ROC says Ethnic Vibrations 11 only scratches surface
Stabroek News
December 1, 2003
Rights of Children (ROC) says that while Ethnic Vibrations 11, staged two Saturdays ago, proves that sharing and enjoying each other's culture has a real appeal for young Guyanese, it only scratches the service.
"As Guyanese we may need to find many more opportunities for reinforcing the fact that this country is the only place where we belong," ROC asserted in a news release on the event which was held at the Georgetown Cricket Club, Bourda.
ROC also contends: "We have no right to citizenship anywhere else, no matter how much we might wish otherwise. As long as we keep longing to be elsewhere, we will continue to overlook all the richness and potential that we possess."
The release noted that Ethnic Vibrations 11 was well attended and provided a wide cross-section of people especially youths, with an opportunity to celebrate being Guyanese.
A number of patrons dressed in a variety of mixes and matches of ethnic wear and the most creative were awarded prizes at the end of the event.
And music provided by the popular Stereo Sonics featured a range of cultures, while patrons were also able to see saris being wrapped and turbans tied.
The launching of 'Mosaic for Peace and Racial Harmony', an interactive mural, formed the centre-piece of the event, the release stated. The mural consists of a watermark background of the Guyana flag on which is super-imposed the theme of Ethnic Vibrations 11 "One Culture, We Culture". The letters, together with the border of the 16 x 8 ft mural were left blank. The blank letters and border are divided into hundreds of smaller jigsaw-type pieces, each with a number and corresponding pieces of coloured paper. Members of the public were invited to write messages of peace and racial harmony and carefully paste their message in the appropriate place on the mural.
ROC hopes to take the mural onto the streets to be completed during the upcoming holiday season, and subsequently to have it mounted in a significant public place. President Bharrat Jagdeo was among those at the event who added their message of racial unity and cultural diversity to the mural.
In a lively concert, singers, dancers, dramatists and poets showed much commitment to the theme by developing pieces appropriate to racial harmony. ROC members also produced an impromptu fashion show with the participation of the audience displaying creative mixing and matching of ethnic dresses.
And specially designed bandanas promoting racial harmony were sold in large numbers.
Other big attractions included displays of inter-ethnic drumming, writing of names in Chinese letters and the painting of Amerindian motifs on people's faces by Amerindian youths from Region Seven.
A cross-section of visitors and non-Guyanese working in Guyana also supported the event, the release added.