Work commences on 1823 Monument despite protests

Construction work on the 1823 Monument has started and is being built in honour of the slaves who were killed during the revolt. This is despite calls to have the monument erected at the Parade Ground, opposite the Promenade Gardens. The site that has been selected for the monument is located on Carifesta Avenue, opposite the Guyana Defence Force ground. It will serve as a base for the monument and a garden site.
When Guyana Times International visited the area on Sunday, several construction workers were on site. Equipment and other materials have already been delivered, including stones and sand. Works are moving swiftly at the site. The land is already being levelled and a layer of concrete is being applied. The contract for the construction of the 1823 Monument base was awarded to Nabi Construction.
However, the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) have supported calls for the monument to be erected at Parade Ground, Georgetown.
A group opposing the construction on Friday explained the monument should be placed at the Parade Ground, instead of the current construction site. The group is arguing that several slaves were killed on Parade Ground, and recalled that a sod turning ceremony for the construction of the monument was held there on August1, 2000.
The group consists of the All African Guyanese Council, the African Cultural and Development Association, the Pan-African Movement (Guyana branch), the African Welfare Council, the Guyana United Apostolic Mystical Council, the Forum for The Temples of Ka’Ma’atic Spirituality, the Division of History at the University of Guyana, the Ghana Day Committee, The Committee For The Promotion Of The Decade Of The People Of African Descent, the Guyana Trades Union Congress, the Independence Group, the Kingdom of Descendants of Africans and the People’s Parliament.
However, after considering accessibility, visibility and land space, Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony said it was decided that the monument would be erected at Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown. Dr Anthony said if the monument is erected at Parade Ground, it will affect the playground and basketball court there. He explained that while thousands of slaves did take part in the rebellion, less than 30 were actually executed at the ground. Instead, the slaves were killed in various places along the East Coast of Demerara, while their bodies were moved from plantation to plantation to be displayed.
Dr Anthony pointed out that the location selected, near the seawalls, is a solid link to the East Coast locations, since all persons using the corridor would view it during their journey.
However, the opposition is contending that there was no consultation with the African organisations of the location on the proposed monument, and insinuated that a ceremony held at the ground in 2000 was a declaration of erecting the monument on that site.
In 2011, which was the International Year of Persons of African Descent, several announcements and advertisements were made nationally, calling for responses and suggestions in relation to the monument and its possible location.
But there was no response. Subsequently, the ministry went ahead, and after visiting all the locations where incidents took place and slaves were killed during the revolt,   the decision was finally taken to place it at the seawall site.
The 1823 Monument was sculpted by Ivor Thom after he had won the free and open competition organised by the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry. This monument will be erected in recognition of the historic August 1823 Revolt by enslaved Africans, which occurred on the East Coast of Demerara. They worked on the sugar plantations, revolted against their enslavement and were killed.