211 years ago, everybody wondered if we were going to survive as a people and live a long healthy life as a people. Two years after the great Garifuna Chief Joseph Chatoyer was killed on March 14, 1795, the Garifuna people were deported from their native land of St Vincent to Roatán, Honduras and from there we have dispersed.
However, 211 years later, not only have we survived but we are thriving!
Let us continue to be the subjects of our own history rather than objects of someone else's, as we inevitably have been when others have told our story as a footnote to theirs in their own way and for their own sometimes unhealthy purposes. It is time for us to center ourselves in our own self-definition rather than allow ourselves to be defined by others whose self-interest is different from and often diametrically opposed to, our own.
Most importantly, we must define ourselves within a global context rather than in the narrow confines of our scattered nationalities. Garinagu 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.
Happy Garifuna Settlement Day
HAPPY GARIFUNA SETTLEMENT DAY TO ALL MY GARIFUNA BROTHERS AND SISTERS. As we celebrate our arrival to Honduras lets us not forget how we came to be in Central America. Let us not forget our history. Let us not forget that we are one people, the Garifuna Nation. We have always had a free body, mind , and spirit. The blood,pride ,and courage of our Arawak and African ancestors remains in all of us. On this day take the time to learn and teach our history to the next generation. Tell them do not be ashamed to claim their heritage. Let us not just be proud to be Garinagu on April 12, November 19th & 26th. We should be proud to be Garifuna everyday of our lives.
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"Garifuna Nuguya..Pantatina Lau" |
Cheryl Noralez |
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