“In Unity There Is Strength” – the motto of the Guyana Tri-State Alliance, truly spoke to the togetherness and camaraderie that was evident at Brooklyn Borough Hall last weekend, when a capacity crowd commemorated Guyana’s 47th Independence Anniversary with an Awards Presentation and Cultural Showcase.
Guyana’s Golden Arrowhead independence awards, New York City Council Proclamations, and Brooklyn Borough Hall Citations were presented to Beverley Drake, Henry E. Muttoo, Muriel Glasgow, Rozanna Beaumount, Romesh D. Kalicharran, Holly Persaud, Allison Skette, and Glen Khan. Special honors were bestowed on Pandit Ramlall, Kenton Kirby and Jared McCallister proclamations. Olympians Aliann Pompey, Jeremy Bascom, and Winston George also received special medals.
Before presenting the expatriates with proclamations, NYC Councilman Mathieu Eugene, in a salute to the Guyanese people, referrlng to them as “a vibrant, diverse community with the power to work together to achieve their goals for success” and, proclaiming himself as Guyanese-born, from the Berbice community, the Haitian-born councilman acknowledged the support to the fraternity from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, adding that he was proud to serve the Caribbean community, and will continue to work for a better community.
Guyanese-born Sandra Chapman, deputy Brooklyn borough president, also thanked the borough president for giving her the opportunity to serve the 2.6 million Brooklynites, noting that 139,000 of them are Guyanese.
Chapman, who received the Guyana Golden Arrowhead Independence plaque from the Alliance, and a proclamation from Councilman Mathieu Eugene, expressed her gratitude, and welcomed the nationals to Borough Hall.
In greetings and words of encouragement from Guyana President Donald Ramotar, M.R. Khan, deputy consul general in New York, reminded Guyanese of May 26, 1966, when independence brought soaring hope and intense pride to the Guyanese people.
“In recognizing this date, we are also acknowledging the great contribution made towards the struggles for freedom and independence of the indentured laborers and their descendants,” the statement added.
Patricia Jordan Langford, president of the Tri-State Alliance, in turn, praised the 21-year-old group by saying: “We are united by our common values and history. Let’s not forget our heritage, but become stronger thorough harmony, perseverance development and growth as one”.
With emcees Bobby Vieira and Tanuja Ragoo at the helm, Pandit Ramlall and Rudy Zaman blessed the evening before the audience enjoyed a stirring dance sequence by Amanda Rambaran Chaliah and group, and a mesmerizing rendition of Celine Dion’s “I’m Your Angel” by 12-year-old Victoria Labban.
The resonant voices of Anthony Alleyne and Christine Williams, accompanied by Dr. Keith Proctor on piano, garnered loud applause as Guyanese reminisced with pride.
Fashions by three of Guyana’s top designers, Roger Gary, Michelle Cole, and Sonia Noel, brought the curtains down on an award-winning celebration.
Members of the Guyana Tri-State Alliance include: Brentnold F.R. Evans, Guyana consul general to New.York; Lynette Marshall, Yvonne Marcus, Phyllis Cort, Rupert Cort, Loraine Edinboro, Indergit Hector, Yvonne Chaliha, Rozanna Beaumont, Mohammed Safie, Anthony Carter, Elizabeth Gonsalves, Beverly Ward, Allison Butters-Grant and Molly Berry.
