President apologises for remarks downplaying slavery

…says the “every group” remark did not include Africans

President Irfaan Ali has stated that he was not referring to Africans in his now-famous Arrival Day speech in which he stated that “every group” that came to Guyana “did so for improvement”.

Almost immediately after the President’s speech, many Guyanese — especially those of African descent — were offended given that it is widely known that most Africans were sold into slavery and brought to Guyana and the Caribbean to work on plantations.

In a letter to the President prior to his statement, Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon called on the Head of State to correct his remarks. “Your statement suggests that Africans who were brought here against their will, bound in chains and transported across the Atlantic in subhuman conditions did so for improvement. Nowhere is this recorded as a historical fact,” Harmon pointed out earlier on Thursday.

He added: “It is therefore of utmost importance that as political leaders, we strive to be factual in our assessment of these most profound historical matters as they have direct implications for the cohesion of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society such as ours. Accordingly, I shall be grateful for your earliest correction of these utterances.”

In a release that followed, the President said that contrary to how his message was interpreted, it was not meant to include Africans in the said remark.

“I was not and could not ever have been referring to our African ancestors, who did not come here of their own volition but were captured, brought to our country in chains, and brutally enslaved. Indeed, it is their sacrifice and struggle for freedom and against oppression that should inspire us to continuously secure our freedoms and democracy for a better Guyana,” President Ali said.

He noted his respect for persons of African descent and said that his speech was meant to unite Guyanese and not divide them. He urged Guyanese to move forward in unity even as he iterated that his Arrival Day remarks were not meant to sow division.

He stated: “To my fellow Guyanese who felt offended by the way in which the language was structured, you have my unreserved regret and assurance that the struggles of our enslaved African ancestors would never be understated and unappreciated.  They gave their lives for our freedom and as a nation, we must be forever grateful.”