Arrival Day, designated a national holiday on May 5th, is of tremendous significance to our country and all of its people. It’s a day that brings into focus the invaluable contributions of our ancestors who came to the shores of our dear land from various parts of the world.
It is also a day to commemorate their arrival and monumental achievements. Once again, as we observe this occasion, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) takes this opportunity to extend greetings to all Guyanese, home and abroad. As we commemorate this day, all Guyanese are urged to reflect on the many sacrifices our foreparents made to advance our country and better our lives.
We are urged to recognise that the sacrifices of all our ancestors will be in vain, if those who would divide us are allowed to succeed. After their grueling journeys at various point in our history to arrive here and in spite of the hardships they faced, they were selfless in their efforts to not just build for our betterment, but remained steadfast in ensuring the preservation of the various cultural traditions, which continue to instill values, enrich and shape our lives.
Those deliberate efforts have led to the creation of this multi-cultural and multi-religious society of ours in where there is immense pride in diversity imbuing us all with strength as we share and participate in the various festivals that have come to identify us as a people. Over time, those events have served to strengthened bonds of togetherness among our people.
The sacrifices and achievements of our fore parents will remain a source of inspiration for our collective efforts to build a prosperous and unified nation that is home to all of us. Over the decades, activities to commemorate Arrival Day were held across the country providing opportunities for Guyanese and visitors to interact and experience our rich and diverse cultural traditions.
At this juncture, those customary vibrant and colourful celebrations associated with this day, have been curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are all reminded to observe the related protocols, to be safe and, for those eligible, to get vaccinated.
