“No system of injustice lasts forever!” -First Lady

“No system of injustice lasts forever!”  -First Lady

First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar in offering Emancipation Greetings has reminded Guyanese that ” that no system of injustice lasts forever!”

Mrs. Ramotar said that message is a timeless one which should inspire all.

While offering “heartfelt Emancipation greetings to all Guyanese but especially to Guyanese of African origin for whom this day resonates with so much significance”, the First Lady said the legal abolition of slavery, better known as Emancipation, is a day with special meaning for all colonized peoples but more so for persons of African descent whose ancestors were forcibly removed from their homelands and consigned to a life of servitude.

“Millions of innocent persons were sold into a life of unspeakable indignities, treated as the property of others and forced to work under arduous and demeaning conditions.  Emancipation was a historic act that brought to an end the most abominable system created by humanity. Emancipation represented a victory for all humanity”, the statement said.

The First Lady also noted that while Emancipation did not end the oppression existing under colonialism, it rendered non-existent its most disdainful feature: the treatment of human persons as chattel.

She said “in this way it marked a distinctive break with the past.  In Guyana, it led to the development of a vibrant peasantry laid the foundation for the village movement and prompted the emergence of indentureship when labour shortages resulted on the sugar plantations.  Emancipation represented a defining moment in our country’s history and an important landmark in the epic struggles to end colonial rule and foreign exploitation”

“On this Emancipation Day, I salute the indomitable spirit of all those who resisted the cruel and inhumane system of slavery. Their sacrifices are permanently etched in Guyana’s struggle for national liberation”, Mrs. Ramotar concluded.

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