Garifuna Reunion 2009
The Renaissance of the Garifuna Heritage and Culture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines "Yurumein"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2009
Contacts: José Francisco Ávila (718) 402-7700
New York – The Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization is happy to announce the successful conclusion of the Garifuna Reunion in St Vincent and the Grenadines "Yurumein"
The Garifuna Reunion was part of the Vincy Homecoming 2009 spearheaded by the Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit/Office of the Prime Minister (RIDU) aimed at unifying and educating while identifying the unique Vincentian Identity and designed to be a catalyst to generate support for the aspirations of the Vincentian people and as the driving force for Vincentians across the world to come together with a common objective of recognizing, uplifting and revitalizing the essence of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. According to Dr. Adrian Fraser "The story of the Garifuna people is a unique one that needs to be told, since among other things, it is pivotal to understanding their position in Central America and also the history of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; and indeed the rest of the Caribbean region in which St. Vincent was one of the last outposts of Carib resistance.” The Garifuna Reunion represents the next chapter in our unique story, said rejil Solis, President of the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc.
The Garifuna Reunion provided an opportunity for Garifunas to become the subjects of their own history rather than objects of someone else's, as they inevitably have been when others have told their story as a footnote to theirs in their own way and for their own purposes. Among the highlights of the Reunion, was the first ever Bilingual English Garifuna Mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption; the laying of a wreath at the Chatoyer monument, an obelisk in Dorsetshire Hill, where Chatoyer fell 214 years ago; the presentation of a Commemorative Certificate by the Garifuna Heritage Foundation featuring a 1770 survey map on the background, developed by a team to surveyors for lands sent by King George III, during England's claim to the islands. Furthermore, they reconnected with their people through a tour of the Leeward Side of the Island with cultural interchanges in Rose Bank, where they met the son of the last Carib Chief of the village, and Greggs, where many Garifunas remain, as well as a tour of “Carib country”, the communities in North Windward, on the northeastern-most tip of St. Vincent, where local Garifunas are concentrated and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding among The Garifuna Heritage Foundation of St Vincent and the Grenadines, The Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc., St. Vincent and the Grenadines Organization of Pennsylvania, Inc. "SVGOP” and the Garifuna American Heritage Foundation United, Inc. "GAHFU” of Los Angeles California, to cooperate in the future to promote the Garifuna Heritage and Culture in all parts of the Garifuna Diaspora as well as seek to work with all our indigenous brothers and sisters; That they will collaborate in practical ways to support the Renaissance of the Garifuna Heritage and Culture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines "Yurumein" the Ancestral Homeland of the Garifuna people. The reunion concluded with a farewell Reception at Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves' Residence “The Garifuna Reunion represents the beginning of the Renaissance of the Garifuna Heritage and Culture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines "Yurumein, " said Dr. Cadrin E. Gill, member of the Garifuna American Heritage Foundation United, Inc.
Garifunas have proven that modernization need not involve a sacrifice of all that is dear, yet neither must people be excluded from the benefits of the modern world, because they refuse to give up all their traditions. The Garifuna Reunion gave us the opportunity to contribute to the cultural enrichment of the Vincentians, while uplifting and revitalizing the essence of St. Vincent and the Grenadines by launching the Renaissance of the Garifuna Heritage and Culture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines "Yurumein". The next Reunion is planned for 2011 when the Argyle International Airport is scheduled to open
Posted by Garifuna Coalition at 9:18 AM at http://garifunacoalition.blogspot.com/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2009
Contacts: José Francisco Ávila (718) 402-7700
New York – The Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization is happy to announce the successful conclusion of the Garifuna Reunion in St Vincent and the Grenadines "Yurumein"
The Garifuna Reunion was part of the Vincy Homecoming 2009 spearheaded by the Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit/Office of the Prime Minister (RIDU) aimed at unifying and educating while identifying the unique Vincentian Identity and designed to be a catalyst to generate support for the aspirations of the Vincentian people and as the driving force for Vincentians across the world to come together with a common objective of recognizing, uplifting and revitalizing the essence of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. According to Dr. Adrian Fraser "The story of the Garifuna people is a unique one that needs to be told, since among other things, it is pivotal to understanding their position in Central America and also the history of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; and indeed the rest of the Caribbean region in which St. Vincent was one of the last outposts of Carib resistance.” The Garifuna Reunion represents the next chapter in our unique story, said rejil Solis, President of the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc.
The Garifuna Reunion provided an opportunity for Garifunas to become the subjects of their own history rather than objects of someone else's, as they inevitably have been when others have told their story as a footnote to theirs in their own way and for their own purposes. Among the highlights of the Reunion, was the first ever Bilingual English Garifuna Mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption; the laying of a wreath at the Chatoyer monument, an obelisk in Dorsetshire Hill, where Chatoyer fell 214 years ago; the presentation of a Commemorative Certificate by the Garifuna Heritage Foundation featuring a 1770 survey map on the background, developed by a team to surveyors for lands sent by King George III, during England's claim to the islands. Furthermore, they reconnected with their people through a tour of the Leeward Side of the Island with cultural interchanges in Rose Bank, where they met the son of the last Carib Chief of the village, and Greggs, where many Garifunas remain, as well as a tour of “Carib country”, the communities in North Windward, on the northeastern-most tip of St. Vincent, where local Garifunas are concentrated and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding among The Garifuna Heritage Foundation of St Vincent and the Grenadines, The Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc., St. Vincent and the Grenadines Organization of Pennsylvania, Inc. "SVGOP” and the Garifuna American Heritage Foundation United, Inc. "GAHFU” of Los Angeles California, to cooperate in the future to promote the Garifuna Heritage and Culture in all parts of the Garifuna Diaspora as well as seek to work with all our indigenous brothers and sisters; That they will collaborate in practical ways to support the Renaissance of the Garifuna Heritage and Culture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines "Yurumein" the Ancestral Homeland of the Garifuna people. The reunion concluded with a farewell Reception at Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves' Residence “The Garifuna Reunion represents the beginning of the Renaissance of the Garifuna Heritage and Culture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines "Yurumein, " said Dr. Cadrin E. Gill, member of the Garifuna American Heritage Foundation United, Inc.
Garifunas have proven that modernization need not involve a sacrifice of all that is dear, yet neither must people be excluded from the benefits of the modern world, because they refuse to give up all their traditions. The Garifuna Reunion gave us the opportunity to contribute to the cultural enrichment of the Vincentians, while uplifting and revitalizing the essence of St. Vincent and the Grenadines by launching the Renaissance of the Garifuna Heritage and Culture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines "Yurumein". The next Reunion is planned for 2011 when the Argyle International Airport is scheduled to open
Posted by Garifuna Coalition at 9:18 AM at http://garifunacoalition.blogspot.com/
posted by Karl Eklund at 2:39 PM
<< Home