Persons of Guyanese origin should value their history

Dear Editor,
It is very advisable that Guyanese indeed safeguard the country’s monuments and sites, since these form part of the country’s history. I have a few things to highlight and I hope that the value of these can be built upon.
Firstly, I wish that the public become more aware of Guyana’s National Museum. It was established in 1853 and was officially opened to the public on February 13, 1868.
Since its inception, it was under the purview of the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry. Time alone suggests to me that much more should really be on display at this museum. After all, the mandate of the Guyana National Museum is to preserve and display objects of natural history, science and technology.  Every time I go down Main Street, I see sculpturing and carving skills to the ‘max’. I wish that a few of our leaders would think of some ways to utilise these good and skilful hardworking people. I used to cut pictures of cricketers and paste them into old note books. I had a system too – country, batsmen, bowlers etc.
So how about assigning some of these talented street artists to something like this? These would make for a great display at our museum. It will definitely boost tourism. When people come to Guyana, if our various sites and objects can tell our history, then it will really communicate a strong message.
We have a galore of places set aside for educational exhibits: Guyana National Museum, Walter Roth National Museum of Anthropology, National Gallery of Art in Castellani House, Museum of African Heritage and more. The list of these says that work can be non-stop for quite a spell.
With reference to Fort Nassau, many would never go to that location in Berbice, but a miniature of this in our museum can suffice.
Fort Nassau was the capital of the colony of Berbice and was located some 88 kilometres (55 miles) upstream the Berbice River. The original fort was burnt by the French when they attacked Berbice in 1712. A new fort was subsequently built, which was burnt in 1763 by then Berbice Governor Van Hoogenheim, to prevent it from going to the slaves.
In 1999, the Guyanese government declared the remains of Fort Nassau a National Monument. Recently, efforts have been started to preserve the fort.
It is also nice to know that International Day for Monuments and Sites is hosted each year by the National Trust of Guyana, but more should be done in terms of awareness. The theme for this year’s observances is “Heritage of Education” and I believe that the emphasis must run for the entire year.
Yours respectfully,
Faith Heyliger