Easter celebration is meant to commemorate the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ, which development, marks the very anchor of Christianity. It shows the acknowledgement and appreciation of the sacrifices of Jesus and his eventual triumph over the devil for the salvation of man.
Ordinarily, the celebration of this auspicious milestone on the Christian calendar is characterized by church festivities and kite flying because of its great significance. However, as fate will rather have it, we are, today, not in ordinary times. The world, as we all know, is currently facing the biggest threat to the survival of man in many decades and centuries following the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19, which has, so far, claimed more than two million human lives globally with tens of millions of infections and counting. Similarly, the pandemic has had an incalculable debilitating impact on the global economy and for that matter on the general livelihood of people all over the world.
The situation in Guyana, unfortunately, is not any different from this global malaise as we continue to record rising cases of COVID-19. We nonetheless recognize the active efforts to bring the situation under control and to advance the vaccination efforts. We note the efforts which we believe will redound to all Guyanese. We urge Guyanese too to heed the warnings and advice of health officials and seek to ensure that their celebrations are safe.
As we consider our present-day situation, the enduring message of Easter remains relevant. It reminds us, to some extent, of the challenges Christ and his disciplines faced in their times and the adversities they would have eventually overcome. It is a story of perseverance and the will of people to confront those who seek to thwart what they stood for despite the tall obstacles put in their way. It is also a reminder that even the darkest of periods are only but a period and eventually that will soon pass. Indeed, we are confident, like in times before, as peoples have been gripped by one crisis or the other, we again will overcome and persevere, and we will become stronger and better for it all.
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), at this time, extends Easter Greetings to all Guyanese and more especially to members of our Christian Community, both here and around the world, on this most event of the Christian Calendar. For the members of the Christian Community, the Easter story represents the fulfilment of God’s Prophecy that mankind would be offered the hope of eternal life through the sacrificial death of His son, Jesus Christ and His subsequent Resurrection from the dead. It is this faith which has kept the worldwide Christian Church alive and enabled its followers to significantly contribute towards making the earth a better place for all mankind.