HOLIDAYS - We should have fewer of
them
FOR
over three years now, this nation has been waiting on a
parliamentary committee to come to a decision on whether to
make May 5 (Indian Arrival Day) and May 26 (Independence Day)
as National holidays. Maybe there are serious problems but
before this committee seeks an overseas consultant to help
solve this problem at a rate of over $US 200,000, I want to
offer some free advice.
Holidays in this country are either celebrative or
commemorative, as such we have 13 holidays in 2003, plus a
yearly addition of Independence Day making a total of 14 in a
country, that is placed at the bottom 5 in the Western
hemisphere. These holidays are:
1.
New Year's Day
2.
Republic Day
3.
Eid-ul-Azah
4.
Phagwah
5.
Good Friday
6.
Easter Monday
7.
Labour Day
8.
Youman Nabi
9.
Caribbean Day
10.
Freedom Day
11.
Deepavali
12.
Christmas Day
13.
Boxing Day
This
scenario has a serious colonial outlook. Take, for instance,
every Sunday in the week being a Christian holiday. We
continue this trend today, so if one of our holidays falls on
a Sunday, we give Monday as the holiday. Some years we do have
an extra two or three Mondays as holidays even after 37 years
of Independence.
I want to posit that we can have fewer holidays even
after making May 5 Indian Arrival Day and celebrating May 26
as Independence Day. Let us see where we can cut first. One,
New Year's Day: we should be heading for work or business.
What is celebrative or commemorative about this day?
Two, Eid-ul-Azah: Do Muslims really believe this day
should be a holiday? What about all the immoral un-Islamic
things that over 80% non-Muslims engage in? Do these things
help Islam?
It is quite amazing how religiously Hindus, Muslims and
Christians in Guyana glee in their holidays without taking
into account how these days are being desecrated by non
members of their respective communities.
Three, Why Easter Monday? Jesus' raising was on the
third day, a Sunday, also a Christian holiday.
Four, Caribbean Day: We are already the laughing stock
of the 15-member CARICOM. Only two members of this body
celebrate this day. We should lend this day to developed
Trinidad, Barbados or/and The Bahamas.
Five, Deepavali, a night event, is the most sacred and
scientific occasion for Hindus in Guyana and around the world.
Most preparations for this can be done on non working hours.
Holiday for what may I ask! For men, boys and some women to
get drunk to light diyas?
Six, Boxing Day? Please, the colonials have gone and we
must get rid of their mentality. From this outline, we have
deleted six holidays from 13, leaving us with
seven.
Now, we can safely add another three making it 10:
Indian Arrival Day, Independence Day and Amerindian Day on the
10th September. With 10 yearly holidays, the country can have
more working and business days.
Imagine in our emerging globalized world, overseas
businesses cabling Guyana only to find we are on holiday 13
times and more per year, especially when our holidays fall on
a Sunday and we celebrate or commemorate on the Monday. What
trash! If we take out this Sunday/Monday holiday scenario, we
will definitely have more working and business days per year
because most years two or three of the above holidays will
fall on a Sunday, putting us in line with holidays in other
countries in the developed world. Fewer holidays, more
production and productivity, I hope.
Some may want to jump on the religions and ethnic
question here. I have no doubt that religious people in Guyana
will have no problem giving up all their religious holidays if
they know that by doing so they'll be making this country a
better place to live in. The above takes out one holiday from
each religious group - Hindu, Muslim and
Christian.
On the ethnic question, some have done a good job in
stalling the Indian Arrival Day. They posit that to give one
ethnic group, the Indians, is discriminating because other
ethnic groups also arrived. This is diversionary and I am
surprised that it is succeeding. Let us go to the 1991 census
(last data available) we have the
following:
Indians 358,222 (49.4%)
Africans 257,900 (35.6%)
Amerindians 49,293 (6.8%)
Mixed 51,030 (7%)
Chinese 2,461 (0.3%)
Europeans 4,705 (0.6 %)
Others 217 (0.02%)
From the above we can deduce the
following:
(a)
Indians are in majority 50%
(b) Amerindians are the third largest ethnic group, you
can count all the mixed on the coastland, but not all the
Amerindians in the vast interior.
(c) The Europeans are the Portuguese and the
whites.
(d) The Mixed align themselves more towards one of the
other ethnic groups and is not an established ethnic
group.
(e) Only the Indians, Africans and Amerindians as
ethnic groups have 1% and over of Guyana's population. This is
how I arrived at Indians Arrival Day, Emancipation Day and
Amerindian Day as ethnic holidays.
We
can see that Chinese 0.3%, Europeans 0.6% and others 0.02% don
not present a creditable case for their holidays if indeed
they are calling for such.
I
doubt this, but it is ammunitions for sinister minds. This is
not to devalue the contributions of these groups especially
the Chinese and Portuguese who have done more for this country
in their proportion to the population than any other ethnic
groups. Their contributions can be highlighted yearly in so
many ways other than ethnic holidays. The voting population of
these three groups cannot make a seat in parliament of they
vote as three groups for one ethnic party.
Every
society has yard stick to measure situations, you want to go
to New York, you have to have a U.S visa, want to travel on
BWIA you must have a BW ticket, want t run a democratic
government, you must win an election, want a seat in
Parliament, you must win certain amount of votes, want a wife
you must be potent, want to write you must have data and
ideas.
SHASH SINGH
P.S - the mixed population is decreasing. The
1971 census shows it at 11% while 1991 it is 7%. This is
contrary to what some want us to believe.
