years of his formation, some of the leaders of the PNC he formed – like Latchmansingh and Jainarine Singh – were also in that funeral march.
Your Eyewitness understands that sugar’s going the way of the horse and buggy – but it’s not sugar per se that’s the point. It’s a struggle for our people to be united once again, so that we can enjoy all that our country offers.
Enmore reminds us of a golden moment of unity!!
…to civic responsibility??
Your Eyewitness noted that the Private Sector Commission (PSC) announced they were disappointed at the low turnout of voters at the LGE.They said they were encouraging “every citizen to register and exercise their democratic right to participate in Local Government Elections and, importantly, at the next General and Regional Elections.” Now, that’s a very solid observation – but it’s nothing new that LGEs have very low turnouts. That’s always been the case – generally because most folks don’t think it’s the “real thing” – which are general elections to elect the Central Government.
Your Eyewitness really believes we should encourage folks to take Local Government more seriously; cause, in reality, that’s the only way we’re gonna start accepting responsibility for improving our circumstances.
Let the Central Govt deal with the big picture, while we fill in the details of that picture based on our lived experience.
But to encourage residents to vote in LGEs, your Eyewitness suggests that the business community can give workers the day off to vote!!
…the Ukraine counteroffensive??
It’s a truism that the first casualty of war is the truth. So, your Eyewitness takes the news on the Ukraine War with a handful of salt. But, for sure, he knows Russia has secured its “strategic depth”.
