Garifuna visitor asked to take back Vincentian soil for cleansing

If Joseph Guerrero acted according to instruction, Vincentian soil should now be on its way to a Garifuna spiritual leader, so that “a cleansing process can be done.”

While addressing a rally in Sandy Bay last Sunday, Guerrero, who was part of a delegation of Garifuna who had been visiting St Vincent{{more}}and the Grenadines (SVG) as guests of the New Democratic Party (NDP), disclosed that he had been given certain instructions.

“I was speaking to a Buyei and she gave me instructions to bring back some of the earth so they can begin a cleansing process.

“Hopefully next year, we will have a bunch of Buyeis come here and cleanse this place. I want you to know about your spirituality. I want you to know what they robbed you of, but we are giving it back to you.

“What we need to do is to cleanse the land, because when our ancestors died, number one, they die under stressful circumstances, torture; they die of all sorts of things caused upon them by the colonizers. Their souls are not resting. They need to be cleansed and we are going to teach you how to do that,” Guerrero told the gathering.

Stating that a Buyei is a “spiritual leader like a priest,” Guerrero added that they are “the mediums between our ancestors and us.”

Additionally, Guerrero said his Garifuna ancestors fought for their culture and that was one of the reasons why the British had to rid themselves of them.

“I don’t think our ancestors were going to cooperate with them. We would prefer to die than to give in to those people. And today, that attitude is still in us. Rather than be unjust or rather than take garbage from people, we rather die fighting for our rights. It’s how we are. It’s natural,” he said.

Vice-president of the United Garifuna Association and delegation leader Wellington Ramos and Leader of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace also spoke at last Sunday’s rally.(KW)