THE MAROON BAGASI STRIKE OF 1921, STRENGTH OF UNITY. # PART 1 скачать в хорошем качестве

THE MAROON BAGASI STRIKE OF 1921, STRENGTH OF UNITY. # PART 1

THE MAROON BAGASI STRIKE OF 1921, STRENGTH OF UNITY. # PART 1 A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF THE MAROONS On 27 February 2022, I gave this online lecture, to commemorate Jowini Abaisa, the trade union leader of Maroon origin, who was cold-bloodedly murdered by the police in Suriname on 27 February 1973. The lecture is about the great strike of the bagasiman (Maroon cargo transporters) in 1921. It focuses on resistance to oppression and disadvantage, as well as for the improvement in the wellbeing. The title of the lecture is: THE MAROON BAGASI (CARGO TRANSPORT) STRIKE OF 1921, STRENGTH OF UNITY. In late February 1921 gaanman Papa Amakiti of the Okanisi Maroons and his colleague, gaanman Awensai of the Aluku Maroons declared, on behalf of the bagasiman, this strike on the Marowijne River. The bagasiman were on strike for better wages and for lower prices in the shops. The strike that lasted three months, was also coordinated by the two abovementioned Gaanman. It is the longest strike in Suriname's strike history. Without having a strike fund to compensate the strikers for loss of income during the strike. The strike did considerably damage the economies of the Dutch colony of Suriname and the French colony of French Guiana. Still, it did not benefit the bagasiman much, due to the poor economic situations worldwide. There was, however, some reduction in prices in the shops. But even if the Maroon bagasi strike did not yield the desired result, the Maroon bagasiman at least clearly demonstrated their strength of unity with their strike, just as their ancestors did during their freedom struggle, enforcing peace treaties in the 18th and 19th centuries. The bagasiman also showed that they still had the ability to maintain their social bonds with each other. Frantic attempts by the Surinamese colonial government in particular to pit them against each other, and thus torpedo the achievement of their common goal, therefore simply failed. The colonial government even intensified the usual divide-and-rule policy, through all kinds of attempts to get the Okanisi Maroon authorities of the Bilo region to revolt against their own Gaanman. These attempts also failed. The Okanisi Maroon authorities and their people rallied behind their Gaanman. This 4-part documentary series shows, particularly the importance of the power of unity (i.e. good cooperation, perseverance, determination and sacrifice) as the Surinamese and French Guianese Maroon ancestors knew it, to achieve common goals. In part 1, I first will briefly discuss the history of the Maroons.