Celebrating our diversity

Phagwah or Holi is not just a public holiday in Guyana, but like Christmas, it has become an all-Guyana festival. As our newspaper showed, Holi started early in our schools. Our children, some having probably learnt of the significance of the festival from their social studies, engaged in re-enactments of the legend behind Holi, as well as created the kaleidoscope of colours on their bodies and faces that the festival promotes. It appears that our premier school, Queen’s College, led the way in this respect, with children of all backgrounds, ethnicities and religions celebrating this joyous occasion.
And all of this bodes well for the future growth and sustainable development of our country. All studies have shown that one of the factors that are crucial to a country’s progress is an increase in that intangible – social capital. The World Bank says that, “Social capital refers to the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society’s social interactions. Increasing evidence shows that social cohesion is critical for societies to prosper economically and for development to be sustainable. Social capital is not just the sum of the institutions which underpin a society – it is the glue that holds them together.”
To the extent that Holi and other activities serve to make us see ourselves as ‘one people’, social capital is being increased.
If we can play together, then we can work together and progress together. For too long, we have allowed ourselves to be defined by outsiders who look at our differences to create ‘separateness’. Increasingly, however, that is not the Guyanese reality. Our differences are becoming a source of strength because we have a wider repertoire of responses to any given contingency.
Guyana used to be called ‘the land of six peoples’, but that was interpreted by some using the irrelevant criterion of ‘race’ to create caste-like hierarchical strata. Race and its divisions were almost impossible to transcend. However, looking at us as ‘six peoples with different cultures’ changed the ground reality by radically changing our perspectives. Cultures were not immutable: cultures meet and mix and hybridise and coalesce. Each permutation and combination produces something new and wonderful and most importantly, something shared.
And so we return to Holi as a paradigmatic example of this process, starting with our children. Children have no prejudices: have we all not seen nursery schoolchildren at play? It is, therefore, very important that we continue with our programmes in our schools where our children learn about the diverse practices that form our several cultures and simultaneously, our common Guyanese culture. In addition to Holi, the Christian festival of Easter begins with the observation of Good Friday. Many schools also had “Easter programmes”. Just as has happened this week with Guyanese of all backgrounds rubbing powder on each other’s faces, Easter Monday will see those same Guyanese participating in our almost unique Easter activity of ‘kite flying’. Children also have taken the lead and in every neighbourhood, the humming of the kites can be heard.
Guyana is a mosaic of many colours, of many ethnicities – all brought here and kept alive through our faith and forbearance. We must extend the catholicity of views that typify our social relations into other areas of our national life. After the contretemps that followed the last budget presentation, it is our hope that the politicians will take a cue from the bonhomie that has typified the relations of the people and respond to this year’s budget in a more positive vein.
Disagreements we will have – that can never be avoided. But what is critical is the attitude with which we try to settle those disagreements. Holi suggests that we can all come together and make something more vibrant out of the differences we represent. Happy Holi and Easter to all.