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“And if (Colonel) Shahoud would speak about him, you would believe that he was Superman and Batman combined for real. He was on a mission, a mission to ensure he supervised a project to be completed by January.

“This young man has made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

“His wife and children must know he has not died, he is living. Now, you are my family. I will stand by you and his children,” the Commander in Chief said.

President Ali remembered recalling Brigadier (Ret’d) Gary Beaton out of retirement and how willing he was to serve the GDF again.

“Beaton was waiting for this highway to be completed. We had many conversations, we shared many ideas. He has given his life for this country. He would have it no other way.

“He lives on in greater glory.”

In recalling his time with Colonel Shahoud, the President could no longer hold back his tears.

“Just three days before the (December) 6, I was talking to a number of the senior command – they said, ‘your son did not tell you as yet?’

“He reported everything to me so they regarded him as my son.

“Shahoud was a loyalist to the core; he was an outstanding individual.

“He could have done many more things that would have earned him more money but he would want it no other way. We spent a lot of time together.”

One of the President’s last messages from Colonel Shahoud was a photo he sent of him (Ali) looking out of the helicopter to the border and he wrote, “Commander in Chief, we love you.”

The President said he responded, “I love you guys too.”

“I say this to let all of us know, regardless of where you sit, let the people who serve you know how you feel about them.

“These are not ordinary men. These are men who have paid the ultimate price for our country,” the Head of State said.

As he continued to hold back tears, President Ali described Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome as a man of “great integrity and character.”

“This mission was special for him – he wanted to ensure that our reserves and training were in a state of readiness.

“He wanted to do it himself.”

And for Lieutenant Colonel Michael ‘Mike’ Charles, the President regarded him as his “brother.”

Charles, with 40 years of experience, was the pilot of the ill-fated helicopter.

“Mike Charles is not just a military man. He allowed every Guyanese to see Guyana through his lens and showcased his country every opportunity he got.

“We spent many, many hours together, many days together.”

He recalled that just two days before the fatal accident, Charles was determined to honour the memory of two pilots who died under similar circumstances in the same area 50 years ago.

In the company of another Army rank, Lieutenant Colonel Charles flew over the area and laid wreaths in their honour.

“Mike Charles did what he did with love and honour; he didn’t just fly, he flew for Guyana.”

And according to him, Venezuela’s claim to Guyana’s land and actions being taken by the Maduro-led government concern all Indigenous peoples since they have a harmonic relationship with the natural environment. John believes the move threatens their occupancy of ancestral and titled lands.

“It’s a total disregard for our rights as Indigenous peoples but more so it is a threat to our natural resources found in this land.

“If- and I am using the word if- Venezuela should have its way, then we will lose everything we have achieved, we have fought for and we have protected for centuries and that will be really detrimental to us as Indigenous peoples,” John lamented.

Indigenous leadership, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in its “Living Planet Report 2022” said, is key to taking care of the earth. Indigenous lands, the report noted, have been better taken care of compared to other places where the “human activities driving climate change and habitat loss” have not been controlled.

What John fears is exactly that: Venezuela’s moves may force Indigenous peoples off of their land and/or change the way the land and its resources are used.

The Essequibo region claimed by Venezuela’s Maduro accounts for about two-thirds of Guyana’s entire landmass. It is an area that also includes a majority of Guyana’s more than 18 million hectares of forests.

Guyanese leaders, namely its President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, have been at COP28 and other international fora boasting about these forests and the climate services they provide.

They are also seeking support for Guyana’s carbon credits venture which promises to earn Guyana billions of dollars from its intact forests. The funds will be used for climate adaptation (85% of all proceeds) and to support projects in Indigenous communities (15% of all proceeds).

In Dubai, Venezuelan officials from the Ministry of Popular Power for Ecosocialism are keen on talking about Venezuela’s environmental plans. Side events there ranged from conversations on benefits of the bamboo to talks about human mobility and the climate crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean.

At their pavilion, Zone B3 Building 31, pictures and information of their forests and biodiversity plaster the walls. A huge map of Venezuela, that includes Guyana’s Essequibo region, is there too.

Carlos Manuel González Figueredo, an analyst with the Ministry of Popular Power for Ecosocialism, explained that the ministry is virtually the same as an “Environment Ministry.”

When asked about Venezuela’s environmental plans for the Guayana Esequiba, he went mum. He asked for any questions to be sent to his WhatsApp number, which he provided but has not been responsive to. He also shared a brochure from the pavilion and said all information on Venezuela’s environmental plans can be found in that brochure or on the Ministry’s website, http://www.minec.gob.ve/

Thay brochure has the map of Venezuela that includes Guyana’s Essequibo region. The website’s homepage features articles on President Maduro’s declarations on the Essequibo region.

Livelihoods at risk?

Toshao of Rivers’ View Melena Pollard, who is also in Dubai for COP28, said many of the residents in her community are concerned about any Venezuelan authorities seizing control of their land because it will disrupt their livelihoods.

“In the Essequibo region, that is where we have been getting jobs from. Men go to mine for gold and diamonds, we have shops there, our people use the river to do fishing and get their livelihood,” she explained.

Rivers’ View is a community found at the confluence of the Cuyuni, Mazaruni and Essequibo Rivers in Guyana. Small-scale mining has been part of their economic activity for years but the community has limited this, opting instead to greenlight the creation of a new rainforest research centre instead of new mining concessions.

Beyond the usual economic activities, Toshao Pollard that Venezuela’s actions can harm the forests Indigenous peoples rely on for food, medicine and their livelihoods. She also believes those actions can place Guyana’s carbon credits venture in limbo. In Rivers’ View, carbon credits funds secured from the major deal with the Hess Corporation in December 2022 have been used to revamp a wharf, establish a chicken feed project and build a benab and restaurant for tourists.

“If Venezuela is to come over, that is going to put our lives into jeopardy, our livelihood into jeopardy,” the Toshao said.

What’s the controversy?

The border controversy between Guyana and Essequibo is decades-old. The boundary, as internationally-recognised, was settled in 1899 through an Arbitral Award. It was accepted by Venezuela and Guyana (then British Guiana) until the 1960s as Guyana approached its independence.

Guyana’s Amerindian People’s Association (APA), a group that champions the rights of Indigenous Peoples, rejects Venezuela’s advances, contending that Venezuela has not traditionally occupied the land it now claims.

In a statement issued on December 7, the APA explained that Guyana’s Indigenous peoples have occupied the land since “time immemorial” and they “hold that territory sacred.” Additionally, the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC), in a December 2 statement, said the Essequibo region- called Chiipi Wa’o in Wapichan- has been traditionally occupied by Wapichan people “since before the colonisers came to the continent.”

So the APA and the SRDC back the government’s intention to defend the Essequibo region. The APA, in its statement, said: “we stand in solidarity with the Government of Guyana as it continues to advocate, per international law, for its sovereign territory to be respected. Additionally, the APA also supports the Guyanese Government’s right to defend its territory and people.”

(This story was published with the support of Climate Tracker through the COP28 Climate Justice Reporting Fellowship.)