Whenever I attend a Guyana event in the United States, I’m always struck by the sameness of my experience. Quite often, we see the same faces, although, maybe a year or so older. The conversations are similar, the interactions rarely change and the characters like in a play seen over and over again; and one which you have come to enjoy, are quite predictable.
The actors of this wonderful play usually fall into several distinct categories. The “professionals” are the Guyanese nationals who usually attended top schools in Guyana, either through common entrance, or influence of their parents. They now live abroad as Doctors, Lawyers, Professors, Corporate middle managers or other professionals. They enjoy the fruits of their labour abroad. Many of them drive nice cars, live in beautiful homes, take international vacations and enjoy displaying their success to the larger community. Because these folks tend to have access to resources, it’s always a disappointment to see many of them focus so much energy on “showing off” rather than on using their influence and resources to make a contribution. Some routinely contribute to their old schools, but many care very little and are unaware or uncaring about the financial suffering of those legendary teachers from their alma maters who today struggle to eek out an existence from their meager monthly NIS payments.
“The Entrepreneurs” are self starters who no longer have an interest in working for other people. Many of them have their own business or have dreams of starting their own business. They know each other or of each other but surprisingly, there is very little meaningful networking among this group’s membership. This group is quite large and many also have an interest in credible investment opportunities back home. What is strange among this group is that there is a disturbing lack of appreciation of the fact that the business pie is large enough for everyone to “get a share”. There is a tendency of competitiveness and a surprising lack of collaboration among Guyanese entrepreneurs abroad. While some of us talk often about networking and sharing information, others tend to dismiss the US Guyanese community as potential partners or customers for their businesses. Some can often be heard saying proudly, “I don’t depend on Guyanese customers, if I depended on Guyanese customers, I would be out of business”. Understanding this statement will require a little more psychographic research although grocery stores, restaurants and event promotions may be the exception to this rule. What is true however is, if we entrepreneurs do not find a way to collaborate with each other, to join with the larger community and to support each other, many of our businesses will be destined for failure or for eternal mediocrity.
“The Elderly” is another ever present group, perhaps the most loyal attendees of all the other groups. These folks religiously attend Guyana functions. I have found them largely kind, friendly and proud of the achievements of younger generations. Many of them are now retired, living on their own or with their children. They are fiercely independent and seem to have enough income for entertainment and travel at their disposal. They often maintain networks of acquaintances and look forward to the nostalgic community events to meet old friends and to reminisce. Many of them are willing to visit Guyana but they will have to overcome fears of medical emergencies, crime and comfort. I find them always excited about stories of my visits to Guyana.
“The Bourgeois” tend to make an appearance from time to time. These are the folks who “used to be” wealthy in Guyana, who “used to” have position and power and who have left Guyana for the same political and economic reasons which have motivated many of our families in the past. Many of these folks are living a middle class lifestyle in the United States, sent their children to college and are pretty much living the American dream. Many have put Guyana behind them and really have no interest in rekindling any sort of relationship.
As I study all of the various groups, what I find fascinating across the board, is the predictability of certain statements and actions by each group of actors. “I would never go back to Guyana, some would say as they go on about crime, corruption and every negative issue under the sun they can think of. Often ignoring the obvious and non-stop flow of crime, violence and corruption we live with in North America every day. Other statement like, “people don’t get pay no money in Guyana”, as they work 2 and sometimes 3 jobs to maintain a “lifestyle” in the United States and to maintain the illusion of success for the masses. Others however have a burning desire to invest in Guyana. They are keenly interested in Guyana’s future and many want to make a contribution in some way. Although interested, stories of crime, corruption and inefficient infrastructure keep them away.
The reality of life overseas however is that we “Guyanese” are all perceived to be in the same bucket by non-Guyanese. Many do strive to separate themselves by creating “illusions of grandeur”. Many of these illusions are off course motivated by “delusions of grandeur”.
In the US however, wealth can disappear overnight. Stocks loose their value within seconds, ask the Enron folks. The famous are dethroned from time to time, see Michael Jackson for details, impressive companies lay off employees and lifestyles change almost overnight; just talk to your relatives in the US, and popular and superhuman athletes lose favour and go bankrupt overnight, see Michael Vick for details.
The net is that while developed countries don’t normally experience infrastructure issues like reliable electricity, good roads, dependable law enforcement, “relatively” consistent justice and excellent medical facilities; there are many other issues which we must battle each day. Guyanese living in more By Karen Abrams
Whenever I attend a Guyana event in the United States, I’m always struck by the sameness of my experience. Quite often, we see the same faces, although, maybe a year or so older. The conversations are similar, the interactions rarely change and the characters like in a play seen over and over again; and one which you have come to enjoy, are quite predictable.
The actors of this wonderful play usually fall into several distinct categories. The “professionals” are the Guyanese nationals who usually attended top schools in Guyana, either through common entrance, or influence of their parents. They now live abroad as Doctors, Lawyers, Professors, Corporate middle managers or other professionals. They enjoy the fruits of their labour abroad. Many of them drive nice cars, live in beautiful homes, take international vacations and enjoy displaying their success to the larger community. Because these folks tend to have access to resources, it’s always a disappointment to see many of them focus so much energy on “showing off” rather than on using their influence and resources to make a contribution. Some routinely contribute to their old schools, but many care very little and are unaware or uncaring about the financial suffering of those legendary teachers from their alma maters who today struggle to eek out an existence from their meager monthly NIS payments.
“The Entrepreneurs” are self starters who no longer have an interest in working for other people. Many of them have their own business or have dreams of starting their own business. They know each other or of each other but surprisingly, there is very little meaningful networking among this group’s membership. This group is quite large and many also have an interest in credible investment opportunities back home. What is strange among this group is that there is a disturbing lack of appreciation of the fact that the business pie is large enough for everyone to “get a share”. There is a tendency of competitiveness and a surprising lack of collaboration among Guyanese entrepreneurs abroad. While some of us talk
often about networking and sharing information, others tend to dismiss the US Guyanese community as potential partners or customers for their businesses. Some can often be heard saying proudly, “I don’t depend on Guyanese customers, if I depended on Guyanese customers, I would be out of business”. Understanding this statement will require a little more psychographic research although grocery stores, restaurants and event promotions may be the exception to this rule. What is true however is, if we entrepreneurs do not find a way to collaborate with each other, to join with the larger community and to support each other, many of our businesses will be destined for failure or for eternal mediocrity.
“The Elderly” is another ever present group, perhaps the most loyal attendees of all the other groups. These folks religiously attend Guyana functions. I have found them largely kind, friendly and proud of the achievements of younger generations. Many of them are now retired, living on their own or with their children. They are fiercely independent and seem to have enough income for entertainment and travel at their disposal. They often maintain networks of acquaintances and look forward to the nostalgic community events to meet old friends and to reminisce. Many of them are willing to visit Guyana but they will have to overcome fears of medical emergencies, crime and comfort. I find them always excited about stories of my visits to Guyana.
“The Bourgeois” tend to make an appearance from time to time. These are the folks who “used to be” wealthy in Guyana, who “used to” have position and power and who have left Guyana for the same political and economic reasons which have motivated many of our families in the past. Many of these folks are living a middle class lifestyle in the United States, sent their children to college and are pretty much living the American dream. Many have put Guyana behind them and really have no interest in rekindling any sort of relationship.
As I study all of the various groups, what I find fascinating across the board, is the predictability of certain statements and actions by each group of actors. “I would never go back to Guyana, some would say as they go on about crime, corruption and every negative issue under the sun they can think of. Often ignoring the obvious and non-stop flow of crime, violence and corruption we live with in North America every day. Other statement like, “people don’t get pay no money in Guyana”, as they work 2 and sometimes 3 jobs to maintain a “lifestyle” in the United States and to maintain the illusion of success for the masses. Others however have a burning desire to invest in Guyana. They are keenly interested in Guyana’s future and many want to make a contribution in some way. Although interested, stories of crime, corruption and inefficient infrastructure keep them away.
The reality of life overseas however is that we “Guyanese” are all perceived to be in the same bucket by non-Guyanese. Many do strive to separate themselves by creating “illusions of grandeur”. Many of these illusions are off course motivated by “delusions of grandeur”.
In the US however, wealth can disappear overnight. Stocks loose their value within seconds, ask the Enron folks. The famous are dethroned from time to time, see Michael Jackson for details, impressive companies lay off employees and lifestyles change almost overnight; just talk to your relatives in the US, and popular and superhuman athletes lose favour and go bankrupt overnight, see Michael Vick for details.
The net is that while developed countries don’t normally experience infrastructure issues like reliable electricity, good roads, dependable law enforcement, “relatively” consistent justice and excellent medical facilities; there are many other issues which we must battle each day. Guyanese living in more developed countries work very hard to maintain their lifestyles. For the most part, our speech, mode of dress and food we eat are different and often times obviously so. Discrimination is a daily reality of life and decisions like where we live consume us as these largely depend not only on factors like cost, or crime but also on access to excellent schools for our children.
So while, life in North America may be more convenient and affords us more opportunity. We trade in many of the virtues of our homeland which we yearn for but learn to live without in exchange for a better life for our children. Many of us are however living a life which is comfortable enough for us to be able to make a contribution back to Guyana and we don’t for many reasons. The time has come for us to bridge the divides. We can scarcely afford divides of race, class or geography if we are to succeed as a people in Guyana and in the Diaspora. Guyanese pride themselves on our brilliance in the Diaspora, but brilliance alone is really quite useless. Will we ever learn to accept differences as we bring our collective assets to the table of development? I believe that we can and we must, we have no choice.
