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Grand Market sizzles with Caribbean flavour
By Clifford Stanley
THE Grand Market and the Amerindian Village were declared open yesterday and visitors, exhibits, foods and music alike reflected the regional and international diversity of CARIFESTA X.

The sights ...the sounds.... the foods all provided a feast for the eyes, ears and taste buds for those who flocked the Sophia Exhibition Site of the Grand Market yesterday.

The feast included numerous exhibits of art and craft by Guyanese artisans and by craftsmen in sister CARICOM countries including Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and St Vincent and the Grenadines and the British Virgin Islands.

Some notable local exhibitors were the St Cuthberts Lokono Craft Group which exhibited exquisite pieces of tibisiri craft; the Lady Fraser Art and Craft booth exhibiting three dimensional paintings of aspects of Guyana's landscapes; the Divine Sculptures booth featuring exhibits by Dr Simpson DaSilva comprising of pieces of driftwood with fantastic shapes, the Iron Man roots beverage for men to "to rouse the lion within" and others of garden plants, leathercraft and ceramics.

The international booths within the Sophia auditorium were also impressive to the many browsers.

Some of those offered information about the history and achievements of their respective countries, while others displayed craft items of much aesthetic beauty.

The exhibits displayed by the Trinidadians and Barbadians were among the most outstanding for their layout, beauty and educational nature, while others from the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands and elsewhere were also highly impressive.

The foods on display were mouthwatering, and in every instance were also a reflection of the diversity of the international cuisine made accessible by CARIFESTA X.

Those inclined to eat a lot had at their command a hard-to-resist array of local dishes and dishes from Brazil, Suriname, and Indonesia just to name a few of the national culinary booths which opened up early yesterday.

Just a few dollars away were succulent and aromatic sate chicken and noodles prepared by Indonesians (Aaah!), churasco barbecue bolo de chocolate...,(Ooooh!), pastel pudding and calabresa from Brazil (Aiee! This is too much!), also bamie fried noodles, nasie fried rice, nasie rames, saoto soup and sake from Suriname, all of which could be washed down with a dawit drink, which was also available in jumbo sizes.

These delicacies were available to visitors, some of whom indulged their propensity for "nyaam" against a backdrop of exotic music provided by the Tingumden Band of the Bahamas.

The band of Bahamians provided ‘Rake and Scrape’ and Junkanoo music which are indigenous to their country, as well as popular music.

The opening of the Amerindian village, named ‘Wamlan Pai Kulanau Puna’ in Patamona, or ‘Whirlwind Village’ was another of the many spectacles of colour and gaiety.

The Amerindian delegation from Suriname all dressed in costumes and elaborate feather headdresses attracted a large crowd with their Arawak and Carib welcome songs in the language of those tribes to the accompaniment of thumping sambora drums and rattling maracasses (shack shacks).

Also in attendance at the opening were similarly colourfully bedecked Amerindian delegations from Brazil and Venezuela as well as representatives of Guyana’s nine Indigenous tribes.

The opening of Wamlan Pai Kulanau Puna was attended by Minister of Culture Youth and Sports, Dr Frank Anthony, and Minister within the Ministry of Education, Dr Desrey Fox among other senior government functionaries.

Declaring the village open, Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Ms Pauline Sukhai said that it was a historic occasion which reflected the commitment of the Government to culture as a means of interchange cooperation and social progress.

The opening took place against the backdrop of a varied exhibition of Amerindian art and craft within the main benab.

The Grand Market and the Amerindian Village and all the other local and international booths and local and international musicians and cuisine will be part of a daily feature of CARIFESTA X starting from 11:00am and lasting until midnight until August 30.

Earl Lovelace to lead art discussion Wednesday at Ocean View
By Nathalene DeFreitas
THE Canadian arm of a group called Caribbean and African Self-Reliance International (CASRI) in collaboration with a sister local organisation, Action for Community Transformation (ACT) will be hosting a Carifesta Dialogue entitled ‘Art, the Artists and Community Transformation’ at the Ocean View Hotel on Wednesday.

Renowned novelist, playwright and highly acclaimed Caribbean short-story writer Earl Lovelace will lead the dynamic panel at the event among other artists, such as Barbadian novelist, Austin Clarke.

During an interview with the Chronicle, International Director of CASRI, Mr. Franklyn Harvey said that at a previous forum, both artists and community leaders called for the creation of space to maintain dialogue between artists and community leaders and to involve in a collaborative effort to better shape communities.

According to Mr. Harvey, the dialogue is the in keeping with the belief that artists play a vital role in the self-definition of people and in shaping their society.

Writer Earl Lovelace highlighted the fact that the idea of the dialogue is for the community leaders to be more conscious in art, which would give them more confidence to transform in the community. Lovelace reiterated that art must not be taken for granted, since it is about consciousness.

Though the CASRI/ACT National Dialogue is not a part of the programme of events organised by the Carifesta Secretariat, it is being launched during the celebration of CARIFESTA X in Guyana and the theme is in keeping with the purpose and spirit of CARIFESTA X.

The objective of the dialogue is to develop a wider understanding of issues and challenges as well as opportunities; to provide the space to shape and articulate directions for change; to strengthen and expand citizen’s engagement and participatory democracy in general; and to act as a catalyst for communities of people to mobilise and organise themselves to define and change their communities.

The Carifesta dialogue is being launched as an ongoing national dialogue in Guyana and the Caribbean. Guyanese and other Caribbean artists from various disciplines of art, who will be attending Carifesta, will be invited to engage with community leaders and activists.

The dialogue, though semi-structured, will be informal and flexible. There will be thoughts by a guest and four to five panel of artists, an open session of questions, comments and discussion, open space dialogue by artistic discipline, exchange and sharing in plenary, and open dialogue by artists and other participants.

Mr. Harvey noted that the organisation is committed to the Carifesta dialogue and will do what is necessary to make it a success. They are however asking that the Carifesta Secretariat and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, support the dialogue and assist in making it a success.

Earl Lovelace, who will lead the panel, was born in Toco, Trinidad in 1935 and grew up in Tobago. He studied in the United States at Howard University, Washington (1966-7) and received his MA in English from Johns Hopkins University in 1974.

In 1980 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and spent that year at the University of Iowa. After teaching at a number of other American universities, Lovelace returned to Trinidad in 1982, where he now lives and writes, teaching at the University of the West Indies. A collection of his plays, Jestina's Calypso and Other Plays, was published in 1984.

His first novel, While Gods Are Falling, was published in 1965 and won the British Petroleum Independence Literary Award. It was followed by The Schoolmaster (1968), about the impact of the arrival of a new teacher in a remote community. His third novel, The Dragon Can't Dance (1979), regarded by many critics as his best work, describes the rejuvenating effects of carnival on the inhabitants of a slum on the outskirts of Port of Spain. In The Wine of Astonishment (1982) he examines popular religion through the story of a member of the Baptist Church in a rural village. His most recent novel, Salt, was published in 1996 and won the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) in 1997. Set in Trinidad, the book explores the legacy of colonialism and slavery and the problems still faced by the country through the story of Alford George, a teacher turned politician.

As a Canadian writer born and raised in Barbados, Austin Clarke has been able to explore the difficult lives of Caribbean immigrants in Toronto from a unique perspective. His ninth novel, The Polished Hoe, won the Giller Prize for fiction in 2002, and the Regional Commonwealth Prize for best book in 2003. Clarke has published numerous collections of short stories including Choosing his Coffin: the best stories of Austin Clark (2003). In 1999 he was awarded the W.O. Mitchell Prize for producing an outstanding body of work and the Rogers Communication Writers Trust Prize (1998).

VYC annual summer camp
Five glorious weeks of sheer fun
By Clifford Stanley
MEMBERS of the local private sector collaborated with the Volunteer Youth Corps (VYC) and the Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention Programme (GHARP) to stage a five-week summer camp of fun and educational activities for more than 100 children between the ages of four to 17.

The programme was held at the VYC Centre at D’Urban Backlands under the theme ‘Heroes and Mentors’, while participants were drawn from around the city, the East Coast and East Bank, the West Coast and the West Bank.

Coordinator, Robin Lewis said participants were from the organisation’s orphans and vulnerable children and literacy and numeracy programmes.
The camp ended two Thursdays ago with a lively programme of song, poetry, dance and drama by the beneficiaries.

The five-week event was free of cost to the participants, thanks to the support of USAID/GHARP, some members of the private sector and individuals.

Those who assisted were the Continental Group of Companies, NT Computec, Mings Products and Services Limited, Mrs. Philomena Sahoye-Shury, Merriman’s Funeral Home, and Austins Book Services.

Lewis said that a unique feature of the programme had been visits to the kids by prominent Guyanese personalities in the legal and medical professions and in arts and sports.

Such visitors included Ramnaresh Sarwan, Tamika Marshall, Cleon Cadogan, Natasha Grovesner, Amanda Peters, Joy Wilson, Dr. Parkinson, Amanza Desir, Bevon Gordon and Jermaine Jackson among others.

The visits and interactions of children and role models were aimed at aiding career guidance.

Said Lewis: “We encouraged them to look up to these prominent Guyanese as heroes and mentors with the hope that their interactions with such high achievers would make a lasting impression on their minds and encourage them to strive for excellence in their chosen fields of endeavour.

The five week programme for the children included training in Phonics, Social Studies, Mathematics, Information Technology and Arts and Crafts and tours to the museum, the zoo, and Banks DIH Limited.

They also participated in a basketball clinic and a CARIFESTA X dance programme.

Each child was given a Certificate of Participation during the closing exercise.

VYC Programme Manager Suzanne French disclosed that the Corps is a voluntary, non-government and not-for-profit organisation made up of young people between the ages of 18 – 35, who seek to improve the lives of children and youth, while championing the cause of the economic, health and social sectors in Guyana.

She disclosed that the ‘Heroes and Mentors’ idea was developed to maintain VYC’s Mission of contributing positively to the development of children and youth.

“In the summer programme, attention was focused on highlighting key life skills and offering encouragement to the children in order to reduce the chances of them becoming involved in high risks behaviour.”

She disclosed that the programme was the fourth one held by the VYC for such children.

She however lamented the fact that it may have been the last such one since funds had run out.

Use edutainment to help solve problems
- Dr Frank Anthony to region’s youths
MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, is actively encouraging the use of edutainment among Regional youths as a means of challenging the difficult issues that they face.

Speaking yesterday at the opening ceremony of a symposium on the subject, defined in some quarters as the use of entertainment as an educational tool, Dr Anthony reportedly cited the success of the use of edutainment in the drive to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS, suggesting that other challenges such as teenage pregnancy, youth empowerment, unemployment and substance abuse could well benefit from a similar approach.

According to a release from the CARICOM Secretariat, the minister, who was tasked with declaring the meeting open, was of the opinion that young people are not the cause of the problem as some would like to think, but rather the solution as they have within them the drive and ideas necessary to make it happen.

He urged those youths present at the caucus to use the forum to share best practices in edutainment, and to see it as an opportunity to perfect their techniques and to arrive at a Caribbean position to present to the World Edutainment Conference scheduled for New Delhi, India next year.

The one-day symposium, held at the International Convention Centre, Liliendaal, just outside Georgetown, was a collaborative effort of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the President’s Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG) programme.

Among its objectives were:

* To bring all Caribbean edutainment groups together in Guyana for the first Caribbean Edutainment Conference

* To discuss the status of edutainment in the Region; share best practices; and chart the future development of the Caribbean Edutainment Art forms.

* To discuss the impact of edutainment on the HIV/AIDS epidemic and how the lessons learned can be applied to other issues confronting the Caribbean society.

* To create a database of edutainment performers and organisations around the Caribbean.

* To foster greater awareness among participants of the social issues that negatively affect the development of the Caribbean region; and

* To discuss the extent to which edutainment can be used to highlight the social issues affecting youths and effect positive behaviour change.

Speaking also at the opening ceremony was the director of the UNFPA sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean, Mr. Harold Robinson, who told the gathering that they should use the success of the young Caribbean athletes at the Beijing Olympiad as an example of what hard work and commitment could achieve.

Noting that the Caribbean athletes were a fine example of the potential that lies within the youths of the region, Mr. Robinson said that that potential cried out for inclusion in the planning and execution of programmes for attaining sustainable development in the Region.

He said edutainment had shown the way with respect to presenting information in a manner appealing to young people, and urged that the art forms should be used to address the concerns related to sustainable development.

The programme began with song, dance, poetry and drama performed by the Region’s youth including a stirring performance by Lisa Paul, the young Guyanese singer who performs the CARIFESTA theme song.

Participants at the conference were drawn from The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

WONDERFUL NEW IMAGE
- won in Beijing by Jamaican heroes
By Rickey Singh
JAMAICANS ARE celebrating a new image of their country inscribed in gold and silver by the amazing, record-breaking victories of their athletes at the Beijing Olympics.

Too long burdened with the horrible reputation of a ‘killing field’ for armed criminals, Jamaica has now skyrocketed into international fame as a world power in track and field sport.

Usain (‘Lightning’) Bolt has suddenly become a name to remember across continents as the world's new fastest runner, secured with gold medals for his stunning record performances in the 100 and 200 meters.

What positive vibes, what inspiration he and the courageous, talented, trio of record-breaking female athletes – Veronica Campbell-Brown, Kerron Stewart and Melanie Walker have brought to more than the citizens of this Caribbean nation long depressed by the vicious, bloody face of criminality.

The notoriety of the criminal enterprise, the gunmen, the violence of drugs-related gangs that are so much regular features of local/regional media reports, have been forced out of the headlines in favour of showcasing what this nation is capable of achieving when ordinary Jamaicans discipline themselves and prepare to take on the world at the Olympic Games.

Traditionally, the Caribbean country to have most dominated the gold and silver medal row of winners at the Olympics has been Cuba with Jamaica and, to a lesser extent Trinidad and Tobago also doing well. For the 2008 Olympic Games Jamaican athletes have to date proven to be the major medal winners of the Greater Caribbean.

CARICOM Secretary General, Edwin Carrington, may well have expressed a region-wide sentiment when in extending congratulations last Wednesday to Usain Bolt, he said:

"The Community takes great pride in this feat which underlines the capability of our region to compete with and surpass the best in the world..."

For his part, Prime Minister Bruce Golding, whose government has established a bi-partisan national committee to plan celebrations and honours for the Jamaica heroes of the Beijing Olympics, was noting with pride in an official media statement:

"Our athletes continue to do well as they dominate the Beijing Olympic Games and demonstrate the indomitable Jamaican spirit. This drive to achieve is part of all of us as Jamaicans...

"That drive to be ahead of the pack has impacted on our 'Reggae Boyz' who drew one-all with Canada in their first World Cup qualifying match. What an outstanding week this has been for Jamaica..."

In Bolt's defence
Outstanding indeed, and all peoples of the Caribbean and the world salute the Jamaican achievements. As the Barbados Daily Nation had noted in its editorial of last Tuesday on ‘The World's Happiness with Jamaica’:

"Dance and wave, all Jamaica. The world is smiling with you for the gold and silver medals won...These Olympic victories would have come as good therapy for a Caribbean Community state that has for far too long been suffering the pain and shame of the hurtful, ugly image inflicted by the armed criminals, the drug dealers, gun-runners and the ferocious gangs..."

As assessed by the 'Nation', the achievements of the Jamaican athletes in Beijing “would serve to remind the Caribbean and the world that located in this beautiful Caribbean land of Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh and other famous icons, are sons and daughters capable of bursting onto the world stage with the stamina, the skills, the heroism to help bury the sickening image spawned by a degrading culture of drugs and guns..."

Meanwhile, widening criticisms are emerging against the comment by the International Olympic Committee's President Jacques Rogge, for his public rebuke of Usain Bolt for what he considered poor, uncaring behaviour towards fellow athletes by failing to acknowledge their performances following his victories in both the 100 and 200 meters races.

Rogge feels that Bolt should have shaken hands with his competitors, in the spirit of the Games, instead of completely ignoring them.

However, Frankie Fredericks, head of the IOC's Athletes Commission, in defending Bolt's attitude as not being any deliberate attempt to snub his competitors, argues: "You can't tell a guy who has run 9.69 seconds how to react.”

The former sprinter from Namibia has argued that it may also have been Bolt's way of expressing himself to say, “I have done something no one else has done...”

And at home, Jamaica's Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Karl Samuda, in objecting to the Rogge's criticism of Bolt, said: "Bolt was simply reacting in a manner that is representative of the Jamaican spirit and culture."

The Missile Defence Scam
By Gwynne Dyer
CYNICISM and hypocrisy are always part of international politics, but in the case of Poland and the anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs), everybody is over-fulfilling their norm. Nobody involved in the controversy, Polish, Russian or American, believes a single word they are saying about this misbegotten missile defence system, whose principal characteristic is that it doesn't work -- never has, and probably never will. And yet we're all expected to report what they say as if it mattered.

Washington insists that the ABMs are being put into Poland to protect the United States and its allies from Iran's long-range ballistic missiles (which do not exist) tipped with nuclear warheads (which Iran doesn't have either). Yet, after months when US-Polish talks on the subject were stalled, suddenly last Wednesday Warsaw agreed to provide a base for the ‘missile defence system’ -- because it would infuriate the Russians.

The Poles, who are anxious about Russia's intentions in light of recent events in Georgia, want to send a signal of defiance to Moscow and get a permanent American military base of some kind on their soil.

They're not worried about non-existent Iranian missiles -- and if they do occasionally worry about very real Russian missiles, they are not so foolish as to believe that this American missile defence system would actually protect them. It doesn't work.

So, why are the Russians so upset about all this?

Why did General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian general staff, publicly warn Poland last week that hosting the American interceptors could make it the target for a nuclear strike?

Don't the Russians know they don't work?

Of course they do, but the Russian military, like any professional military force, need a dramatic foreign threat to justify their demands on Russia's resources, and for that purely political purpose, the American missiles work fine. Russian strategists claim that this system is actually intended to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles, and so undermine Russia's ability to deter an American attack by destroying its ability to strike back.

It's nonsense, of course. Even if the American ABMs did work as advertised, ten launchers on Poland's Baltic coast are not going to make much difference given Russia's 848 long-range ballistic missiles, including hundreds that can be launched from submarines that are much closer to the US than the interceptors in Poland. The Russians are only pretending to be worried about the ABMs in Poland, although they

are seriously annoyed by US military bases there.

The symbolic importance of the US opening a new military base so close to Russia in the midst of the diplomatic confrontation over Georgia is clear to everybody, and Moscow is reacting to that. Even so, to threaten a nuclear strike against Poland sounds a bit extreme -- except that in reality, it doesn't mean a thing, and everybody knows that, too.

Poland is already a target for nuclear strikes in the most improbable event of a Russian-American nuclear war. Everybody in the American-led NATO alliance is. Yet they don't lose much sleep over it, because such a war is so very unlikely. General Nogovitsyn didn't announce a new policy; he just spoke more frankly than usual about a permanent reality, in the hope of intimidating the more naive sections of the Polish population.

It would make about as much sense militarily if this mini-crisis were about the basing of a crack American team of kung fu dancers in Poland. The new American missile defence base in Poland gives all the interested parties a way to make their political points, while having no serious strategic importance whatever. But why has the United States spent between $120 billion and $150 billion on this ludicrous white elephant of a system since President Ronald Reagan first launched the ‘Star Wars’ project in 1983?

Precisely because ever since 1983, the missile defense project has provided American senators, congressmen and presidents with the opportunity to pour enormous amounts of money into the pockets of defence industry, in return for much smaller but politically vital campaign contributions by those same companies. The technology can never be made cost-effective, but the project is impossible to kill because so many politicians benefit from it.

How can we know that the technology will never be cost-effective?

Because, even if the technology could finally be made to work to specifications, the whole notion of ballistic missile defence is ridiculous. It will always be ten to a hundred times cheaper to evade the ABM defences by adding decoys and other ‘penetration aids’ to the incoming warheads, making them manoeuvrable, etc, than it is to upgrade the performance of the interceptors.

That performance, after a quarter-century's work, is so poor that only two out of the last five tests worked. And those tests are rigged in the ABM system's favour, with the defenders knowing the incoming missile's type, trajectory and destination. In more recent tests, they have used no decoys at all, in an attempt to get the hit rate up. And yet they have deployed the system anyway, first in Alaska and now in Poland.

This is fantasy strategy in the service of the military-industrial complex, and no strategist in the know takes it seriously. But it does allow the owner to make quite impressive symbolic gestures, albeit rather expensive ones.

THE ACT OF PACIFICATION
LETHAL WEAPON, OR USEFUL TOOL
By Ronald Hudson
Chairman – Friends For A Violence-Free Guyana
A GOOD start is to understand the word pacification, coming from the verb pacify, which means to bring or to restore to a state of peace, or tranquility, calm, and quietness.

There are people of peace, and those who love nothing more but chaos and confusion. According to the Book of Psalms in the Holy Bible, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace”(Psalms37:37) On the contrary, Proverbs 16 Verse 28 says, “A forward man sows strife: and a whisperer separates chief friends.”

In decades past, intimidation and hostilities characterised some of our leaders whom God allowed to continue living, but have shown no sign of repentance and remorse. It continues to be that it is either their way or no way. Pushing, accusing, attacking, intimidating, and terrorising seem to be the only way forward.

Suspicions, isolations, and ostracisation seem to be the only means for policy making and governance. They must match rhetoric for rhetoric. The ‘tit-for-tat’ behaviour must be displayed. I usually guard myself against opening up old wounds against the backdrop of “those who forget the past are usually condemned to repeat the same.” On the premise of both, I launched my objective-constructive message.

Back in the 1980s, I recalled being packed into these TATA buses like sardines. Waking up at 4:00pm, hoping sometimes to be packed like sardines to make it to Central High School in Georgetown, disappointed sometimes watching the buses passing full. As a boy travelling from Meten-Meer-Zorg, on the West Coast of Demerara, I was determined not to take a transfer from Georgetown to a lesser school on the West Coast Demerara.

Many mornings, my mother had little or nothing to give me to eat to go to school, yet I cannot recall ever thinking about kicking down doors or committing acts of terrorism to justify my hardship.

I recalled vividly when King Moshoeshoe from Africa was visiting Guyana and all the buses had to go to the airport to take those that will welcome him, that there were no buses to take us home even though we had already paid for that through a contract. Myself and five others walked from Vreed-en-hoop to my home village, and others went as far as Tuschen. Weary, hungry, and tired, we never complained, or lived bitter against anyone. Instead, it was for us an adventure that we so boasted of the following day. These days, any form of hardship is somebody’s fault, the blame game begins, and it is time to run for the presidency. I think I should run for the presidency too, because I am not getting the kind of support I need. Just kidding.

Those who are thirsty and hungry for shared governance had their chance to prove themselves; they proved themselves badly. They made a mess of Guyana, so much so that we are still the mocking stock of the Caribbean. The contempt for Guyanese in the Caribbean and other parts of the world is far from being removed. I am fed-up of having to answer one of these stinking questions about my country every time I am in one of these Caribbean islands.

Guyana is experiencing a brand new kind of leadership; young leaders who have taken a fresh look at themselves and at this country’s state; leadership that has consolidated itself with zeal, blended with sound knowledge, and a vision beyond the shores of this country. The deep-seated ideology of the past has no place in the heart of these leaders. Tyranny and threats have lost their sting. Guyana is on the threshold of transformation. Nothing, or no-one, must be allowed to torpedo this new day.

Those who seek potential partnership in national development must do so on the basis of good intention, and evidencing the facts that attach to it. National reconciliation must be based upon recognition of past brutal and cruel behaviours, and a genuine repentance of such. Mistrust created must be removed, and the attitude of bullying must be sent on an eternal vacation. Then, and only then, is the possibility of Guyana moving gloriously forward and all are able to exercise some measure of power and enjoy the prosperity we all deserve.

Anything that falls short of the above becomes a lethal weapon in the hands of the political bullies.

Many of our parents have produced, with much patience, sons and daughters that are today valuable treasures rather than vicious threats to our society. The onslaughts, financial and otherwise (like when it was illegal to have milk & flour in your possession), the fear of speaking for your rights, and against the wrongs did not discourage them. They continued in spite of the challenges, and today, Guyana benefits greatly from their patience and perseverance.

Many of the so-called preachers had not the guts to so proclaim the word of God against such. Today, they shrewdly capitalise on the act of pacification and national reconciliation, without ever repenting of their evil tolerance, and of the acts of their parents in supporting merciless regimes that turned Guyana into a slum.

Those who seek peace and political stability must do so wisely. So wisely that we do not take what is Caesar’s and give it to God, and take what is God’s and give to Caesar, lest we strengthen the hands of those who wish us ill.

The act of pacification undoubtedly has rippling effects. Those who, with a change of heart, will be to us like morning dew, like refreshing water in a torching desert, those who are hell-bent on doing it the old way, will continue to be a thorn in our sides.

Pacification will not work on those with a twisted, diabolic ideology. The nation of Israel is aware that no peace deal with Hamas and Islamic Jihad is possible. They are hell-bent on destroying Israel. Violent extremist movements such as Al-Qaeda and other Islamic fundamentalists are determined to cause mayhem around the world. No amount of pacification will work on these people. Where pacification was used only opened the door for greater and more serious repercussions.

Joseph, who was made governor of Egypt, ensured that his brothers who betrayed him, attempted to kill him before finally selling him into slavery, had a change of heart and attitude before he made them part of his kingdom.

It is written in the book of Job of the Bible that “Great men are not always wise…”

In a leader’s quest for peace and national unity he can make wrong decisions in the face of realities. Pacifications will either produce “unity in the dark” with lurking political, social, and economic implications or long term stability and prosperity.

The decisions today will both enhance our image and increase our ability to further develop our nation or bring into questions our leaders true intentions and their ability to tackle the crimes, violence and other challenges facing us.
Appeasement - it does not always work.
God Bless Guyana.

Perspectives
CARIFESTA MAKING THE CARIBBEAN A NATION OF LIVING CULTURES
By Prem Misir
CARIFESTA is here! And last Friday evening, Guyana staged the opening ceremony of CARIFESTA after a 36-year absence. For me, CARIFESTA is about understanding each person’s culture and appreciating those cultures, essential ingredients for national unity.

The first item at the opening ceremony, the Parade of Nations, truly was picturesque, faithfully depicting a diversity of cultures, giving us a sense of some equal coexistence of our collective cultures. CARIFESTA is about culture and bonding.

Culture is about our way of life. But even today, I am struggling to come to grips with what Caribbean culture is, or should be. The then President of Guyana, Linden Forbes Burnham, in opening remarks at the Artists and Writers’ Conference in 1970, mandated each member to seek answers to these questions:

“What do I mean by the Caribbean? What may I call the culture or sub-culture of the Caribbean? Is a cultural revolution taking place? What is this ‘cultural revolution’ which we all accept as being necessary? How do I bring it to fruition? These questions are for you to answer; this is your field of expertise.” (Andrew Salkey, 1972)

And I can add other questions to figure out the notion of Caribbean culture: What is this ‘one’ culture? Who or what determines what goes into the ‘one’ culture? Would ‘one’ culture not create ethnic dominance? What is ‘common’ culture? Should we have a national culture?

The answers to these questions would help us to have a sense of belonging, having an investment in the country in which we live. But without genuine answers to these questions, confusion will rule the roost in any government’s attempt to realise national cohesiveness; and then the talk about national unity will be empty rhetoric.

I think it is clear that Guyanese are part of a larger community, due to the presence of common organisations in areas as education, the economic system, the political system, health, the legal system, etc; and Guyanese involvement in these common organisations helps them to create and relate to a ‘Guyanese’ culture. But this is just the starting point for constructing national cohesiveness, as Abraham would argue.

And so, policies and programmes of national unity, at the beginning, can be directed toward this ‘Guyanese’ culture, but these may have to be programmes and policies that recognise the existence of different cultures. Professor Norman Girvan endorses this point when he asserts:

“The reality is diversity, and surely this it is to be welcomed, indeed, celebrated. It would be a boring Caribbean indeed if we were all the same. For the same reason, I believe it is mistaken to think of creating a specific Caribbean identity by means of something called ‘cultural integration’. Indeed, it might even be dangerous, for this lofty ideal begs the question of integration into what, on whose terms, and who will be the arbiter of what constitutes the integral Caribbean culture. Would it not be far more sensible to speak of cultural understanding, interaction and exchange; of mutual respect for, and tolerance of, cultural differences; and of the practice of cultural compromise and consensus?” Girvan speaks out against ethnic dominance in the forging of national unity.

And President Bharrat Jagdeo, at the opening ceremony of CARIFESTA X 2008, noted: “In returning home, CARIFESTA has moved from being a Caribbean renaissance from the 1970s to a source of empowerment, pride, and a more confident establishment of identity.” This stage of empowerment tells us that we are ready to consolidate a Caribbean identity.

There are important lessons here for developing multicultural societies, in terms of how not to create a national culture and national unity. No culture should be left behind in building national cohesiveness. And for me, CARIFESTA is a constant reminder to us all to recognise and appreciate each other’s culture.

The Jagdeo Initiative
A mother’s legacy of love
By Parvati Persaud-Edwards
THE Jagdeo Initiative on agriculture did not emerge out of a vacuum but evolved from a childhood where he witnessed his industrious mother help feed the family and augment the family income with produce from her kitchen garden.

It is very likely he also helped her and knows first-hand that food you grow yourself is fresher, tastier, and if grown organically, healthier.

Our ancestors came to these shores because of agriculture. The indigenous people lived off the land. When our fore-parents left the sugar estates, they subsisted on produce from their farms, and they thrived.

The bounties of the earth produced the income to educate the first batch of doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. Certainly Dr Jagan’s parents had their own kitchen garden.

Schools need to introduce into their curriculum a dynamic agricultural programme. This can achieve several things as follows: Provide income for the respective schools; encourage and inculcate in children an appreciation and a love for farming as part of a skills development programme; and introduce a dynamic that would see