History was created in Linden yesterday as the local bauxite industry unveiled its multimillion- dollar arch on Casaurina Drive.The arch, which cost some $20 plus million, is a gift from Bosai Minerals Group, in observance of the 100th year of bauxite mining in Linden.The structure, apart from being beautiful is considered educational,Cheap NFL Jerseys, as important historical facts and the names of prominent Lindeners,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, such as those of past Mayors, are inscribed.Chairman of the Centenary Committee Horace James said that as time progresses more historical information will be added,NFL Jerseys China, including the names of prominent sports personalities.President David Granger, who was on hand for the auspicious occasion, delivered the feature address and also unveiled the arch.He told the gathering that the celebration of the centenary observance of the bauxite industry was a happy and historic occasion. He added that the preparations for the event testified to the labour of generations to the importance of the industry and the significance of Linden – the nursery of the Bauxite industry.“Linden has been called a mining town because of the route – the bauxite industry, the name of this tri-junction point as we’ve been told – Wismar, Mackenzie and Watooka – tells the story of the circumstances which brought together people from the North American, South American and European continents – and today we have people from another continent – East Asian entrepreneurs, who now operate the industry – so perhaps we should have a quadrilateral bringing people together from four continents right here in Linden.The president called the arch a “magnificent’ structure, commemorating the hundredth anniversary of bauxite mining.Granger said that the social impact of the industry has contributed to enriching Guyana’s cultural life,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys China, and its contributions to Guyanese society is impossible to calculate.He told the story of how the population of the community, which was later amalgated as Linden, ‘swelled’ as mining intensified.“Persons came from all over the coastland,Wholesale China Jerseys Free Shpping, from the islands of the Caribbean, Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago in search of regular employment and higher wages offered by the bauxite industry. So when you go there you can tell them where their foreparents came to look for money and employment.”The President spoke of the thousands of jobs that were created for both Guyanese and West Indians, and said that it was noteworthy that by 1960 only 38 percent of the population of the community comprised persons that were actually born here – the rest were migrants from the “coast” and the Caribbean.He noted that the industry made other contributions to nation building, such as training highly skilled and competent chemists, engineers and industrial workers.“The nation knows for example that hundreds of persons were recruited from the ranks of employees and former employees of the bauxite industry to develop what we now know as the gold mining industry, which has become the most lucrative mining industry in Guyana. Many of the operators in the gold mining industry are actually graduates of the University of Bauxite!”He spoke of the connectivity though the region which has made Linden a geographical and social hub, and expressed the hope that very soon Linden could become an economic hub and powerhouse.The President said that the Bauxite industry has been one of the traditional mainstays of the economy for a hundred years. He alluded to the production of the ore which increased rapidly during the Second World War, noting that bauxite from Guyana contributed to the manufacture of aluminium which went into the building of aircraft.The United States, the President declared, imported 30,000 tonnes of bauxite ore in 1939 before the war started,Bradley Chubb Jersey, and by the time the war got going, Guyana had exported 390,000 tonnes annually. Thus Guyana became the second largest producer of bauxite in the world accounting for as much as 17 percent of global output by 1949.He added that the production of refractory and abrasive grades of bauxite by 1952 made Guyana the world’s most diversified producer of bauxite. Production soared to 2.2 million tonnes in 1957 and shortly after, a ten-dollar note was produced depicting bauxite mining and the aluminum plant.Bauxite, the President said, at one time accounted for 43 percent of the country’s export earnings. The industry later slid into decline with the accompanying loss o

By Annette Arjoon-MartinsAnnette and Dave MartinsIt is certainly true that for anyone seeking to explore Guyana, whether a resident, from the diaspora or a completely new visitor, that we are fortunate to live in the technological age where a range of information is readily available and often at no cost.As a newcomer to this technological age,?I learnt that there are many spokes to the wheel and I came to the process in stages. Moving from a conservationist with a camera?on Shell Beach initially, I am blessed to?have unlimited access to our incredible interior, compliments of?our very own Air Services Limited.This year is one decade after I clicked my first shutter and I am?in another stage of the learning. My?images have found a home in a Facebook venture I started with my husband, Dave Martins of the Tradewinds. The intent was to?offer those images to all those would-be Guyanese explorers,Wholesale Jerseys,?both home and abroad on a site called?Annette & Dave Martins: “Is We Own”,?the reference being to one of Dave’s popular songs.I suspected there would be an interest in the photographs,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, because they are largely drawn from the natural world, and some of them were taken in areas not widely seen by Guyanese,wholesale jerseys, but the reaction to the pictures has been a flood.Virtually overnight, hundreds of people were coming to the site and often posting comments. It’s only been six?months, but the hits so far have been in the thousands.? It’s also interesting that I’m hearing from a range of people, both at home and abroad, and what is particularly striking for me is the fervor that comes with the interest.Part of the reaction is from the photo quality,Cheap Jerseys USA, but the bigger part is?the subjects themselves. In my work and travels, I had been all over Guyana, including some remote locations and many of the bloggers, themselves Guyanese, comment about seeing pictures of a Guyana they had never known.Also, along with the landscapes and the impressive waterfalls, I had captured much of the varied culture of Guyana including the Amerindian aspect which is not that widely found in detail.? This would not have been possible without the support of my best friend Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett,?who helped with the photographic opportunities and lent her vast knowledge over the years.The other part of the appeal is that these pictures, along with my brief comments, are an antidote to the general information in the daily press where the emphasis is on more negative matters.The tree-lined Avenue of the RepublicMy postings are essentially about the beauty of the country, seldom seen images of parts of it, and of ordinary people going about their lives with spirit and humour; it’s a totally different bag.Although I do it for the love of it, and not intentionally as an antidote, it seems that is the effect it has on the people who come to the site.? Many of them talk about seeing the worth of Guyana, and several who have been away for decades say the pictures are stirring them to finally visit the homeland.Many of them use words to the effect, “I didn’t know Guyana was so beautiful.”Among the many photographs that draw comments is a shot of bottlenose dolphins cavorting in the Waini River mouth; many Guyanese don’t even know we have those. From the volume of reactions – one photograph,Calvin Ridley Jersey, of a palm-lined street in Mabaruma drew over?15,000 hits – it seems I?have?a jaguar by the tail.Most recently, I posted a short aerial video of the refurbished Merriman Mall and overnight it got over 51,000 hits which really was amazing.In 2016, just in time for our 50th?Independence Anniversary I will be producing and posting more videos from footage taken by a drone, compliments of Ian Brierley,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, as well as?two Go Pro cameras in helicopters, ?compliments of Air Services Limited. The Go Pros capture the length and breadth of our incredible interior from a bird’s eye view and which I guarantee can be?seen nowhere else.I have learnt? that social media has a reach far beyond daily media and some of the plaudits have come from Guyanese as far away as Australia, Alaska, Dubai and Sweden, to name a few. I’ve also learned that the daily connection the site affords, as opposed to the annual or even monthly magazine, is a powerful ingredient in its success.? The audience?are seeing and hearing and connecting in a very immediate way, and they are coming to unbiased information that allows them to see Guyana in a different way leaving them able to make their own decisions about our?country.This reaction has contributed