Adding Indian Immigration and Independence to holidays' calendar
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY
President Bharrat Jagdeo has tasked Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Reepu Daman Persaud, to establish a special committee of the national assembly to examine the calendar of national holidays with a view to incorporating Indian Immigration Day, May 5, and Independence Day, May 26, in the national holidays' calendar. We asked the men/women-in-the-street to share their views on the proposal. Their comments follow: Nirmala Matadeen- Essequibo housewife: `East Indians came from India and it is a fact that those of us of Indian descent are proud of. In Essequibo we always celebrate Indian Immigration day on May 5, and it is a happy occasion for us because we know we are not without roots. Every Indian should celebrate in his or her own way but the occasion should not necessarily be a national holiday. We Essequibo people do not get holidays because we work even on the national holidays we are supposed to be given. We have to because we are workers in the fishing, rice and generally in the agriculture business. Every day is a working day for us, yet we celebrate when our work is done. When we get official holidays it affects our business many times. Whether we should have a national holiday on Independence Day is another matter. On that I would not comment.' Orin Boyce - self-employed/Government Technical Institute student: `Basically I think we have too many holidays and they hurt me a lot. I have plans to draw and when the holiday comes around it throws me out of rhythm. The holidays are not beneficial because it interferes with the development of the country. I think we have reached the stage where we need to cut down on the number of holidays we now have. We should not let special days go by but organise special observances. We should also look at spending for public holidays because we really cannot afford it. As it relates to national holidays, I do not think we should interfere with any of those. This is a matter of respect. May 26 should remain just another day. We have too many holidays.' Anil Singh - clerk: `I think the country has enough holidays and all the significant days are covered. I do not think that we need holidays to single out any race or ethnic group because we are a Guyanese people and we already have Mashramani during the republic anniversary, which I think is genuinely Guyanese. I think some consideration should be given to Independence Day because it should be remembered as the day we broke ties with the colonial masters which should mean something to us and even if not to us at this time it will mean something to future generations.' Anne Hendricks-Lima: - private sector employee/home-maker: `We, the Amerindians, were the first people to settle in Guyana and if any holiday is to be granted it should be to us and not to mark the arrival of East Indians coming to this part of the world. No, I am not in favour of a holiday on May 5, but for Independence day I would say, yes, certainly.' Marcia James - Critchlow Labour College student: `I think that May 26, is more important as a national holiday because whether the date had no historical significance prior to independence it is now historically the date we got independence. However, I would be against May 5, to mark Indian arrival day when we have so many races in this country. What about the Amerindians? I am of mixed parentage. I am a descendant of Amerindian, African and East Indian background and I would not subscribe to any other observances marking any special race without the Amerindians being granted one.' Marcel Bobb - student: `My belief is that we already have enough holidays and to introduce more at this time would be more than enough. Declaring May 5, and May 26, holidays would just set back the country further in terms of our economic development. Our country is in a poor state and we need to get our act together to move the country forward. I am not racial but I do not think that May 5, is such a significant day to require a national holiday. It cannot be compared to Emancipation Day which marked the freedom of African slaves from the inhumane conditions under which they were forced to exist. In addition, they never asked or volunteered to come to this part of the world. They were forcibly brought here. In relation to May 26, I would say probably, but we already have the republic holiday. Each religion has two with the exception of the Christians which have three. Two more would really be too much.' Netti Goganbosch - nursing tutor/Dutch national: `Because Guyana is a land of may races, I would suggest that the country observe a Guyanese Day or a national day to honour all the races. In Holland we have a holiday, incidentally, on May 5, but it is called the Bevrydingday or Dutch Day, which also marks the beginning of a peaceful era for the country.' Anita Seeraj - housewife: `The first thing that comes to mind is that we have too many holidays. If possible we should cut down on them. We are playing and not working and production is low. Sundays are already public holidays and we as a nation cannot afford the luxury of more holidays.' Philana Memraj - student: `We already have 52 national holidays in Sundays and then we get an additional 14. Can we really afford more national holidays? The country's economy is not up to standard and holidays are not doing anything to improve the economy. We lose out in business. May 5, is an important day but we are a land of six peoples. If government is to grant one holiday to mark the arrival of East Indian immigrants to Guyana then every other race will call for a holiday as well to mark their arrival. It would be difficult to please everyone.' Tony Wilson - mason: `The year has too many holidays. I am a mason and holidays get in the way of my finances. They affect my work programme. Finance, to me, comes first. We cannot afford more holidays. What government should be looking at seriously now is getting rid of some of the holidays because of the time wasting we experience with so many holidays. We got a lot of holidays from Burnham; why should any government want to give us more?'
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