CULTURE is a concept that encapsulates the totality of the way of life of a group of people. Key characteristics are manifest in the shared customs, habits, traditions and beliefs that, in combination, impart distinctiveness to any group of people.

Our built heritage, like culture, is inherited from our ancestors and is a visible and often profound tie with our past. These historic areas and their surroundings should be regarded as forming an irreplaceable universal heritage. They should be actively protected against damage of all kinds, particularly damage resulting from unthinking and unsuitable use.

The landmark situated at the eastern end of Brickdam is one of Guyana’s most famous National Monuments, erected to commemorate the achievements of the 1763 Slave Revolt at Plantation Magdelenburg, Berbice. It is an excellent example of our built heritage. Sensitively and imaginatively designed, carefully detailed and constructed of bronze, this monument deserves to be sustained for the benefit of future generations.

When visiting historical sites, local and foreign visitors often go to great extremes to secure a much coveted first hand experience. But it is always necessary that we treat our sites with the greatest of respect. Many visitors to historical sites have an almost compulsive urge to immortalise the moment by inscribing their names through graffiti or even more damaging with knives and other sharp objects that permanently impair the fabric of our history. Others simply plunder the site; taking tokens as souvenirs or, as in the case of the 1763 Monument, climb to a higher level perhaps to have a better view.

Is it that we have no confidence left in our values, our history, our culture? Is it that we have no respect for the heritage of our forefathers? If the cultural heritage represented by historical sites is completely desecrated or destroyed, future generations will be impoverished.