Guyana: 
Guiana (Guyana) is derived from an Amerindian word which means “the land of many waters", it is the only English-speaking country in South America, bounded to the North by the Atlantic Ocean, the South by Brazil and Suriname and to the West by Venezuela and Brazil. The Guyana coast was first ‘discovered’ by Christopher Columbus in 1498, following which the country changed hands many times during battles fought between the Spanish, French,  Dutch and the British; culminating with the latter acquiring the three counties (Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice) in 1814 when the British and Dutch signed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty. In 1831 the three colonies were consolidated into British Guiana and it remained a British colony until its independence on May 26th 1966. On February 23rd 1970 the late Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham declared the country a Republic -- on the anniversary of the first slave rebellion which was led by Cuffy.
Expansion of the British Empire and the legend of the fabled golden city of El Dorado led the first British explorer Sir Walter Raleigh to Guiana in 1595. Even though he only found tiny amounts of gold, Raleigh was convinced that there were huge veins of gold in the mountains of northern South America. There certainly was and is enough gold in the hills of Guyana to support the legend of El Dorado (with gold being one of the country’s main export). Prime Minister Sam Hinds announced on March 10th 2008 that for the first time in the history of the country, revenue from gold had surpassed that of sugar in the previous year 2007. Prior to the Jonestown tragedy in 1978 where more than 900 died in a mass suicide at the behest of their cult leader Jim Jones ‘outsiders’ knew very little about Guyana and where it is situated on a map. Most people believed that it was a country in Africa.
With the importation of slaves and indentured immigrants from Africa, Asia and Europe to work on the plantations, the ethnic makeup of Guyana is very diverse and comprised of six racial groups with the Asians (Indians) comprising the majority, followed by the Africans, Mixed, Amerindians, Europeans and Chinese. Guyana’s politics reflects racial division following the breakup of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in 1957 when Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham left the PPP and formed his own party - The People’s National Congress (PNC). In 1961, the Indian-dominated PPP won elections and Dr. Cheddie Bharat Jagan was sworn in as Prime Minister. He vowed to achieve independence and install a socialist regime, however, the British and American paranoia of the colony possibly becoming another satellite country of the former Soviet Union in the Caribbean region, led them on a destabilization campaign with organized labor unrest (especially among the sugar estate workers). In 1964 the country erupted into a series of racial violence between the Africans and Indians leaving hundreds dead in the aftermath. Following the racial disturbance the first election was held under the electoral system of Proportional Representation. While the PPP won overall (but not with a majority to assume office) the Socialist PNC joined with Peter D'Aguiar’s capitalist right-wing United Force Party to form a majority coalition government. However, this arrangement did not last long once the differences between Burnham and D’Aguiar became more pronounced and the two parties split just before the 1968 general elections.
The PNC remained in power by means of rigged elections until 1991 when pressure from the Carter Center forced the late Desmond Hoyte (who became president following the death of Burnham in 1985) to hold free and fair elections for the first time in more than two decades. Never the less, the spate of racial violence has always reared its ugly head especially during election time. On February 23rd 2002 five prisoners escaped from the Georgetown prison taking up ‘residency’ in the village of Buxton on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) and the surrounding backlands. These escapees referred to themselves as ‘freedom fighters’. Their escape led to a series of violent crimes especially on the ECD where at least nine police officers and eight businessmen were killed in 2002. Recent killings - for example, the April 2006 assassination of Agriculture Minister Satyadeo Sawh and his siblings - have highlighted a growing crime problem which threatens public order. In feb. 2008 within a span of two weeks, the country was rocked by two mass murders at Lusignan and Bartica where 23 people were brutally gunned down in their homes, including five children and three police officers, by a group of bandits whom the authorities claimed were operating out of Buxton.
Current situation - In the 2007/2008 UNDP’s Human Development Report, Guyana is ranked at 97 (out of 177 countries) on the Human Development Index (HDI). This ranking places Guyana in the category of countries with medium human development, which is a slight improvement from the 2006 ranking where it was listed at number 103. This current ranking places Guyana slightly ahead of Jamaica on the HDI scale. In addition, according to the Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal's latest report on Index of Economic Freedom, it is noted that Guyana’s economy is 49.4 per cent free which makes it the world's 136th freest economy (number one being the freest economy). Its overall score is 5 percentage points lower than the previous year and it is the most severe decline among all countries. Guyana is now ranked 26th out of 29 countries in the Americas, and its overall economic freedom score is much lower than the regional average (which is 61.6 per cent). Based on the 2007 Transparency International (which is a global coalition against corruption group), latest report on Corruption Perception Index, out of 179 countries surveyed Guyana is ranked at number 123 (the second lowest among the CARICOM countries, Haiti being ranked at number 177). Number one rank signify countries with the least corruption (Denmark) and number 179 indicating the most corrupt country (Somalia).
For basic facts and figures (CLICK THE ABOVE IMAGE)
Guyana cannot boast of white sandy beaches and crystal clear blue waters, however, the country has an abundance of inland pristine lakes and waterfalls, and the flora and fauna makes it one of the most exotic places in South America for eco-tourism jaunts. Guyana is recognized as an eco-tourist destination in South America boasting one of the largest protected rainforest in the region - the Iwokrama rainforest. Other eco-tourists destinations include Baganara resort and Timberhead rainforest resort. Guyana also has some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world, with The Kaieteur Falls having a single drop of over 700 feet. Kaieteur Falls.
Related links:
The Guyana story
BBC News - Guyana timeline
Index of Economic Freedom 2008 - Guyana
Transparency International 2007
Human Development Report 2007/2008 Country Fact Sheet - Guyana
The Caribbean - US Department of State
Caribbean Islands
Guyana: A country study |
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