– GAWU Executive Committee member, Gordon Thomas tells Enmore Martyrs gravesite activity
On behalf of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), we are once more pleased to have this opportunity to join in the national observances to commemorate the heroism of the famed Enmore Martyrs. Today, as we, once again, pay homage and our respect to five (5) young men who paid with their lives for their engagement in a struggle for the betterment of their working and living conditions which our colonial masters sustained. As we now they also violently resisted reform. The workers martyrdom, in the ensuing years, served as a catalyst for the many changes that we won in subsequent struggles.
Indeed, the lives of the Enmore Martyrs were snuffed out in one of the just struggles by workers who were made to suffer greatly in the heyday of colonialism in our country. When they began to protest against their atrocious working and living conditions, they were not aware that their protest and struggle would have impelled the plantocracy and the colonial regime to resort to their killing. Since their demise, their deaths have been commemorated yearly, not only for us to remember the past, but for us to be conscious of the exploitative and cruel system that was perpetuated by the plantocracy and for us to be on guard to ensure that the emergence of new forms of oppression of our people are resisted in their early stages.
Since the Martyrdom of the five, the ruthless killings of sugar workers have ceased that is until the death of Kowsilla in 1964 – a courageous woman of Leonora. Indeed, it was so when an account is taken of the killings of the workers at Devonshire Castle, Non Pariel, Friends, Lusignan, Rose Hall, Ruimveldt and Leonara. Between 1872 and June, 1948 a total of 54 sugar workers were gunned down with scores wounded, some maimed or scarred for life.
Indeed, the 1948 Enmore shooting was a turning point. Dr. Cheddi Jagan, at the time a member of the Legislative Council, was a major supporter of the strike. He was deeply disturbed by the shooting to death of the martyrs. In his renowned Book the West on Trial he recorded that at the gravesite of the martyrs, that he made a silent pledge:- “I would dedicate my entire life to the cause of the struggle of the Guyanese people against bondage and exploitation.”
Dr Jagan’s pro-workers agitation and struggle to end colonial rule in Guyana and his mobilization of large sections of the Guyanese people were instrumental in ending the overwhelming power and authority of the plantocracy. This explains the background to the end of the cold blooded shooting of sugar workers.
Sugar Industry
Comrades, as we pay tribute to the Martyrs we cannot ignore the disdainful treatment of the sugar industry and its thousands of employees. It is sad to note that the sugar workers have been shabbily treated and as we well know sugar workers remain the only workers under the State’s umbrella to be denied pay rises since 2015. It is baffling to understand why the sugar workers are being treated so disdainfully. One can only conclude that this is plain eye-pass and blatant discrimination.
At this time too, many of the 7,000 Guyanese who lost their jobs have remained largely hard-pressed. Many of those rendered jobless have been unable to recover from that decision and are facing severe hardships. Interestingly, the Minister of Finance in his 2019 Budget address said the sugar sector “…has huge potential for growth, being pivotal to increasing household incomes, reducing unemployment and, ultimately, lowering the poverty rate”. So if this is really the case, as we believe it is, why did the Government close the estates and create thousands of new poor? Clearly, this further serves to demonstrate the callousness of the decision to minimize the industry.
Comrade, at this time there is apparent confusion surrounding the sugar industry. There is the risk that this lack of clarity could very well threaten efforts to improve the viability of the remaining GuySuCo estates for which the recently announced $30B financing is intended. We repeat there is an urgent need for a workable plan involving the workers and their organizations which will strengthen any and all efforts to attain the desired ends and goals.
We want the industry to succeed as a large number of Guyanese depend on its operations. We have seen the ramifications of the vacuum created by sugar. But, success must involve a collaborative and comprehensive approach. There is no singular magic bullet but hard work, commitment, knowledgable personnel and, of course, a motivated workforce – factors which are critical elements in overcoming the difficulties as we have done time and again.
Conclusion
Comrade Chairman, fellow Guyanese, the Enmore struggle of 1948 represents a historic landmark in our country’s life. It is a stark reminder of our sordid colonial past. It also tells us the story of the indomitable will of our people and the successes that our struggles have borne us. Today, we cannot help but take pride in the heroic stance of that epic struggle of 1948. We continue to remember and pay homage to the Enmore Five who were undaunted and stood up defiantly in defence of their just cause and for a better and decent life. Today, we are the inheritors of the legacy they left us. That legacy will serve us well in our ongoing efforts to safeguard our hard-won freedoms and to ensure the well-being of the masses of our working-people.
Long live the Enmore Martyrs!
Long live the Working Class!
The struggle continues!
