coolies............

i see some comments about indians being repulsed at being called coolies. well lets delve into the matter.

coolies or bound workers were brought to the caribbean to work on the plantations after slavery was abolished. bound workers as the term indicates were contracted to work for a specific time, under specific conditions for a specific pay package. bound workers included chinese, africans, indians and portuguese.

now why should indians alone be termed coolies (bound workers) when africans and others were also coolies. one reason may be because the term originated in india. however, indians are not the only coolies in guyana. i theorize that africans sought to demean the indians so they called them coolies, after all they were branded niggers by the white plantocracy.

i think we should all concentrate on dishing out some pay back to those white folks put us in the situation we're in...... on second thoughts its probably for the better that my ancestors were brought here. since they came from the poorest states in india, today probably might have been in a line to sell my kidney to provide ration for my 20 pickneys.

getting back to the topic......today many persons are bound workers (coolies), when you sign a contract to offer your services for a period of time you are bound to the company. if you break that contract you are penalized......nowadays monetary as opposed to lashes and was the norm in those plantation days.

peace