"On this 164th anniversary of freedom, we must ... recognise those who struggled for over two hundred years to end the system of slavery. ..[This] is also an opportunity to recognise the tremendous contributions made by Guyanese of African descent in all areas of ...national development." So said President Bharrat Jagdeo in his message to mark the anniversary of Guyana's Emancipation Day celebrations.
According to the President, our ancestors' courageous rebellion marked a historic moment as the first successful slave rebellion before it was brutally and ruthlessly smashed. It was also, he noted, the precursor for the Haitian rebellion that resulted in the first free state led by black people in 1801.
This desire to have a say in their development and betterment, and the resulting focus on collectivity was matched by a preoccupation with education as the key to advancement, as reflected by the sizable number of people who dedicated their lives to teaching and the development of the educational system before and after independence.
The President stated that, as a nation "we should seize ...this moment of the anniversary of Emancipation and our 36th anniversary of our Independence to not only revisit and share in the ... tribulations of the past but to reaffirm our resolve to consolidate the gains of freedom and to build our ... democracy." He also stated that there is a need to recognise that Emancipation was an ongoing process that began with the abolition of slavery but has no finite date as we work together towards creating a society "in which all are equal and all can share equally as we face tremendous challenges ... as a small developing nation." According to the President, it was a national imperative that we emulate the greatness of our ancestors and collectively advance the cause of our national development.