Guyana: el presidente Ramotar insta a preservar la cultura amerindia durante una festividad cultural
Amerindian Heritage Month Launched – President Ramotar urges preservation of the Amerindian culture
Deolatchmie Ramotar, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Amerinidan Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai, other member of the Cabinet, members of the Diplomatic Corp and many persons from the various Amerindian tribes.
Delivering the feature address at the opening, President Ramotar implored the indigenous peoples to reflect on their accomplishments as Guyana’s native people and utilise their resources to preserve their now threatened culture. “The only way we can develop indigenous culture is by preserving the language,” the President posited, asserting the urgency to revive traditional language. “Language is extremely important to our culture,” he stated, expounding that it is inter- changeable and that losing a language is “losing a large part of culture,” exhorted the President
He charged the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs to “do all’ that is possible in order to ensure the preservation of the Amerindian culture, suggesting that tribal language be recorded and practiced. “To preserve the culture we must get it into writing. We need to advance ourselves and our nation while at the same time you should use and learn from other culture so that we can develop the one Guyanese culture that we are striving for,” he stated, adding
The President reflected on educational and health development in far-reaching indigenous areas, relating that Guyana has achieved universal primary education in the hinterland regions, and also is set to soon receive widespread secondary education in these areas. He expounded that there have also been discussions with the University of Guyana to initiate online degree programmes. “So that you can sit in Waramadong or any part of Guyana and have a university degree,” Ramotar said, promising to continue granting land titles to Amerindians and ensuring that they are not left behind as Guyana evolves into modernisation. He pointed out that 90 villages have already been
their children about their culture and then give them the chance to learn. “There are two things we can give our children. We can give them roots. Let them learn their culture, let them know where they are f
“We must give them wings to fly so that they can realise their own aspirations. “We can’t love them and hold them back,” the President declared, charging the people to build a country which all Guyanese can be proud of.
Meanwhile, Amerindian Affairs Minster, Ms. Pauline Sukhai posited that the preservation of the Amerindian Culture can only be done through the people’s willingness. “It is overwhelming obvious that transferring traditions and heritage have not been pronounced however the change can only realized by the willingness of the people,” she asserted, adding that as the country moves forward indigenous people ‘need not to remain stuck in the past,’ but should confront it. “Culture is not static it is dynamic and subjected to transitioning as shifts in the environment occurs,”
She further urged the people not be complacent and appealed to indigenous leaders, youths and elders to ensure that “our culture heritage is firmly placed on the Village Council Agenda.”
The Minister stated that her Ministry has remained supportive of the indigenous people’s efforts to recapture what ‘they believe’ is culturally important. She added that the reflection every September demonstrates how far Amerindians have come.
