Dear Editor,
On a recent cruise, we took organised bus tours around a few Caribbean islands, including Barbados, Trinidad and Grenada. As we drove along, the local tour guides pointed out impressive-looking houses, which they said belonged to “people who had returned from England and America, built them and then left them there.” This sounded familiar. So, Guyana is not alone in failing to ‘retain’ her well-meaning sons and daughters.
Your Editorial titled “Tapping into the Diaspora” mentioned the question posed in a recent article of “how to bring them back”. Given the prevailing conditions in Guyana, it would be very difficult to find volunteers, even among the retired. There is the formidable problem of adjusting to entirely different circumstances – attitudes of mind, lifestyles, etc. Been there, done that. I still remember with sadness, while on my 4-year sojourn there in the 90s, meeting a chap who told me that, as a widow, he had ‘sold up’ in England to return to “give something back”. He had soon become so frustrated, that he spent all day in the house watching television, only venturing out to shop. There was no way he could afford to retrace his steps. Only those who have gone through this experience would understand what it is all about.
Assisting at arm’s length should not be too difficult – the arrivals from the Middle East and Eastern Europe seem to be getting it right. Perhaps our country has serious problems; perhaps our people have special issues. We can but hope and pray that one day…
Yours faithfully,
Geralda Dennison
