There is a need to focus on the cultural aspect of development in order to retain an indigenous identity
Dear Editor,
Election season for village or Toshaos leaders in Guyana is just around the corner, May 2021. Most villages have already received nominations of candidates and these days, Amerindians – and especially those in Moruca, the community oldest and largest in the country – evaluating and campaigning for the leader of their choice to serve for the next three years.
Throughout the campaign, all candidates are bridging the rhetoric of “development” so on this concept I would like to give a brief analysis. However, before I do it, don’t get me wrong – I’m not against development, I only care how leaders in my community plan and implement it, because the development model that community leaders want it for villages these days based on a unilateral system promoted by contemporary society. Conventional development, for example, brings with it the results of a throwback culture where unwanted items such as old cars, old stoves, batteries and solar panels can be seen being disposed of around homes, polluting the environment.
On the flipside, while there are good aspects of this development model, the indigenous global view incorporating the local knowledge and wisdom of elders needs to be incorporated into modernity so as not to lose vital cultural traditions, the elders have been preserved over the years in the community. We have seen the results of this unilateral development where some of our traditional practices have been fading fast including the local Lokono language, which has disappeared as a result of previous leaders who thought such a model was the best to govern by him.
The cultural aspect needs to be developed in order to maintain our indigenous identity as a developing people in the modern world. Furthermore, while this model of development over the years has transformed Santa Rosa, the negatives have far surpassed the positives. There, serious social congestion has emerged, such as exaggerated drugs and alcohol consumption, the rise of juvenile delinquency, the Haves and the majority who do not, and an increasing number of people becoming junk caused by drug and alcohol abuse to name a few in the process of modernity and development.
These social congestion that is happening in my homeland, the “fastest developing” Amerindian community in Guyana calls for a holistic approach to development: this requires a village council well prepared to work in conjunction with stakeholders, for example churches, et cetera, to address the social issues. and providing humanitarian services to the less fortunate and closing in homes in Moruca. In this way, promotion means addressing issues of human and environmental aspects in the community to balance it with material development.
These can be challenging to achieve for leaders, as the current development model promotes individualism, competition and the power of drunk people who are appealing and prone to external pressure. Nevertheless, as Moruca develops in upward mobility, my people should also be promoting an empowerment education program from the grassroots level, vital to maintaining some of the native practices, which are still practicing there . Villagers need to be educated on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which deals with the promotion of indigenous culture and languages. There is also the importance of being educated on the Amerindia Act 2006, to learn how the State has an ambiguous attitude towards indigenous people in Guyana, and also the Mining, Forestry and Environment Acts on which our people need to be educated them.
While development brings services such as roads, education and health etc, it should also mean living happily where there are no crimes and violence, and where everyone is comfortable and employed and able to access higher education. On this note, it would be great if Moruca leaders and people could organize and plan for a better internet service and ultimately seek government assistance to set up online degree programs from the University of Guyana and other foreign universities in the high school in Santa Rosa, so that young people can enjoy the benefits of higher education using modern technology as they contribute to the development of their community.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the present Toshao, Mrs. Whanita Phillips, who worked diligently to promote Santa Rosa during her three-year tenure, and also wished the competing candidates for the leadership of my village good luck, to whoever wins to continue a building where the leader left previously, but with a holistic development approach for Moruca.
Truly,
Morucan [Name provided]