I'm from Lethem, I'm an Afro Amerindian mix. Lethem is an Amerindian majority town where many of them are dual citizens of Guyana and Brazil. There are some of the older generations who dont speak any English only the language of their tribe. Almost all of the younger generations speak both English and Portuguese but not their native languages. Aside from the recent Venezuelan migrants no one speak Spanish. I would argue that Lethem and the surrounding areas are more connected to Brazil than Venezuela because many of them have relatives over there.
What an incredibly intimate look at the interior! You’ve gotta be the only person on RUclips going to these super remote places - loving this series so far!
So many inaccuracies. There was no African political party. What are you trying to achieve?You are attempting to distort and change Guyana's History. Anyway, you are not the first to try that. Do you really understand and know the characteristics of a dictator??.
You have certainly captured the essence of that period of time of my beloved country. Thank you for making it, and I look forward to the next episode...
@Kayyoumali Do he didnt. He has no clue what hes writing / talking about. He has absolutely no knowledge of the country, besides what he read. All be did was mentioned top level varbage / waffling. But doesn't know what really when on or the context behind some of the stuff of what happened. All Burnham did was put put into place PPP /Jagan policies which was the same in both parties. Both Burnham and Jagan were socialist and started out from the PPP, the same party.
And they are fully supporting the dictatorship now. The theft of oil monies, sugarcane workers mention, land theft, what about the killings of many activists. They are supporting the politicians pocketing the revenues and not allows the citizens to benefit so America can get what they want.
This is what travel is about. Truly understanding a country. I found your channel last year when i was doing research on sri lanka before going there. Just awesome content. Keep travelling and researching. I have no words for the quality of your movies. Insane
This series is so exceptionally good, man. The history mixed with your own footage format is ingenious, and your footage and narration is just incredibly well done. You seem to have an incredible talent for finding remote places and interesting folks who live there, and putting it to film in the most interesting way possible. And you don't ham it up, you just let the subject speak for itself. I am looking forward to going through your whole backlog.
Wow. As a Jamaican watching this hearing him talk about bitta cassava and sweet cassava. It shows how similar we are while being so different. Thank you for sharing.
Funny fact is that Africans tend to think cassava is African but it’s our thing, that requires a hours long process developed thousands of years ago by indigenous people of America.
This "documentary" is what you get when you allow a relatively uninformed outsider to tell your story. Regarding the claim that there was no infrastructure; the British left a functional railway system that ran from Rossignol to Georgetown on the East Coast, and from Vreed-en-hoop to Parika on the West Coast. I know because I rode those trains many times. The Burnham government decided to scrap the railway around 1971 and replaced it with cheap Tata buses imported from India. The buses all fell apart within about 6 months but by that time the railway lines were being ripped up and the locomotives given to several African countries. If my memory is correct some steam engines went to Zambia where they might still be in operation. Then the 1973 Arab oil embargo occurred and Guyana did not have the foreign exchange to import food or fuel; the government was forced into taking loans from agencies like the IMF and World Bank, and countries like Trinidad. This is a major fact that's never mentioned in this "documentary."
You brought up some valid point. Even though I was born way after the time you speak of, his details are quiet inaccurate. He may have put it over so eloquently and to be persuasive but Alex did not get the facts.
@suddie1215 you mean the railway was sold, and the money went into a dictator pocket. The current Guyana Govt needs to publish all documents pertaining to the railways, leaving Guyana.
@StevenBiko1 A black sleuth dog that never stops barking ,that is the effect one gets when one drinks Congo pump tree leaves for tea ,and eating black pudding sadly no brain development to have a meaningful discussion or mabie one of those that the Guyana Govt pay to raise as a child because of single mother help from social services ministries.
I really enjoyed watching this video! The mixture between telling Guayanas history and showing yourself actually getting to know the country in person is just perfect! Now i'm subscribed, keep up the good work!
You ignorant people ought to learned your history. If you haven’t by now you still have the slavery mentality. There are hundreds of documentations on how America and England put Burnham in power and banned all food products, yet his home had all these things. Burnham told the Guyanese people he would do anything even sell his soul to be in power. I was maybe six years went the bombs were falling. I can still hear the bombs falling up to present. Not a nice sight for a little child.
You have your info incorrect. Guyana was under sanctions from 1970 to 1992 by the us government, for its role and contributions to the African liberation struggles against apartheid. This is what is responsible for its economic woes and hardships during the PNC administration. Guyana was under colonial dictatorship for more than four hundred years, where its indigenous peoples and Africans were enslaved for more than 400 years. During slavery some of the world's worst atrocities were committed against the enslaved. Slavery ended in the eighteen hundreds and was followed by indentured servitude, which ended in the late eighteen hundreds. Free Africans were barred from buying fertile and prime lands but were sold over priced barren waste land and drainage reserve land, which was deliberately flooded at crop time to destabilize the free Africans, and to force them off the lands. While the indentured servants were given free arable lands for farming and for housing. Guyana didn't experience any development from the end of indentured servitude to Guyana's independence. However, after independence, the new government built over a hundred thousand houses all over Guyana. Free school from nursery to university. Free text books from nursery to university. Free school meals. Free or subsidized transportation for school children. Free school uniform for school children. Hundreds of millions of dollars in loans for farming and home ownership. And the list of achievements goes on and on. Now what the colonizers did wasn't a dictatorship? But the rapid development we achieved is a dictatorship? Make that make sense
That part you mentioned with Guyana under sanctions because of it's role and contributions to the African liberation struggles against apartheid is misleading. Guyana around the early 1970s up to around 1985 was enveloped in communism so it's no surprise it was sanctioned. You also forgot to add the ban on food stuff and tampering ballot boxes during elections as well as tampering with free speech and individual freedom for its citizens. Guyana did have developments going on before its independence, such as the eradication of malaria and the construction of the sea wall which was completed in the 1950's, Railway lines which have since been discontinued in the 1970's and which were among the first in South America. Guyana's anonymity on the world stage is an asset that it's politicians exploit. For all the talk of Guyana's development I don't see the expats now living in the UK, USA, Canada, and other countries in any hurry to resettle there permanently. There was a mass migration in the mid 1970's and 1980's. This was all thanks to nationalization and rapid deterioration and a lack of transparency of public services amongst other things. You only have to visit Guyana and learn it's history to know that.Otherwise people will just give a biased opinion of the country by default. That's not my opinion, that's a fact. And there are many books to support this. Also it's all well and good to have political independence but in Guyana's case it was badly mismanaged with the effects of mismanagement still felt by it's citizens to the present day.
You are spreading false and misleading information. You can not argue with the truth and facts. The sea wall, as part of the sea defense, was built by Africans slaves to drain the area that is now known as Georgetown, under the Dutch. Sanctions are what destabilize and destroy Guyana. Guyana gained independence in 1966 and was left with a crumbling infrastructure. Our
Our antiquated and outdated utilities, namely the Guyana Telecommunications company, Guyana Electricity company, and Guyana Water Authority, were operating at a huge loss and were subsidized because of the high operational costs. The British Railway company stopped the railway operations in Guyana because the government refused to subsidize a failing company. So they took back the carriages, leaving the rail behind, but were charging a huge tariff on something that Guyanese weren't using. So, the government asked the company to remove it. When we fight against enslavement and colonization, we are deemed dictators and loosers. The enslavers and colonizers are the victors. Who gave you a colonizer permission to comment inaccurately on our history? Who are you trying to fool? Leaving our freedom fighters and ancestors alone, Mr. Racist. Or I am going to ask RUclips to have your content removed because of it's Racist attack against my ancestor.
@ralojnr2329 I'm not fooling anyone. That credit is due entirely to you. Antiquated and outdated by today standards ? Yes. You called me 'Mr.Racist and a 'Colonizer' when I clearly stated two points. First, I stated that it was good to have independence, so your accusation of being a 'colonizer' is null. I also stated that you" have to visit Guyana and learn its history. Otherwise, people will just give a biased opinion of the country by default." I guess in your head that makes me a racist and a colonizer without taking the time to reason properly. You side stepped me stating that the rigging of elections and tampering with ballot boxes and tampering with free speech and individual freedom of its citizens, and then have the nerve to say I'm commenting inaccurately on Guyana's history and make threats to report my comment while giving your own comment a like. The rigging of elections was done by the PNC and is accurate and true. I will attach a link to prove this. You're free to report me. You have my genuine encouragement to do so. Just remember that RUclips will read the comments that you and I have had. You also side stepped the fact that mass migration occurred in the mid 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Again, this is a fact, and there is information such as books and other sources of information that verify this. In fact, there's an area in New York, for example, called 'Little Guyana'. Understand that people don't migrate for fun or on a whim. They migrate for opportunities and a better way of life and, in this case, without oppression. Again, there are books that speak about Guyana's mass migration. You also sidestepped the ban on food stuffs which is true. The government at that time let down it's own people who had high hopes for their country and caused a massive brain drain. I suggest you read 'Beware my brother Forbes', an article written by Jessie Burnham (i.e., the former president's sister) and sweeting bitter sugar by Clem Seecharan chapter 31 in particular. Again, these are facts. Here is a video pertaining to the rigging of elections in 1973. There's also one for 1968, which you can look up if you're interested in verifying what I'm talking about or maybe you'll look to report those videos as inaccurate,racist and colonist as they don't suit the narrative you have. m.ruclips.net/video/G5I8-j1fyGg/видео.html&pp=ygUVUG5jIHJpZ2dlZCBlbGVjdGlvbnMg
I see you have deleted my earlier reply. that says a lot about how interpret things and have a complete disregard for information unless it suits your narrative. Anyone that objects is deemed a racist and colonizer. You sidestepped alot of things.
I love your videos my man! The mix of travel and history on your channel add depth you don’t get often. Keep it up. Looking forward to seeing what you make!
I just watched these three Guyana videos back to back. They are incredible! Our work in television news and have done so for over 25 years, and this is some of the best reporting I’ve ever seen. I can hardly wait for the next one.
Now this is entertainment, I'm all for it! Exploring the country and showing people places not commonly known, amamzing job you've earned yourself a sub
So glad to see a new upload in this series! I enjoyed the first two Guianas videos so much and loved learning even more through this video. I hope that the boom in views your first video saw can carry over to this one as you and these videos absolutely deserve the viewership
Currently binging your series on my country, and man, I've gotta say the journalism is amazing.
8 месяцев назад+18
love the video production and visuals of Guyana and its beauty. Your respect of the people and their cultures is wonderful and heartwarming especially from tourists. Additionally, the story of LFS Burnham while a small glimpse of the dictator is refreshing to be publicised. Many denies the atrocities and hardly anyone ever mentions it (likely most wanna forget it while others were 'fortunate' and/or propagandised), but I have heard so many stories from my grandparents and elders. The Ballot Box Martyrs is one of the many stories in the fight for a free Guyana.
Under Burnham many must never forget the Wismar massacre that took place in the 1960s. I was living in Guyana as a young child when that happened. I met many Guyanese over the years and some believe that's in the past but it should not be forgotten because it happened two times again in modern times. Guyana is a beautiful country and I think the Government in power is doing an excellent job
Guyana was basically the reverse of Uganda. When will people learn about mutual respect co-operation? I'm sure the US & India will their claws into Guyana to extract its share of the cheap oil. I hope the leaders of Guyana can begin with housing the poor, building up hospitals around the country, educating its people in engineering, construction, health sciences, farming, etc. to establish a self-sufficient, vibrant state. As I've seen the first construction projects are to house the American subcontractors & staff of Oil companies with luxurious seaside apartments & private schools etc for their civilian needs. So round 1 lost. Good luck, as inequality & family squabbles will increase as the petrodollars flow in.
How can you compare Guyana and Uganda two completly different situations. Guyana is made up of people that were imported in while Uganda has it's native population, You are Tamil are you Indian? then let's look at India who have caste systems and people like black African descendants Siddis in India and Sri Lanka who are basically not even apart of Indian and Sri Lankan society they are completely outcasted look in the mirror before accusing Uganda of anything. It's India that's ranked the most racist country not Uganda
Though we think the Guyanas are different from the rest of South America, the end of this episode reveals the opposite: The cassava, mango, papaya and their techniques to remove the poison from the poisonous cassava to make tapioca for example.. this is where we are connected, by nature! We are all from the same land, so we are at least connected by agriculture. I'd love to visit Guyana, specially Annai. Love from Brazil.
After Guyana's independence the poor became poorer. Women were queuing up to buy food to feed their families and most times after queuing up in the sweltering heat, they were told that there was no foodstuffs. Yet the rich were getting what they needed through bribery. I am a Guyanese living in 🇬🇧. I worked and exported foodstuffs to my relatives. The barrels were often opened and items went missing. I am now happy to know that Guyanese are living in a little luxury due to the discovery of oil. The President of Guyana is doing a wonderful job. Wish I was still living in Guyana.
PPl are still struggling in guyana....alot. Maybe you should take a trip and see what is really happening. A selected few friends and family are living the life of luxury due to the discovery of oil.
Thanks guys, trying to get out videos as fast as I can while also writing and researching upcoming projects. There will be much more regular uploads starting in around October I think
@@Lost_in_Context it’s honestly no rush man! we sincerely appreciate it! the quality over quantity approach is so worth it! i enjoy watching your videos so much, after i found your first video on guyana i went back and watched so many of your videos including your entire series on sri lanka! thank so much man, keep up the great work! we’ll be here whenever the uploads come regardless!
@@Lost_in_Contextdefinitely appreciate your thoroughness! These videos are so important especially for our future generations. A lot of our people don’t know the history of Guyana especially those who live abroad. Please take your time getting these videos out - Quality over quantity. Sending love and appreciation from NY!
Guyana is an incredible country .i am so glad i was borned in the best country in the world with so many adventures. I may be a canadian but guyana will always hold a special place in my heart.
This covers a lot of heavy topics, thank you for taking the time to focus on the good parts of the modern land of Guyana- the stop in Michelle's island, local football, and the Annai visit show the beauty.
Yes unfortunately alot of topics that he has no clue about and should not be writing about. A white guy from literally the opposite side of the world, making videos about the internal politics of a country he never know existed
I'm really enjoying these videos with the great combination of history and travelogue. Have to say, seeing Adam with a smart phone in his hand was interesting. We would love to know about how connected every day Guyanans are with the outside world.
@@Lost_in_Context Thanks Alex. I was surprised at Adam and his smart phone due to how remote You indicated the people on the interior were. Having service to support a smart phone surprised me a bit given that description. Thanks for the follow up. Looking forward to the next video in the series. Thank you!
They aren't tribes living with no outside contact lol. It's just that due to poor roads and distance they are a bit disconnected from resources but they all have phones, access to Internet, they get supplies from Brazil or when they go into a city, etc.
Thanks so much ! I read a book years ago called 'Journey to Nowhere' by Shiva Naipaul about the Jonestown catastrophe. A lot of the book dealt with the Forbes Burnham dictatorship and got me really interested in the subject. But finding further info about it was extremely difficult. Even with the internet there wasn't much to go on so this video was a real feast ! It's about time the Burnhamite nastiness has come to light.
The rupununi uprising was a blood bath my Grandfather was in charge of the police station at the time Five police officers - this included the constables James McKenzie, William Norton, Michael Kendall, Sergeant James Anderson and Inspector Whittington Braithwaite - along with two civilians, Victor Hernandez and Thomas James, were killed
❤awesome video many thank you ,,i learn so much from this . I left since the 80s.. love to visit places i never knew .. im happy you ar3 enjoy their culture and history.. 🥂 cheers and happy new year 🎆
Really, under president Linden Forbes Samson Burnham it was a dictatorship. Do you even know what a dictatorship is . For your information we are not AFRO GUYANESE or African descendants. We are aboriginal American Indians.
Hi, I just travelled this stretch of road this summer. Great memories! Spent 29 hours from Lethem to Georgetown. Got stuck in the car for the night, and at the ferry dock the next day, I remember some other passengers telling me it would take another 12 hours to reach the capital. Got there at midnight, which wasn't the most pleasant experience. Hopefully, the road conditions is set to improve massively in the coming years. Apparently, it will only take 6 hours to cross the country when the new road is done. A huge improvement for the country, but I will never forget the dirt road adventure that this journey was.
the numbers are although exagerated: the British brought a few thousand Africans and later a few thousand Indians, not hundred thousands. The population later naturally increased in Guayana by people having many children, but still is below one million.
These two videos about Guyana are so interesting. Especially the political history. I had no idea it was as complex as it was with Cheddi Jagan and Burnham. I learned a lot tonight. African American from San Antonio, Texas.
Sir from the onset he starts telling lies about Mr. Burnham, have a chat with me or anyone who is not influenced by the racist Indian PPP government, I'm Guyanese, old enough to recognize the inaccuracies. I'm glad I'm very much aware of my country's history too.
@mrchris6684 Yes, reason why head is spells with an "A" instead of letter "H, and 32 is a greater number than 33."Have a good day that much for extremely educated.😂😂😂😂
Forbes Burnham of Guyana was not the only Caribbean leader to sport the Nationalist / Marxist-Leninist hat in the Caricom region during the latter half of 20th century. Different hybrid versions of this political ideology was adopted with various degree of influence across the Caribbean. In Grenada under Maurice Bishop, Dominica under Patrick John, Antigua under Lester Bird, Trinidad & Tobago under Dr. Eric Williams, Jamaica under Michael Manley, St. Vincent and the Grenadines under Milton Cato and of course Haiti under father and son Francois and Jean-claude Duvalier who cleverly straddled the Democrat-Communist fence to America's chagrin.
In fact, MANY of these men were actually classmates at the post-graduate level! However they varied in methods. Manley was much more a democratic socialist, than a communist dictator, in fact he went very centrist liberal in his later career.
Your documentary on the Guianas has been so helpful for work and my research. I truly hope you can finish the series and go this deep with Suriname and French Guiana. Not much reliable and complete information is available.
@4:30 Cooperative Republic meant that the 6 races would now be “one” ❤ They were to cooperate and live as “one people ” No race would be superior. ❤ One People ❤ One Nation ❤ One Destiny ❤
Same thing have been done in Sri Lanka by Indian slave labours who were brought by british , portuguese ,dutch and then immediately their slave labours outnumbered the native people in Sri lanka .
@@Lost_in_Context And its not your job to tell. A foreigner from the opposite side of the world shouldn't be making videos on the EXTREMELY COMPLEX INTERNAL POLITICAL STORY of a country they know nothing about
Flour was never a ban item in Guyana. Let me educate you. In 1967 the Guyana Government made an agreement with NAMILCO to mill flour in Guyana. In 1969 NAMILCO started its operation successfully with wheat provided under the PL 480 Title 1 and Title 3 programs and Section 416 (b). Under these programs the US Government through the USDA provided the wheat to the Government of Guyana. NAMILCO purchased that wheat at market prices from the Guyana Government and milled it into flour. In 1982 the US government ended the pl 480 agreement with Guyana. So all imported food items that was under that agreement now had to be purchased with hard currency, US dollars. But remember that Guyana was under sanctions and didn't have access to it's own assets including foreign exchange. All Guyana's assets were frozen under the US and European sanctions. So it's not that these food items were bad, but restricted due sanctions. Now you come with your false narrative, defending your evil ancestors and defaming our heroes. We survived 400 plus years of genocide and in recent times 20 plus years of sanctions. Now here we go again. You the colonizer agent stirring up trouble. Stop being deceitful with your false narratives.
So Burnham was acting like a dictator (after being gifted the country), lead to people fleeing the country as he wanted to make it a raced based society and stoked the flames of violence and you want to blame the "colonizers" instead of reflecting on the legacy Burnham left us? Come on now. Why would the US after installing him and supporting end that support?
@@mikhailv67tv He's travel video guy and an outsider from Australia / New Zealand making a video about a very complex political period of history, about a very complex country he has absolute no clue about. This is why people shouldn't be writing on things they are clueless about.
I was young when Burnham was President. My mother is Amerindian and Chinese, man we ate cassava and breadfruit in each which way to can use it. He banned the import of all food items. I hate breadfruit to this day and I am in my 50s. My younger uncles had to shipped out of Guyana because the dead swat would constantly be at my grandmother's house looking for them because they were always having meetings planning to overthrow Burnham. If you were a young man those were some very uncertain times getting picked up and beaten up. People disappeared and were killed.
Amerindians eat cassava on a daily basis in the jungles of Guyana 🇬🇾, with uncleaned ,unseasoned meats currently to this present day. What is your point, that’s your culture, traditions and customs.
So what's happening in Guyana now what is going on with this administration, the British and Americans did the same to Guyana what they also did to Africa and so many resourceful nations
If you want to know the truth and facts on today's Guyana. Burnham died 40 years ago, we had 6 PPP presidents since and 1 coalition in 2015 after they were run out of office before their 5 years by a paid PPP operative in the Coalition.
I think this was so enjoyable to watch and thank you for continuing the education about Guyana 🇬🇾. I also though think that it is important to recognise that those of us who were not around will not know why people such as Burnham really behaved in the way that they did.
356, an elephant 🐘 born in Africa and taken to, let's say Guyana or China, will give birth to nothing but elephants. Burnham was, therefore, African ethnically, his ancestors having been captured, brought to Guyana (BritishGuiana) and ENslaved. Having been born in Guyana, Burnham was a Guyanese African by reason of birth. Not unlike, let's say, East Indians, Chinese, Europeans, etc., all of whom retained their ancestral appellations despite leaving their motherland hundreds of years ago, Africans have also retained their "Africanness". Burnham - and Guyanese Africans - are no different 😮😢😅
@justsaying4303 Afro is a contraction of African; Indo is a contraction of Indian; Chino is a contraction of Chinese; Euro is a contraction (or shortening) of European, "Guy" is a contraction of Guyana, as in Guysoco, and so forth. In acceptable standard English, one should say, Guyanese Europeans and not European-Guyanese, the United States creole dialect. Similarly, one says, "white" man and not man white, in standard English. However, in many romance languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, Romanian, the adjective takes a post nominal position: man white, king black, etc.
@wyndhl8309 Bad analogy, an elephant is an elephant wherever it is born, likewise a human being is a human being regardless of where he's born. I noticed you didn't define the nationality of the elephant, you're mixing oranges with apples.
@@Sid-gu5qkwhat do mean culturally??? Africa has 54 different countries & over 3000 different ethnicities with different cultures, there's isn't one African culture
@@samanth. Are you also trying to say that Guyanese are culturally African? That's what my comment was about, notwithstanding the semantics of which part of Africa their ancestors came from.
Kia ora e hoa, Alex if you are ever in the Wellington region, please come visit or couch surf at our place! We are a Kiwi-Guyanese/Amerindian mixed family who have previously lived in the Rupununi. We've thoroughly enjoyed your videos. So weird but cool to hear your Kiwi accent in the Guyanese context. Kei te pai tō mahi.
@@capricerowland4850 Its not his story. hes not from there. He has absolutely no knowledge of the country, only what he read. No he needs to stick to his own country and not the past complex politics of a country he has no clue about
Hes from New Zealand or Australia and hes writing about the DIFFICULT, INTERNAL POLITICS of a country he didn't know exist until her heard about the oil boom. He "read stuff" from the past also its controversial....so for click bait. It was in the process of becoming a socialist/ communist country so eventually a dictatorship...but AFRICAN dictatorship is more click baity
@@StevenBiko1 Iinitially Burnham came to power through democratic elections but gradually shifted towards authoritarian rule over the years. Burnham's government became increasingly repressive, with restrictions on political opposition, the media, and civil liberties. He dissolved the multi-party system, transforming Guyana into a one-party state under the People's National Congress (PNC), the party he led. He used state power to suppress dissent, and his administration was associated with political violence, including the harassment and imprisonment of opposition leaders. His rule is often viewed as a period of significant political and economic instability in Guyana,
iam a guyanese and proud to be one...however, most of what you are saying in your documentary is false and i must stress on the part MOST !!!,,,,,,so next time when you want to give your views about someone elses country you get the facts right......
Im not sure that this video covers the importance of social class in Guyana. After slavery the Afro-Guyanese were well versed (and increasingly so post Emancipation) in most of the cultural values of the British - language, Christianity, Western education and manners. This meant they took powerful positions in the capital and urban centres - teachers, public servants, managerial posts, lawyers, etc. At one point Georgetown was essentially owned by middle and upper class Afro Guyanese - while the rural areas were the heartlands of the well to do agricultural Indians. Many Creole (Mixed) and Afro-Guyanese thus believed, as they were the major group brought in after whites historically to build the national economy - that they were the natural 'inheritors' of Guyana after the British. They couldnt understand how - purely due to population advantage - the Indians could usurp that power from them when they had been around for less time and not adapated to the 'cultural standards' that, at that time, defined what made you 'respectable' and part of elite Guyanese society. This is perhaps the greatest mental and social divide in Guyana. Most of Guyana's old dominant Creole and Afro-Guyanese bourgeoisie left the country during the 1970s. Essentially leaving behind the working class Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese 'new money', who were largely Hindu and of rural Guyanese extraction. It was a huge cultural shift for the nation. However the old bourgeoisie still considers that their kind has the best 'tools' to run Guyana and that part of the reason it struggled so long during - and with the various leaders LONG after Burnham - is that the 'right' social class opted to leave the country due to degraded standards...
Simply put, Burnham yeah, Jagan nay through the blurred and tinted lenses of the Crown and the White House of the day reflecting an interventive and crooked and "foot on scale" foreign policy approach across the Diaspora.
Guyana population now around 800,000 there are over 1.3 million living overseas including their children and grand children who were born outside of Guyana . Burnham was a racist and practice ethnic cleansing , eg was the wismar massacre ( the town is now called Linden which is part of his name) . Thousands of indo Guyanese were slaughtered or displace .
I'm not at all pleased with all your information. It's a western naritive. Ok when the country started deterating was because of the western sanctions. Because he decided not to follow their lead. He was more interested in notion building and not being the puppet of the west. He wanted guyanese to be incharge of their own destiny but the population didn't grasp the foresight
At 22:51 it was stated "it wasn't a bloodbath....I read one policeman was killed...I read five policemen were killed." This is easily verifiable information from sources like the National Archives; five policemen and two civilians died that day. My father was one of the five policemen; he was shot in the abdomen while climbing the fence of the Lethem police station to escape the attack on the station and bled to death on the floor of the Lethem abbatoir. I've had several conversations with the area nurse-midwife who tended to his injuries. But perhaps the resulting trauma to our family is just a figment of our imaginations and never really occurred.
Mr. Rothman, thank you for the information you've gleaned on Guyana, however, I caution you greatly to check your sources. I was born in Guyana in 1968 and lived there for 8 years. I can testify that at that time Forbes Burnham achieved what few first world countries have ever acheived as far as I know. The band of middle class in Guyana at that time was the widest band of the population while the wealthy band and poor bands were very small. That isn't a struggling country. It was paradise on earth!!! Furthermore, the reason that was possible is because Forbes Burnham nationalized the bauxite, rice, and sugar industries that were the country's main exports. In doing so , the first world nations who plundered Guyana's resources, and have done so for time immemorial with most of those small countries throughout the world, without compensating the country, could no longer do so, and Guyana prospered as a result. The educational level of attainment across the country, with most attaining university degrees mainly in England and the U.S. exceeded that of the United States. The bully countries, the United States, and England especially, were angry that this little country had the audacity to slap their greedy hands and take back control of what was rightly Guyana's. They threatened Forbes Burnham with their millitary might and having no large millitary to stand up against these threats, he had no choice but to go to Cuba and others to strive to form a protective alliance, and was even driven to draft children into The National Service which is the army. Guyana had open elections and was capitalist up until that point. The first world has never been friends with the developing nations, they are bullies, only interested in raping and plundering and destruction. They do not care, even when they write the big checks, to 'appear' as if they do, it's all a facade. So please when you're reporting about these small countries check the facts with the countries first, and don't sprout the propaganda. The reason why there is any tension today within Guyana's government is because of outside interests, namely first world countries working to influence political outcomes to their own advantage all for the sake of GREED. I mean they just found oil off the coast of Guyana, but who found the oil? I believe it was Exxon Mobile--- so what the heck are they still doing there if they gave up and left that country years ago? MONEY and GREED Alone MaKe This World Go Round. BTW where did you get your information?🤨🤨🤨
Just like Surinam Bouterse would bring freedom and prosperity but instead he got rich and used the military to keep in power. Now a convicted murderer on the run. Unluckily the Hindostan ruler is not much better.
While it's good to mention Burnham was a dictator, Guyanese need to be real and wake up to the fact that ot has been decades and we still survive on things since Burnham days. Honestly the thing about the rupununi uprising is that some sources state that the rebels were somewhat unaware of the plan which is why the rebels were not detained for too long, unlike the leaders. Many information of our country is political which is why this video seems a bit political and lacking in some areas. And as a Guyanese, I am so tired of Georgetown and the rupununi being represented as the only part of Guyana. The rupununi is not the only place with indigenous people. Glad you brought up propaganda though because the African population to this day is still at a disadvantage and so is the indigenous population. The next video better bring up ethnic cleansing, outside influences, inequality in all regions of Guyana, the systematic racism that afro-guyanese face, etc. And the funny thing about the 2020 elections was that it was rigged by both parties😭 this is why I don't trust foreign news sources.
This post is the closest to Guyana Historical truth that I have ever watched. For once I don't feel like I have been gaslighted. Thank you ever so much!
Yes he was the smartest black that took all u black people brains so u couldn't think for urself so when he distroy guyana u were so dumb to the fact that you couldn't even see beyond ur nose how Burnham bankrupt that beautiful country and displace thousands of families that were trying to leave for better life somewhere else yes he was a great man
@@gopieseeram4352He is a dictator, he would not have allow all of you, greedy East Indian Guyanese, to do illegal smuggling of everything into and out of Guyana. Greedy East Indian Guyanese, continue to do smuggling today. For example, the Mohamed’s smuggling gold.
He was indeed brilliant but he was a dictator, everything he did was based on his self interest. A man once gave Burnham's wife a diamond as a gift but Burnham full of ego, closed down the man's diamond business, because he believed he should be the only one with wealth and power. Isn't that a dictator? He dint care about Afro Guyanese, mostly Afro Guyanese punished under his power, he also knew to remain in power in Guyana he had to turn Afro and Indo Guyanese against each other, which is the oldest colonial trick.
Because it's filled with inaccuracies, falsehood, and vilification of Burnham re. his support for Africans, many of whom suffered under Burnham's acts of patriotic nationalization.
Because its a skewed view from an outsider that just did very basic top level research. Latin American / Caribbean politics is very complex for outsiders to fully understand
I'm from Lethem, I'm an Afro Amerindian mix. Lethem is an Amerindian majority town where many of them are dual citizens of Guyana and Brazil. There are some of the older generations who dont speak any English only the language of their tribe. Almost all of the younger generations speak both English and Portuguese but not their native languages. Aside from the recent Venezuelan migrants no one speak Spanish. I would argue that Lethem and the surrounding areas are more connected to Brazil than Venezuela because many of them have relatives over there.
Just like BERBICE where many Guyana speak creole Afrikaans ..
@@john-hk5pu it’s sad this is due to our weak corrupt politicians who don’t promote our true culture country wide ..
@@Draintheswamp888yes. But the people can continue trading. Ignore the government,. They all garbage without sense
@@Draintheswamp888 Ithaca Village for sure, Rosignol.
@@Draintheswamp888What!? So surprising and interesting. Thanks, will search around and learn more
What an incredibly intimate look at the interior! You’ve gotta be the only person on RUclips going to these super remote places - loving this series so far!
no there a lot it has become a genre
@@glynphelps9027 oh interesting, have you come across any other good ones you’d recommend?
Hope he enlightened you about malaria 🦟
I hope he gets it in the worst way, no return. 😂@@yatradeocoomar5166
So many inaccuracies. There was no African political party. What are you trying to achieve?You are attempting to distort and change Guyana's History. Anyway, you are not the first to try that. Do you really understand and know the characteristics of a dictator??.
You have certainly captured the essence of that period of time of my beloved country. Thank you for making it, and I look forward to the next episode...
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@Lost_in_Contextthe secret is to be apolytical. The moment it is good guys vs bad guys, it becomes boring. People have good and bad at the same time
@Kayyoumali
Do he didnt.
He has no clue what hes writing / talking about. He has absolutely no knowledge of the country, besides what he read.
All be did was mentioned top level varbage / waffling. But doesn't know what really when on or the context behind some of the stuff of what happened.
All Burnham did was put put into place PPP /Jagan policies which was the same in both parties. Both Burnham and Jagan were socialist and started out from the PPP, the same party.
We that don't record our truths must live by the truths of others. Stop arguing and record ur truths.
Your opening statement “the world wasn’t watching” is highly inaccurate. The USA/CIA fully supported the dictatorship in Guyanese.
And they are fully supporting the dictatorship now. The theft of oil monies, sugarcane workers mention, land theft, what about the killings of many activists. They are supporting the politicians pocketing the revenues and not allows the citizens to benefit so America can get what they want.
So what do u have to say about the current dictatorship that taking place in Guyana under the current regime???
I think he meant the world media.
@@Gods_Worship_Sanctuarythe usa support it too
@Gods_Worship_Sanctuary There is no dictatorship going on in Guyana.
This is what travel is about. Truly understanding a country. I found your channel last year when i was doing research on sri lanka before going there. Just awesome content. Keep travelling and researching. I have no words for the quality of your movies. Insane
Thank you so much 🙂
I agree this is what traveling is for
I like the history + travel combo. Nice work
This series is so exceptionally good, man. The history mixed with your own footage format is ingenious, and your footage and narration is just incredibly well done. You seem to have an incredible talent for finding remote places and interesting folks who live there, and putting it to film in the most interesting way possible. And you don't ham it up, you just let the subject speak for itself. I am looking forward to going through your whole backlog.
This is bull
@@youngboyyneverbrokeagain Alright, then let's hear your articulate, persuasive rebuttal.
Wow. As a Jamaican watching this hearing him talk about bitta cassava and sweet cassava. It shows how similar we are while being so different. Thank you for sharing.
Funny fact is that Africans tend to think cassava is African but it’s our thing, that requires a hours long process developed thousands of years ago by indigenous people of America.
As a Guyanese who lived and still live in Guyana,I must say this video is fill with inaccuracies😮...
IT'S THE TRUTH ,I KNOW FOR A FACT.
@@CamilleRodrigues-q5b I didn't ask a question...smh
What's more important is that people are having the discussion. Go from there.
Like?
The irony is that for the last 30 years Guyana has been run by the PPP which is a corrupt indian nationalist party!
This "documentary" is what you get when you allow a relatively uninformed outsider to tell your story. Regarding the claim that there was no infrastructure; the British left a functional railway system that ran from Rossignol to Georgetown on the East Coast, and from Vreed-en-hoop to Parika on the West Coast. I know because I rode those trains many times. The Burnham government decided to scrap the railway around 1971 and replaced it with cheap Tata buses imported from India. The buses all fell apart within about 6 months but by that time the railway lines were being ripped up and the locomotives given to several African countries. If my memory is correct some steam engines went to Zambia where they might still be in operation. Then the 1973 Arab oil embargo occurred and Guyana did not have the foreign exchange to import food or fuel; the government was forced into taking loans from agencies like the IMF and World Bank, and countries like Trinidad. This is a major fact that's never mentioned in this "documentary."
You brought up some valid point. Even though I was born way after the time you speak of, his details are quiet inaccurate. He may have put it over so eloquently and to be persuasive but Alex did not get the facts.
@suddie1215 you mean the railway was sold, and the money went into a dictator pocket. The current Guyana Govt needs to publish all documents pertaining to the railways, leaving Guyana.
@@hafizkhan4031. The monies went to Hamas
@StevenBiko1 A black sleuth dog that never stops barking ,that is the effect one gets when one drinks Congo pump tree leaves for tea ,and eating black pudding sadly no brain development to have a meaningful discussion or mabie one of those that the Guyana Govt pay to raise as a child because of single mother help from social services ministries.
@StevenBiko1 black sleuth dog that never stops barking ,brain dead" Aead" that thinks that 32 is greater than 33.
I really enjoyed watching this video! The mixture between telling Guayanas history and showing yourself actually getting to know the country in person is just perfect! Now i'm subscribed, keep up the good work!
You ignorant people ought to learned your history. If you haven’t by now you still have the slavery mentality. There are hundreds of documentations on how America and England put Burnham in power and banned all food products, yet his home had all these things. Burnham told the Guyanese people he would do anything even sell his soul to be in power. I was maybe six years went the bombs were falling. I can still hear the bombs falling up to present. Not a nice sight for a little child.
You have your info incorrect. Guyana was under sanctions from 1970 to 1992 by the us government, for its role and contributions to the African liberation struggles against apartheid. This is what is responsible for its economic woes and hardships during the PNC administration. Guyana was under colonial dictatorship for more than four hundred years, where its indigenous peoples and Africans were enslaved for more than 400 years. During slavery some of the world's worst atrocities were committed against the enslaved. Slavery ended in the eighteen hundreds and was followed by indentured servitude, which ended in the late eighteen hundreds. Free Africans were barred from buying fertile and prime lands but were sold over priced barren waste land and drainage reserve land, which was deliberately flooded at crop time to destabilize the free Africans, and to force them off the lands. While the indentured servants were given free arable lands for farming and for housing. Guyana didn't experience any development from the end of indentured servitude to Guyana's independence. However, after independence, the new government built over a hundred thousand houses all over Guyana. Free school from nursery to university. Free text books from nursery to university. Free school meals. Free or subsidized transportation for school children. Free school uniform for school children. Hundreds of millions of dollars in loans for farming and home ownership. And the list of achievements goes on and on. Now what the colonizers did wasn't a dictatorship? But the rapid development we achieved is a dictatorship? Make that make sense
That part you mentioned with Guyana under sanctions because of it's role and contributions to the African liberation struggles against apartheid is misleading. Guyana around the early 1970s up to around 1985 was enveloped in communism so it's no surprise it was sanctioned. You also forgot to add the ban on food stuff and tampering ballot boxes during elections as well as tampering with free speech and individual freedom for its citizens. Guyana did have developments going on before its independence, such as the eradication of malaria and the construction of the sea wall which was completed in the 1950's, Railway lines which have since been discontinued in the 1970's and which were among the first in South America. Guyana's anonymity on the world stage is an asset that it's politicians exploit. For all the talk of Guyana's development I don't see the expats now living in the UK, USA, Canada, and other countries in any hurry to resettle there permanently. There was a mass migration in the mid 1970's and 1980's. This was all thanks to nationalization and rapid deterioration and a lack of transparency of public services amongst other things. You only have to visit Guyana and learn it's history to know that.Otherwise people will just give a biased opinion of the country by default. That's not my opinion, that's a fact. And there are many books to support this. Also it's all well and good to have political independence but in Guyana's case it was badly mismanaged with the effects of mismanagement still felt by it's citizens to the present day.
You are spreading false and misleading information. You can not argue with the truth and facts. The sea wall, as part of the sea defense, was built by Africans slaves to drain the area that is now known as Georgetown, under the Dutch. Sanctions are what destabilize and destroy Guyana. Guyana gained independence in 1966 and was left with a crumbling infrastructure. Our
Our antiquated and outdated utilities, namely the Guyana Telecommunications company, Guyana Electricity company, and Guyana Water Authority, were operating at a huge loss and were subsidized because of the high operational costs. The British Railway company stopped the railway operations in Guyana because the government refused to subsidize a failing company. So they took back the carriages, leaving the rail behind, but were charging a huge tariff on something that Guyanese weren't using. So, the government asked the company to remove it. When we fight against enslavement and colonization, we are deemed dictators and loosers. The enslavers and colonizers are the victors. Who gave you a colonizer permission to comment inaccurately on our history? Who are you trying to fool? Leaving our freedom fighters and ancestors alone, Mr. Racist. Or I am going to ask RUclips to have your content removed because of it's Racist attack against my ancestor.
@ralojnr2329 I'm not fooling anyone. That credit is due entirely to you. Antiquated and outdated by today standards ? Yes. You called me 'Mr.Racist and a 'Colonizer' when I clearly stated two points. First, I stated that it was good to have independence, so your accusation of being a 'colonizer' is null. I also stated that you" have to visit Guyana and learn its history. Otherwise, people will just give a biased opinion of the country by default." I guess in your head that makes me a racist and a colonizer without taking the time to reason properly. You side stepped me stating that the rigging of elections and tampering with ballot boxes and tampering with free speech and individual freedom of its citizens, and then have the nerve to say I'm commenting inaccurately on Guyana's history and make threats to report my comment while giving your own comment a like. The rigging of elections was done by the PNC and is accurate and true. I will attach a link to prove this. You're free to report me. You have my genuine encouragement to do so. Just remember that RUclips will read the comments that you and I have had. You also side stepped the fact that mass migration occurred in the mid 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Again, this is a fact, and there is information such as books and other sources of information that verify this. In fact, there's an area in New York, for example, called 'Little Guyana'. Understand that people don't migrate for fun or on a whim. They migrate for opportunities and a better way of life and, in this case, without oppression. Again, there are books that speak about Guyana's mass migration. You also sidestepped the ban on food stuffs which is true. The government at that time let down it's own people who had high hopes for their country and caused a massive brain drain. I suggest you read 'Beware my brother Forbes', an article written by Jessie Burnham (i.e., the former president's sister) and sweeting bitter sugar by Clem Seecharan chapter 31 in particular. Again, these are facts. Here is a video pertaining to the rigging of elections in 1973. There's also one for 1968, which you can look up if you're interested in verifying what I'm talking about or maybe you'll look to report those videos as inaccurate,racist and colonist as they don't suit the narrative you have. m.ruclips.net/video/G5I8-j1fyGg/видео.html&pp=ygUVUG5jIHJpZ2dlZCBlbGVjdGlvbnMg
I see you have deleted my earlier reply. that says a lot about how interpret things and have a complete disregard for information unless it suits your narrative. Anyone that objects is deemed a racist and colonizer. You sidestepped alot of things.
I love your videos my man! The mix of travel and history on your channel add depth you don’t get often. Keep it up. Looking forward to seeing what you make!
I just watched these three Guyana videos back to back. They are incredible! Our work in television news and have done so for over 25 years, and this is some of the best reporting I’ve ever seen. I can hardly wait for the next one.
Thank you, you’re very kind! Next one coming soon
Now this is entertainment, I'm all for it! Exploring the country and showing people places not commonly known, amamzing job you've earned yourself a sub
So good man, love the format, absolutely fascinating. Always looking forward to the next one!
I agree the format it great. He did a good job.
So glad to see a new upload in this series! I enjoyed the first two Guianas videos so much and loved learning even more through this video. I hope that the boom in views your first video saw can carry over to this one as you and these videos absolutely deserve the viewership
Thank you so much for your comment and for watching!
Currently binging your series on my country, and man, I've gotta say the journalism is amazing.
love the video production and visuals of Guyana and its beauty. Your respect of the people and their cultures is wonderful and heartwarming especially from tourists. Additionally, the story of LFS Burnham while a small glimpse of the dictator is refreshing to be publicised. Many denies the atrocities and hardly anyone ever mentions it (likely most wanna forget it while others were 'fortunate' and/or propagandised), but I have heard so many stories from my grandparents and elders. The Ballot Box Martyrs is one of the many stories in the fight for a free Guyana.
Under Burnham many must never forget the Wismar massacre that took place in the 1960s. I was living in Guyana as a young child when that happened. I met many Guyanese over the years and some believe that's in the past but it should not be forgotten because it happened two times again in modern times. Guyana is a beautiful country and I think the Government in power is doing an excellent job
Really interesting mix of historical and documentary footage. Great stuff!
Always amazing, unique and interesting content. Please keep it up!
Guyana was basically the reverse of Uganda. When will people learn about mutual respect co-operation? I'm sure the US & India will their claws into Guyana to extract its share of the cheap oil.
I hope the leaders of Guyana can begin with housing the poor, building up hospitals around the country, educating its people in engineering, construction, health sciences, farming, etc. to establish a self-sufficient, vibrant state.
As I've seen the first construction projects are to house the American subcontractors & staff of Oil companies with luxurious seaside apartments & private schools etc for their civilian needs. So round 1 lost. Good luck, as inequality & family squabbles will increase as the petrodollars flow in.
Uganda’s decision to expel Indians was the best
How can you compare Guyana and Uganda two completly different situations. Guyana is made up of people that were imported in while Uganda has it's native population, You are Tamil are you Indian? then let's look at India who have caste systems and people like black African descendants Siddis in India and Sri Lanka who are basically not even apart of Indian and Sri Lankan society they are completely outcasted look in the mirror before accusing Uganda of anything. It's India that's ranked the most racist country not Uganda
Uganda is doing well, too WITHOUT Masonic Westerners.
Amazing job with your videos, looking forward to seeing more!
Though we think the Guyanas are different from the rest of South America, the end of this episode reveals the opposite: The cassava, mango, papaya and their techniques to remove the poison from the poisonous cassava to make tapioca for example.. this is where we are connected, by nature! We are all from the same land, so we are at least connected by agriculture. I'd love to visit Guyana, specially Annai.
Love from Brazil.
This video is worth the wait ❤thank you
Beautiful cinematography, thank you very much for your RUclips content I really like your approach to the content!
Great stuff brother. Keep 'em coming.
Feed the algorithm everybody!
This report is a blasted lie. BURNHAM WAS THE BEST LEADER.
After Guyana's independence the poor became poorer. Women were queuing up to buy food to feed their families and most times after queuing up in the sweltering heat, they were told that there was no foodstuffs. Yet the rich were getting what they needed through bribery. I am a Guyanese living in 🇬🇧. I worked and exported foodstuffs to my relatives. The barrels were often opened and items went missing. I am now happy to know that Guyanese are living in a little luxury due to the discovery of oil. The President of Guyana is doing a wonderful job. Wish I was still living in Guyana.
PPl are still struggling in guyana....alot. Maybe you should take a trip and see what is really happening. A selected few friends and family are living the life of luxury due to the discovery of oil.
bro i await your uploads like a dope fiend 😭 i check like weekly, its been 2 months i’m so excited
Haha, I came to the comments to say the exact same thing !
I'm glad this channel is finally starting to blow up. The production value is unreal.
Thanks guys, trying to get out videos as fast as I can while also writing and researching upcoming projects. There will be much more regular uploads starting in around October I think
@@Lost_in_Context it’s honestly no rush man! we sincerely appreciate it! the quality over quantity approach is so worth it! i enjoy watching your videos so much, after i found your first video on guyana i went back and watched so many of your videos including your entire series on sri lanka! thank so much man, keep up the great work! we’ll be here whenever the uploads come regardless!
@@Lost_in_Contextdefinitely appreciate your thoroughness! These videos are so important especially for our future generations. A lot of our people don’t know the history of Guyana especially those who live abroad. Please take your time getting these videos out - Quality over quantity. Sending love and appreciation from NY!
Incredible videos, cinematography, editing, sound. Thank you for sharing these incredible histories.
Guyana is an incredible country .i am so glad i was borned in the best country in the world with so many adventures. I may be a canadian but guyana will always hold a special place in my heart.
So, most Hindu Guyanese abandoned the land..I guess no patriotism there
Why did you leave to g o to a place so cold? Also to pay half of everything you earn to the crazy’s running the place?
I think you’re the hidden jewel in RUclips, I cannot imagine how much effort you’re putting into these videos
Mr. Alex you’re the best, we’ll miss you in school
This covers a lot of heavy topics, thank you for taking the time to focus on the good parts of the modern land of Guyana- the stop in Michelle's island, local football, and the Annai visit show the beauty.
Yes unfortunately alot of topics that he has no clue about and should not be writing about.
A white guy from literally the opposite side of the world, making videos about the internal politics of a country he never know existed
I'm really enjoying these videos with the great combination of history and travelogue. Have to say, seeing Adam with a smart phone in his hand was interesting. We would love to know about how connected every day Guyanans are with the outside world.
I think pretty connected, like almost everywhere smart phone penetration is thorough
@@Lost_in_Context Thanks Alex. I was surprised at Adam and his smart phone due to how remote You indicated the people on the interior were. Having service to support a smart phone surprised me a bit given that description. Thanks for the follow up. Looking forward to the next video in the series. Thank you!
They aren't tribes living with no outside contact lol. It's just that due to poor roads and distance they are a bit disconnected from resources but they all have phones, access to Internet, they get supplies from Brazil or when they go into a city, etc.
Thanks so much ! I read a book years ago called 'Journey to Nowhere' by Shiva Naipaul about the Jonestown catastrophe. A lot of the book dealt with the Forbes Burnham dictatorship and got me really interested in the subject. But finding further info about it was extremely difficult. Even with the internet there wasn't much to go on so this video was a real feast ! It's about time the Burnhamite nastiness has come to light.
Interesting perspective from one who contributed. Thanks for your views!
This is better than any TV show. I am so impressed with your challenges and motivation to make a good history report.
Just Brilliant.
The rupununi uprising was a blood bath my Grandfather was in charge of the police station at the time Five police officers - this included the constables James McKenzie, William Norton, Michael Kendall, Sergeant James Anderson and Inspector Whittington Braithwaite - along with two civilians, Victor Hernandez and Thomas James, were killed
May they rest in peace and not be forgotten
❤awesome video many thank you ,,i learn so much from this . I left since the 80s.. love to visit places i never knew .. im happy you ar3 enjoy their culture and history.. 🥂 cheers and happy new year 🎆
Goddamn.❤ You mix history and travel so good even drugs can't compete with your content❤
Music choices for this whole series are on point 👌
Really, under president Linden Forbes Samson Burnham it was a dictatorship. Do you even know what a dictatorship is . For your information we are not AFRO GUYANESE or African descendants. We are aboriginal American Indians.
Hi, I just travelled this stretch of road this summer. Great memories! Spent 29 hours from Lethem to Georgetown. Got stuck in the car for the night, and at the ferry dock the next day, I remember some other passengers telling me it would take another 12 hours to reach the capital. Got there at midnight, which wasn't the most pleasant experience. Hopefully, the road conditions is set to improve massively in the coming years. Apparently, it will only take 6 hours to cross the country when the new road is done. A huge improvement for the country, but I will never forget the dirt road adventure that this journey was.
Very interesting . Colonial Britain was the cause of much political and social discord worldwide . The arrogance of it all .
There's 65 countries that used to be part of the British Empire. There's a reason that 48 have a holiday celebrating them leaving.
@@ClockworkOuroborousONG!
the numbers are although exagerated: the British brought a few thousand Africans and later a few thousand Indians, not hundred thousands. The population later naturally increased in Guayana by people having many children, but still is below one million.
These two videos about Guyana are so interesting. Especially the political history. I had no idea it was as complex as it was with Cheddi Jagan and Burnham. I learned a lot tonight. African American from San Antonio, Texas.
Sir from the onset he starts telling lies about Mr. Burnham, have a chat with me or anyone who is not influenced by the racist Indian PPP government, I'm Guyanese, old enough to recognize the inaccuracies. I'm glad I'm very much aware of my country's history too.
Majority of Guyanese blacks are extremely educated
@mrchris6684 Yes, reason why head is spells with an "A" instead of letter "H, and 32 is a greater number than 33."Have a good day that much for extremely educated.😂😂😂😂
Yes too extreme, you can't bare it.
@@hafizkhan4031. Untouchables are historically illiterates
Not true but you can spread your fake neqs
@@apiklala another illiterate untouchable
A truly outstanding documentary all round; fascinating. Good onya Alex!
Forbes Burnham of Guyana was not the only Caribbean leader to sport the Nationalist / Marxist-Leninist hat in the Caricom region during the latter half of 20th century. Different hybrid versions of this political ideology was adopted with various degree of influence across the Caribbean. In Grenada under Maurice Bishop, Dominica under Patrick John, Antigua under Lester Bird, Trinidad & Tobago under Dr. Eric Williams, Jamaica under Michael Manley, St. Vincent and the Grenadines under Milton Cato and of course Haiti under father and son Francois and Jean-claude Duvalier who cleverly straddled the Democrat-Communist fence to America's chagrin.
In fact, MANY of these men were actually classmates at the post-graduate level! However they varied in methods. Manley was much more a democratic socialist, than a communist dictator, in fact he went very centrist liberal in his later career.
And how are things working out for those countries?
Thank you for taking me on this ride .. Enjoyed
Guyanese must tell their own history. There are too many false narratives out there.
This is pretty accurate as a Guyanese I say this.
Your documentary on the Guianas has been so helpful for work and my research. I truly hope you can finish the series and go this deep with Suriname and French Guiana. Not much reliable and complete information is available.
awesome
your channel should have more subscribers...
Thank you so much 😀
Thanks for the quality content on an area I know little about. Looking forward to the next videos.
@4:30 Cooperative Republic meant that the 6 races would now be “one” ❤ They were to cooperate and live as “one people ” No race would be superior.
❤ One People ❤ One Nation ❤ One Destiny ❤
Yea that part was extremely poor and disrespectful. Like she shdve done more research
Your format is very interesting! Keep doing this!
Same thing have been done in Sri Lanka by Indian slave labours who were brought by british , portuguese ,dutch and then immediately their slave labours outnumbered the native people in Sri lanka .
Unbiased, and highly informative. All that combined with a pleasent narrative.
As a Guyanese New Zealander, these videos are so fascinating! Please keep it up!
Thanks a lot for the comment! Guyana has an incredibly interesting story that more people should know about
As a Kazakh Fijian I approve this message
@@surfboarding5058 😂😂
@@Lost_in_Context And its not your job to tell.
A foreigner from the opposite side of the world shouldn't be making videos on the EXTREMELY COMPLEX INTERNAL POLITICAL STORY of a country they know nothing about
Flour was never a ban item in Guyana. Let me educate you. In 1967 the Guyana Government made an agreement with NAMILCO to mill flour in Guyana. In 1969 NAMILCO started its operation successfully with wheat provided under the PL 480 Title 1 and Title 3 programs and Section 416 (b). Under these programs the US Government through the USDA provided the wheat to the Government of Guyana. NAMILCO purchased that wheat at market prices from the Guyana Government and milled it into flour. In 1982 the US government ended the pl 480 agreement with Guyana. So all imported food items that was under that agreement now had to be purchased with hard currency, US dollars. But remember that Guyana was under sanctions and didn't have access to it's own assets including foreign exchange. All Guyana's assets were frozen under the US and European sanctions. So it's not that these food items were bad, but restricted due sanctions. Now you come with your false narrative, defending your evil ancestors and defaming our heroes. We survived 400 plus years of genocide and in recent times 20 plus years of sanctions. Now here we go again. You the colonizer agent stirring up trouble. Stop being deceitful with your false narratives.
So Burnham was acting like a dictator (after being gifted the country), lead to people fleeing the country as he wanted to make it a raced based society and stoked the flames of violence and you want to blame the "colonizers" instead of reflecting on the legacy Burnham left us? Come on now.
Why would the US after installing him and supporting end that support?
This video is divisive you can actually feel it, try again buddy but next be more balanced in your reporting.
The content is in-depth and very professional.
@@mikhailv67tv. Anything spoken from the mouth of a fork tongue devil, should not be considered in- depth and very professional.
Who cares. It is friggen guyana
thank you for the in depth analysis.
@@mikhailv67tv He's travel video guy and an outsider from Australia / New Zealand making a video about a very complex political period of history, about a very complex country he has absolute no clue about. This is why people shouldn't be writing on things they are clueless about.
Hi I just found your video and subbed, thank you for sharing this video
I was young when Burnham was President. My mother is Amerindian and Chinese, man we ate cassava and breadfruit in each which way to can use it. He banned the import of all food items. I hate breadfruit to this day and I am in my 50s. My younger uncles had to shipped out of Guyana because the dead swat would constantly be at my grandmother's house looking for them because they were always having meetings planning to overthrow Burnham. If you were a young man those were some very uncertain times getting picked up and beaten up. People disappeared and were killed.
Amerindians eat cassava on a daily basis in the jungles of Guyana 🇬🇾, with uncleaned ,unseasoned meats currently to this present day. What is your point, that’s your culture, traditions and customs.
Bro finally! I’ve been waiting for this part 🐐
So what's happening in Guyana now what is going on with this administration, the British and Americans did the same to Guyana what they also did to Africa and so many resourceful nations
Burnham said in a speech once” killing I is a waste, another Rasta will take I place” the lyrics from Bob Marley. That is exactly what we are seeing.
If you want to know the truth and facts on today's Guyana. Burnham died 40 years ago, we had 6 PPP presidents since and 1 coalition in 2015 after they were run out of office before their 5 years by a paid PPP operative in the Coalition.
loved your sri lankan series. had indo Guyanese friends in canada in the 70's
I think this was so enjoyable to watch and thank you for continuing the education about Guyana 🇬🇾.
I also though think that it is important to recognise that those of us who were not around will not know why people such as Burnham really behaved in the way that they did.
How is this an African dictatorship? Burnham's forebears left Africa 400 years ago. You Sir, are letting your prejudices show.
356, an elephant 🐘 born in Africa and taken to, let's say Guyana or China, will give birth to nothing but elephants.
Burnham was, therefore, African ethnically, his ancestors having been captured, brought to Guyana (BritishGuiana) and ENslaved.
Having been born in Guyana, Burnham was a Guyanese African by reason of birth.
Not unlike, let's say, East Indians, Chinese, Europeans, etc., all of whom retained their ancestral appellations despite leaving their motherland hundreds of years ago, Africans have also retained their "Africanness".
Burnham - and Guyanese Africans - are no different 😮😢😅
@@wyndhl8309 afro guyanaese
U sure right
@justsaying4303 Afro is a contraction of African; Indo is a contraction of Indian; Chino is a contraction of Chinese; Euro is a contraction (or shortening) of European, "Guy" is a contraction of Guyana, as in Guysoco, and so forth.
In acceptable standard English, one should say, Guyanese Europeans and not European-Guyanese, the United States creole dialect.
Similarly, one says, "white" man and not man white, in standard English. However, in many romance languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, Romanian, the adjective takes a post nominal position: man white, king black, etc.
@wyndhl8309 Bad analogy, an elephant is an elephant wherever it is born, likewise a human being is a human being regardless of where he's born. I noticed you didn't define the nationality of the elephant, you're mixing oranges with apples.
Professionally done! You deserve bigger views
Who are you to tell us we are not the same,we are Africans, doesn't matter where we are globally ❤❤
It seems to me like the dude still mad at Burnham for trying to connect with his African roots.
Genetically, yes, culturally, not as much, no offense, just facts brother.
No, wake up. You are either Black- Guyanese or African ,decide. Ask the Africans' (not from Guyana) if they think Black Guyanese are Africans.
@@Sid-gu5qkwhat do mean culturally??? Africa has 54 different countries & over 3000 different ethnicities with different cultures, there's isn't one African culture
@@samanth. Are you also trying to say that Guyanese are culturally African? That's what my comment was about, notwithstanding the semantics of which part of Africa their ancestors came from.
Awesome Video my friend!
Love your documentary on the political history of Guyana curing the Burnham Era and I admire the accuracy of your account 👌
You need to get an education. Propaganda is truth for your pea brain
raymondrodrigues pea brain 😂
Incredible video. So glad I found your channel.
Kia ora e hoa, Alex if you are ever in the Wellington region, please come visit or couch surf at our place! We are a Kiwi-Guyanese/Amerindian mixed family who have previously lived in the Rupununi. We've thoroughly enjoyed your videos. So weird but cool to hear your Kiwi accent in the Guyanese context. Kei te pai tō mahi.
Wow there can’t be too many of you in the world! That’s really cool. Have you met many other Guyanese in NZ?
Need a boyfriend?
@@ラーメンのボス you are not masculine enough for that task.
Alex your channel is underrated
Many Guyanese with money left Guyana only the poor remains.
Stellar production and story telling Alex.
Exactly, story telling. His story.
@@capricerowland4850 Its not his story. hes not from there.
He has absolutely no knowledge of the country, only what he read.
No he needs to stick to his own country and not the past complex politics of a country he has no clue about
@ exactly my point. His STORY! His version of a story about the history of Guyana.
What logic did he use to come up with the title of the video? How was Guyana an African dictatorship?
@@dopamine3255. dope fiend
@@dopamine3255 The Brilliant LFS Burnham lives in you and your kinds empty heads and thoughts forever. 😂😂😂😂
It was like an African dictatorship and ran like one which is true.
Hes from New Zealand or Australia and hes writing about the DIFFICULT, INTERNAL POLITICS of a country he didn't know exist until her heard about the oil boom.
He "read stuff" from the past
also its controversial....so for click bait.
It was in the process of becoming a socialist/ communist country so eventually a dictatorship...but AFRICAN dictatorship is more click baity
@@StevenBiko1 Iinitially Burnham came to power through democratic elections but gradually shifted towards authoritarian rule over the years.
Burnham's government became increasingly repressive, with restrictions on political opposition, the media, and civil liberties. He dissolved the multi-party system, transforming Guyana into a one-party state under the People's National Congress (PNC), the party he led. He used state power to suppress dissent, and his administration was associated with political violence, including the harassment and imprisonment of opposition leaders.
His rule is often viewed as a period of significant political and economic instability in Guyana,
Great stuff keep it going...you have gained a new follower today!!
iam a guyanese and proud to be one...however, most of what you are saying in your documentary is false and i must stress on the part MOST !!!,,,,,,so next time when you want to give your views about someone elses country you get the facts right......
Be quiet you ideologue
You can't just say that without backing it up. What did he say that was false?
America has always been in Guyana's politics. They are the one's responsible for the division in Guyana
Yes and here they come again to divide and conquer.
Yes and here they are again for part 2 to divide and conquer.
Im not sure that this video covers the importance of social class in Guyana. After slavery the Afro-Guyanese were well versed (and increasingly so post Emancipation) in most of the cultural values of the British - language, Christianity, Western education and manners. This meant they took powerful positions in the capital and urban centres - teachers, public servants, managerial posts, lawyers, etc. At one point Georgetown was essentially owned by middle and upper class Afro Guyanese - while the rural areas were the heartlands of the well to do agricultural Indians. Many Creole (Mixed) and Afro-Guyanese thus believed, as they were the major group brought in after whites historically to build the national economy - that they were the natural 'inheritors' of Guyana after the British. They couldnt understand how - purely due to population advantage - the Indians could usurp that power from them when they had been around for less time and not adapated to the 'cultural standards' that, at that time, defined what made you 'respectable' and part of elite Guyanese society.
This is perhaps the greatest mental and social divide in Guyana.
Most of Guyana's old dominant Creole and Afro-Guyanese bourgeoisie left the country during the 1970s. Essentially leaving behind the working class Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese 'new money', who were largely Hindu and of rural Guyanese extraction. It was a huge cultural shift for the nation. However the old bourgeoisie still considers that their kind has the best 'tools' to run Guyana and that part of the reason it struggled so long during - and with the various leaders LONG after Burnham - is that the 'right' social class opted to leave the country due to degraded standards...
What a fascinating comment, thanks for sharing!
Simply put, Burnham yeah, Jagan nay through the blurred and tinted lenses of the Crown and the White House of the day reflecting an interventive and crooked and "foot on scale" foreign policy approach across the Diaspora.
You're mixing facts with fiction. How can you accurately describe a country from a few short visit. It would be good to get a video about your country
Just want to tell you love your videos .
Guyana population now around 800,000 there are over 1.3 million living overseas including their children and grand children who were born outside of Guyana . Burnham was a racist and practice ethnic cleansing , eg was the wismar massacre ( the town is now called Linden which is part of his name) . Thousands of indo Guyanese were slaughtered or displace .
This account should have +500k followers
I'm not at all pleased with all your information. It's a western naritive. Ok when the country started deterating was because of the western sanctions. Because he decided not to follow their lead. He was more interested in notion building and not being the puppet of the west. He wanted guyanese to be incharge of their own destiny but the population didn't grasp the foresight
The indo Guyanese have the nastiest things to say about Burnham
Bro you didn't even learn proper English, gtfo
😂😂😂😂 Burnham maths 33 is not the majority of 65. Same thinking here
@@Quantumtrix baldeo bootlick , the Brilliant LFS Burnham is your daddy 😂😂😂😂
@@QuantumtrixOne dumb coolie =?
Roads, bridges, schools and hospitals is what Guyana really needs.
At 22:51 it was stated "it wasn't a bloodbath....I read one policeman was killed...I read five policemen were killed." This is easily verifiable information from sources like the National Archives; five policemen and two civilians died that day. My father was one of the five policemen; he was shot in the abdomen while climbing the fence of the Lethem police station to escape the attack on the station and bled to death on the floor of the Lethem abbatoir. I've had several conversations with the area nurse-midwife who tended to his injuries. But perhaps the resulting trauma to our family is just a figment of our imaginations and never really occurred.
In English, a bloodbath means many, many people dying. He wasn't ignoring the death of your father or others, he was saying it wasn't a massacre.
Commenting to support, great content!
Much appreciated!
Mr. Rothman, thank you for the information you've gleaned on Guyana, however, I caution you greatly to check your sources. I was born in Guyana in 1968 and lived there for 8 years. I can testify that at that time Forbes Burnham achieved what few first world countries have ever acheived as far as I know. The band of middle class in Guyana at that time was the widest band of the population while the wealthy band and poor bands were very small. That isn't a struggling country. It was paradise on earth!!! Furthermore, the reason that was possible is because Forbes Burnham nationalized the bauxite, rice, and sugar industries that were the country's main exports. In doing so , the first world nations who plundered Guyana's resources, and have done so for time immemorial with most of those small countries throughout the world, without compensating the country, could no longer do so, and Guyana prospered as a result. The educational level of attainment across the country, with most attaining university degrees mainly in England and the U.S. exceeded that of the United States. The bully countries, the United States, and England especially, were angry that this little country had the audacity to slap their greedy hands and take back control of what was rightly Guyana's. They threatened Forbes Burnham with their millitary might and having no large millitary to stand up against these threats, he had no choice but to go to Cuba and others to strive to form a protective alliance, and was even driven to draft children into The National Service which is the army. Guyana had open elections and was capitalist up until that point. The first world has never been friends with the developing nations, they are bullies, only interested in raping and plundering and destruction. They do not care, even when they write the big checks, to 'appear' as if they do, it's all a facade. So please when you're reporting about these small countries check the facts with the countries first, and don't sprout the propaganda. The reason why there is any tension today within Guyana's government is because of outside interests, namely first world countries working to influence political outcomes to their own advantage all for the sake of GREED. I mean they just found oil off the coast of Guyana, but who found the oil? I believe it was Exxon Mobile--- so what the heck are they still doing there if they gave up and left that country years ago? MONEY and GREED Alone MaKe This World Go Round. BTW where did you get your information?🤨🤨🤨
Blessings--And it was not Burnham who killed Walter Rodney. Journalism is about truth and deep digging.
Just like Surinam Bouterse would bring freedom and prosperity but instead he got rich and used the military to keep in power. Now a convicted murderer on the run. Unluckily the Hindostan ruler is not much better.
While it's good to mention Burnham was a dictator, Guyanese need to be real and wake up to the fact that ot has been decades and we still survive on things since Burnham days.
Honestly the thing about the rupununi uprising is that some sources state that the rebels were somewhat unaware of the plan which is why the rebels were not detained for too long, unlike the leaders.
Many information of our country is political which is why this video seems a bit political and lacking in some areas.
And as a Guyanese, I am so tired of Georgetown and the rupununi being represented as the only part of Guyana. The rupununi is not the only place with indigenous people.
Glad you brought up propaganda though because the African population to this day is still at a disadvantage and so is the indigenous population.
The next video better bring up ethnic cleansing, outside influences, inequality in all regions of Guyana, the systematic racism that afro-guyanese face, etc.
And the funny thing about the 2020 elections was that it was rigged by both parties😭 this is why I don't trust foreign news sources.
Thank you for countering this propaganda. The colonizers would not stop at spreading lies by“ educating the gullible masses”
I was born in 1968 and remember poverty, corruption, no free speech the ban on import, the ruination of the country. Burnham was a brutal dictator.
This post is the closest to Guyana Historical truth that I have ever watched. For once I don't feel like I have been gaslighted. Thank you ever so much!
The Brilliant LFS Burnham was a leader of a nation and men . He is a patriotic son of Guyana 🇬🇾 soil .
Yes he was the smartest black that took all u black people brains so u couldn't think for urself so when he distroy guyana u were so dumb to the fact that you couldn't even see beyond ur nose how Burnham bankrupt that beautiful country and displace thousands of families that were trying to leave for better life somewhere else yes he was a great man
He was a dictator....he was a ravist starved the Indian people....
@@gopieseeram4352where your evidence 🤣🤣🤣 we don’t believe lip service to the white man
@@gopieseeram4352He is a dictator, he would not have allow all of you, greedy East Indian Guyanese, to do illegal smuggling of everything into and out of Guyana. Greedy East Indian Guyanese, continue to do smuggling today. For example, the Mohamed’s smuggling gold.
He was indeed brilliant but he was a dictator, everything he did was based on his self interest. A man once gave Burnham's wife a diamond as a gift but Burnham full of ego, closed down the man's diamond business, because he believed he should be the only one with wealth and power. Isn't that a dictator? He dint care about Afro Guyanese, mostly Afro Guyanese punished under his power, he also knew to remain in power in Guyana he had to turn Afro and Indo Guyanese against each other, which is the oldest colonial trick.
Sad and difficult days with Burnham especially for Indians
They were not African "slaves." They were enslaved Africans. Big difference!
But they were captured and sold by other Africans.
I can't believe a video this good only has 25k views. I'm very impressed.
Because it's filled with inaccuracies, falsehood, and vilification of Burnham re. his support for Africans, many of whom suffered under Burnham's acts of patriotic nationalization.
The video is tasteless ,extremely misleading and inaccurate, spoken from the mouth of a fork tongue devil 😈.
Because its a skewed view from an outsider that just did very basic top level research. Latin American / Caribbean politics is very complex for outsiders to fully understand
Great video Mr Alex!
Great video. Traveling through the interior seems like traveling back in time to much simpler times.