Emancipation Day

Last Friday - August 1 - Guyana celebrated the 174th anniversary of Emancipation which was gained on August 1, 1834. According to the Office of the President, it was then, that full and final freedom was announced for all enslaved Africans throughout the British Caribbean from a system that was described as the most hideous and barbaric of human exploitation (http://opnew.op.gov.gy/).

I was one of thousands who took part in Emancipation Day celebrations at the National Park in Georgetown (http://www.kaieteurnews.com/?p=3983). The celebrations started early in the morning, but Gina and I with her husband went about mid afternoon. Other times that I have visited the National Park is usually to walk the track and to visit the manatees so I enjoyed the hustle - bustle of activity that we experienced before we even reached the gates, including men who walked up the road trying to sell us tickets for $400 when the entrance fee is $300... a version of ticket scalpers I guess that prey on people who are too lazy to wait in a two person line to purchase tickets from a ticket booth who has an endless supply!

The National Park has a stadium, a large track, various grassy fields for picnics or football and cricket games and a random area of buildings that I don't really know what they are used for. The entrance way greeted us with people selling cotton candy (candy floss, oops), straw hats, sunglasses, and the opportunity to get our picture taken on a painted backdrop [for the record, the painted backdrop cracked me up considering some of the beautiful scenery in this country that makes for an even better picture! even in GT].

Before I forget to mention, most people in attendance looked beautiful in their African-inspired fabrics and outfits. I loved when families all wore the same material with a variation in the design of the dress. I couldn't help but take some pictures though not as many as I would have liked!!

The stadium was packed with crowds sitting in the stands and starting to gather in the shade of the stands on the one side. The little stage seemed so far away, but not many people ventured into the sun to get a close look. The VIP tent had the best view, but I don't know the criteria to get a seat under it though I think the prime minister was there for a bit beside the steel pan band. It is a credit to one little boy's dancing skills that as soon as he started a huge crowd of people moved from the safety of the shade into the hot sun to see him move! And boy, could he move!

Around the track closest to the stadium was an assortment of booths selling various tasty food items, local crafts and the equivalent of dollar store finds. I bought a bracelet made of a coconut shell (Mom, trade for mine back?), but laughed with the vendor when the necklaces he was suggesting I buy, I already own!!

We took a trip around the track so that I could introduce Gina and Taylor to my manatee friends who were very social and to just enjoy the beauty of the park, especially the breeze in the shade! We watched a few dance routines in the stadium before calling it a day - not without picking up some cotton candy on the way out!!

The afternoon was young as we left, definitely with more people coming in than going out so much so that we couldn't leave from one gate, but had to exist from another!



More from the President's Office: On this occasion of Emancipation Day that brought freedom to African ancestors, the Government of Guyana is joining with all Guyanese to pay tribute to their heroism and resoluteness in the face of adversity. “Guyanese should think of the suffering and the sacrifice of our African ancestors. Let us on Emancipation Day steadfastly determine to uphold a mutual respect, appreciation, and understanding of each other. Guyana is especially proud of its illustrious mosaic of nationhood, a cultural mosaic that will endure infinitely in this beautiful land that is our home,” the President’s message stated (http://opnew.op.gov.gy/).