Guyana Chronicle New York Edition week ending September 8, 2017
‘Queh queh Nite’ lights up Guyana Folk Festival LAST Friday evening, the auditorium of the St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, New York was transformed into a grand Queh queh, as one of the main events planned for this year’s Guyana Folk Festival. Both the local and Guyanese communities gathered to participate in this African- Guyanese tradition, which has been an annual event of the fest. The Queh queh is a celebration the night before the marriage ceremony of a couple and involves the singing of traditional songs, dancing, eating and drinking.
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The festivity allows the two families the opportunity to become acquainted whilst they share marriage advice to the potential bride and groom. Friday night’s Queh queh kicked off with ‘a ganda’ where the celebrants sprinkled rum on the floor, to invite the spirits of the dead to come and be part of the celebration. This was followed by the greeting song – “Good Night Ay, then by the general invitation to all the visitors attending – “Come to My Queh queh.” The buying of the bridegroom followed with much A woman dances at the Queh queh celebration
A large turnout for Queh queh night at the St Stephens Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, New York
laughter and banter as advice on matrimonial matters was dispensed, and a demand for a demonstration of the couple’s sexual skill as the song “Show Me Yuh Science” was chanted. The evening closed with the departure song “Las Wan, Las Wan”. Friday evening’s festivities saw persons of all ethnic backgrounds participating, including the Karao indigenous troupe who graced the occasion with a cultural dance as they encouraged persons to embrace Guyana’s diverse cultures. “Culture is the framework that defines…
it is the framework for history,” remarked New York State Senator, Kevin Parker, who took time out to attend the function. While Queh queh celebrations are not as popular as they once were, the hosting of a Queh queh night as part of this year’s fest serves as a reminder of Guyana’s rich African cultural roots and traditions. It is the aim of the Guyana Cultural Association of New York to encourage Guyanese at home and abroad to make Queh queh, with its distinctive music and dance, part of their educational and cultural experience. (GINA/DPI)
CHALLENGES TO INTERIOR DEVELOPMENT (from page 23)
highway. With the construction of paved coastal roads, which run parallel with the railway and waterway services, traffic (passenger and goods) was creamed away by the pliable and faster motor vehicles, resulting in “huge loss of revenue” and closure of the railways in 1974. ( Augustin, A.D. & Others, “Report of the Committee which investigated the phasing-out of the Railways”, The Cabinet Committee on Economic Matters, Guyana,1968). Similarly, the Soesdyke-Linden highway made travel to Linden much quicker, resulting in curtailment of the steamer service (RH Carr) up the Demerara river. It also assisted in the growth of social and economic activities along the highway. Today, more than ever, there is an ur-
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gent need for a proper interior transportation system and road/road transport is an important link to interior penetration. The road to Lethem is a critical component in the development process, and requires special attention after many unsuccessful attempts to build to ‘highway’ standards. Also, serious attention must be given to the other roads that link the coastal region to major development projects in the interior that are in progress and/or earmarked. Lethem must not be viewed as merely a commercial center or a port-ofentry for people and goods moving between Guyana and neighboring countries. In keeping with the “Framework” for Guyana Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), Lethem is ideally located to be developed as the first ‘green city’ model in the interior and truly become the ‘gateway to South America’. Lethem should be developed as a major interior city with sustainable economic activities, including tourism, agriculture and manufacturing industries. This would certainly encourage more Guyanese citizens to settle there permanently, and contribute to the further development of the region. At the same time, economic activities must be developed at strategic locations along the highway, so that the indigenous people could benefit from the massive investment in these projects. PLANNING CONSTRAINTS In view of the large investments required and the heavy foreign costs involved
in the development of interior settlements, industries and transport, a careful economic appraisal of the projects/investments is critical, and must be applied to each and every proposed project as it relates to the overall regional and national development plan/ strategy. Today, Guyanese planners are faced with some serious constraints, such as, (1) Feasibility of projects — economic evaluation of interior road projects has shown that it is not economically feasible; (2) Cessation of activities — experience shows that whenever the main activities cease,, e.g., gold, diamond, manganese, bauxite etc., there is a corresponding movement of residents and decline in traffic; (3) Funding — international funding agencies do not readily fund non-economic projects, and the question of financing becomes the main obstacle; (4) Allocation of funds — funds for interior projects would have to be taken from the limited funds needed for economic and social development, including transport in other areas; (5) Technical feasibility — with an accelerated road development program, there is the problem of insufficient manpower, skills, trained professionals, equipment and other resources; (6) Benefits — where the project is not part of a specific development plan, it is difficult to calculate the true benefits. The main purpose of economic appraisal of a project is to measure its economic costs and
benefits from the point of view of the country as a whole, and to determine whether the net benefits are at least as great as those obtainable from other marginal investment opportunities. In dealing with projects in the interior, the government will have to decide whether personal mobility that facilitates improvement in social life – jobs, healthcare, education, etc., justify the investments. CONCLUSION The future development of Guyana’s interior and country in general depends on several factors, such as: growth in population and industries; available resources for investment in developmental projects; government policy on transport and development; sound regional and national development plans/strategy; and acquisition of suitably qualified personnel at every level. The magnitude of development required to justify investment in interior projects (including transport) is not likely to come about through normal growth in the existing economic base. The volumes required will most likely come from large development projects, such as the deep water harbor. Undoubtedly, the existence of proper communication between the coastal region and the interior, and between interior centers, would certainly stimulate interest and encourage settlement. Late development of a system penetrating the interior would defeat national objectives and retard social and economic development of the country.