Linden commemorates 50th anniversary of Son Chapman
Lindeners, on Sunday, commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Son Chapman tragedy that claimed 54 lives after the launch was blown to bits by an explosion. The date was July 6, 1964; the explosion occurred at Horadia, some 18 miles from Linden.
The launch which was owned by businessman, Norman Chapman, was returning to Linden from Georgetown, with less than its complement of passengers, according to reports.
The boat never reached its destination, as it was rocked by the explosion and sank with its cargo of passengers.
Five decades later, the real cause of the explosion is yet to be determined, and this has prompted the call for an enquiry into the tragedy. The call was repeated by several persons who attended a symposium at the Egbert Benjamin Hall, in memory of those who perished in the tragedy.
Among them were a few overseas-based Guyanese, who lost their relatives in the explosion. Dr. Stephen Carryl and his brother, who lost their mother, who was eight months pregnant at the time, with her eighth child in the blast, were there for the anniversary. Dr. Carryl was only two years old at the time, while his mother was 33.
A clothes vendor in the mining town, it was to be her last trip, before she gave birth, her sons said. Mrs Carryl must have had a premonition, because she had given her eldest son fifty dollars and told him, “If I don’t come back, take this money and buy stuff for Stephen and your sister”.
The brothers cried openly as they spoke emotionally and candidly of losing their mother.
Earlier in the day close to 100 had journeyed to Horadia where wreaths were laid, and emotional tributes were given to those that perished.
Exhortations
Several speakers, including Leader of the Opposition David Grainger and Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon, exhorted Lindeners to ensure that there is never a recurrence of the Son Chapman tragedy.
Grainger said, “We must continue to remember; we must continue to show reverence to the 54 persons who died. We must continue to have respect for the families. At the same time we must be stern, we must be dedicated to ensuring that atrocities such as those that occurred in the sixties do not recur.
“This must not become a hollow meaningless event; it must not become a ritual or an occasion for the renewal of old hatreds. It must become a recommitment to ensure that such an atrocity such as the Horadia massacre does not re-occur.
“I encourage you to look to the future so that our children could grow up with a vision of something different to that which we had on July 6, 1964. I pray to God to rid our nation of the hatred, crime and violence and to unite our people just as our Partnership for National Unity is seeking to do.
“We’ve not come here to perpetuate the atrocities; we’ve not come here to perpetuate hatred.”
Charles Sampson said that a Son Chapman memorial should be placed in a very prominent place in the Linden community in 2015, so that young people could learn about the tragedy.
He said that the Son Chapman was ‘genocide’ and one of the worst acts of terrorism in the world, much worse than the September 11, 2001 World Trade Centre disaster, if the comparisons were made based on the population of the two countries.
Charles Corbin, who said he was a young boy at the time, and was an able swimmer, swam out into the river and helped to retrieve body parts of some of the victims of the explosion. He also called for the memorial site to be ‘anchored’ in a prominent place in the community
He emphasized that the memorial site, must be anchored in the community, so that persons could pass and talk about the incident any day of the year.
Chairman of Region Ten, Sharma Solomon, said, “Let us not forget, there are so many others that would like to tell their story, and those individuals must be given an opportunity also. It is there I would like to say that our recognition of this event must not be buried.
Adding that the Region had moved to have commemoration observances of the Son Chapman tragedy closer to Linden, Solomon said that, that move prompted the administration to seek to set aside $500,000 in its budget annually, towards the commemorative event. That move was however unsuccessful, he noted, since it has not been approved by government.
“I can say to you, however, that it would not stop the Council from recognizing how important this event is, and to ensure that we continue to ask for it to be recognized financially and through the institutions that represent the people of Region Ten.
“So there you have two institutions, the RDC promoting to have resources so that we can continuously have the sort of support to have this event commemorated, and here it is that we have the church resolving to ensure that they have the commitment to the survivors of those who perished.”
Solomon added that the RDC has also engaged the Chapman family and in a move to adopt the tragedy as a Regional commemorative event, and said that the administration will ensure that young people do not forget this important part of the community’s history.
“…We can never forget 50 years ago, where this community stood and how we had to work to overcome challenges after the 6th of July when that incident occurred.
“I believe that as a community, we must resolve to do much better…to ensure that this act which was perpetuated fifty years ago, (that) it is not only recognized as a commemorative celebration, but it is also given the sort of support and guidance.”
Owner of the launch, Norman Chapman, chided those who coordinated the event at the Egbert Benjamin Hall for not allowing him, ‘to have his say’. He was also adamant that the Son Chapman memorial must remain at Horadia.