30 July 2026
By Staff Reporter
Ambassador Michael Brotherson, Consul General of Guyana, and Staff of the Consulate;
Members of the Caribbean Consular Corps;
Distinguished invited guests of the State and City of New York
Fellow Guyanese, especially our AfricanGuyanese brothers and sisters
Friends, All
I crave your indulgence before going further into my remarks to acknowledge that we are meeting at a time when our country has experienced the worst maritime disaster in recent history. It is a time of immense pain and agony.
H.E President Mohamed Irfaan Ali has announced the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry and that all necessary assistance will be provided to the survivors and grieving families.
I extend my condolences to the relatives and loved ones of those who perished, recognizing that words cannot heal the deep sorrow they are enduring and will continue to endure.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we meet again to commemorate Emancipation Day, which represented the end of slavery in Guyana. This time it is the 188th anniversary.
As I extend Emancipation greetings to everyone, I especially greet our African Guyanese sisters and brothers.
Your mere presence here today demonstrates the strength and determination of your ancestors.They live through you.
We must also never forget that that the emancipation fought for by our African ancestors also ensured that no other group of Guyanese was enslaved.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Commemorations such as these allow us to reflect on the horrors and depravity of slavery,and our African forebears who endured it.
We would never be able to fully imagine their inhumane journey across the Atlantic where 20% of them died before even completing the journey.
Our African Guyanese brothers and sisters are the only Guyanese whose ancestors suffered a deliberate and forceful erasure of their way of life, language and culture, all while being made to work for free for over 200 years.
Both the atrocities committed and the durationfor which it continued, make slavery the greatest crime against humanity.
It is for this reason, that the unfinished business of reparation must be addressed, as the effects of slavery run deep in our societies across the Caribbean.
Reparations is not about asking for “free money”, it is about justice and this is what we seek.
Some leaders of countries, and others, that havebenefitted from the profitable business of slavery have expressed apologies. We welcome this development but apologizing is just a first step.
The Caribbean started this journey in the call for reparations. Today we are encouraged that Africa is also now playing an instrumental role in the fight for reparations.
On March 26th this year – the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade – Ghana, authorized by the African Union, put forward a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly declaring the enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity and called for reparatory justice.
The resolution was adopted with 123 countries voting for it. However, 3 countries voted against and 52 abstained.
Guyana voted for the resolution of course and we will continue to advocate with our Caribbean brothers and sisters for reparatory justice.
We have also advocated for the Second International Decade for People of African Descent, which started on 1 January 2025, and for strengthening the program of action, including reparatory justice.
Guyana and other Caribbean countries have no illusions about the challenges that may be encountered in the fight for reparation.
But we must not give up.
We must take example from our African ancestors, even as we seek justice in their name,
As we celebrate Emancipation Day and the strength, grit and resilience of our African ancestors, let us recall that they were not fazed by the many unsuccessful attempts to free themselves.
They continued to fight for freedom.
Cuffy’s rebellion in 1763 was not successful but it laid an important foundation for emancipation.
Damon rose up against the slave masters in 1834 and paid the ultimate price.
Let us pay tribute to them, and to Quamina, and the many others whose names we will never know.
Let us also reflect on the fact that as Guyanese, we are a determined and resilient people. We are a people that overcame, considering ourcollective history of Indigenous genocide, slavery and indentureship and that we broke the bonds of colonialism to be an independent country.
We still have our challenges as many developing countries do, but today we are in a better position to advance our development, given our improved financial situation. This is our focus.
Yet, the richness of a country is not in its natural resources, it is its people. There are countries that have developed without any natural resources but through leadership and the hard work of the people.
The beauty and richness of Guyana also lie in our people – the diversity of our colours and culture, our history, and so much more.
Let us use our diversity and our collective resilience, to do good – to unite, to build a better, stronger and greater Guyana, regardless of where we may live – at home or in the diaspora.
As we recall the atrocity of slavery and the triumph of our African ancestors, let usremember their suffering and contributions, andthat of our other forebears, and re-committogether to the building of a Guyana where we move forward together; a Guyana where we all thrive, and where those in vulnerable situations are not left behind.
Happy Emancipation Day in advance!
