President Donald Ramotar was the main speaker yesterday at the start of two weeks of intense activity planned by the Council of Friends of New Amsterdam (CAFONA) group which has been organised to celebrate Emancipation celebrations in New Amsterdam, under the theme ‘From Resistance through Emancipation, towards Empowerment’.The activity which was held at State House in New Amsterdam saw hundreds of Guyanese in attendance and represented the mixed heritage of the town. This year Africans are celebrating 250 years of the Berbice Slave Uprising and 175 years since the abolition of Slavery.The President used the opportunity to call for unity,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, stating that at this time of the year all of our ancestors struggled and had a horrid past in the history of Guyana.? “We must unite and come together to continue to build this lovely country of ours,” he said.? He called on the politicians to put pettiness aside and work together for a better Guyana.Mr. Ramotar reflected on the history of Guyana where the Africans contributed significantly to the development of this county.? He stated that Berbice is very important for its history where the resistance for freedom all started.The President, in response to earlier speakers, promised to do whatever possible to assist Berbicians to realize their dream in having a building to commemorate the activity. This was following calls for Berbice to have its own cultural centre and museum, and a monument to celebrate especially the 1763 uprising.A number of speakers, including President of COFONA group Dr Leonard Lewis and Ms Paulette Henry,Wholesale Adidas Hockey Jerseys, had asked why the Government built the various monuments to celebrate the Berbice slave rebellion and the 1763 uprising in Georgetown and not in Berbice. They stated that Berbice was where the resistance to slavery was started by Cuffy 250 years ago, and as such something in recognition of the achievement should be built in Berbice.Other speakers included Minister of Culture Youth and Sports Dr. Frank Anthony; Regional Chairman David Armogan; Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Greene; New Amsterdam Mayor Claude Henry; President of both the overseas and local chapters of COFONA,Wholesale Jerseys, Dr Leonard Lewis; and Marcia Williams.The CAFONA group, which was formed in New York, is made up of former New Amsterdam residents now living overseas and was formed with the aim of helping to revive the town. The group is headed by US-based educator Dr. Leonard Lewis,Cheap NFL Jerseys China,An International Conference with discussions, workshops on masquerade, mask making, music and instrument training, Queh Queh,Wholesale Jerseys, and African drumming are among the numerous activities planned.Renowned Berbice playwright Ras Leon Saul will also be staging his play ‘Berbice Uprising’,Cheap NFL Jerseys, during the celebration.A tree-planting exercise where over 250 trees will be planted around the town of New Amsterdam has commenced. The idea is to recognize the years from 1763 and 2013, so one tree will be planted for each year.A street parade which moved off form Marks Bridge in New Amsterdam lead by the COFONA Drum Corps preceded the activity.