Dear Editor,
So many negative circumstances have blighted Guyana for so long; so many of them highlighted daily in the media, that I think it is time for us to remember that we have things to be proud about.
I have just returned from a cruise around the West Indies, flying to Barbados and visiting St Kitts, St Maarten, Guadeloupe, St Lucia and Dominica. We took coach tours around each island. In St Lucia, three coachloads of us (all tourists from the UK) were shown around a distillery by a guide who gave a commentary. At one stage, he mentioned the part molasses played in the manufacturing process, and emphasised that the best molasses came from Guyana!
I was so impressed that I said I was from there; the 99.9% UK-born people looked at me questioningly. It seemed most of them did not know what molasses was, and the guide could not think of the British equivalent. I allowed myself a pat on the back when I was able to identify it as dark treacle (Lyle’s) sold in tins in the UK’s larger supermarkets. It goes to show that we still have something to be proud about.
Incidentally, I read the Wayne Brown column headed ‘In the Obama era’ and was struck by the description of Hillary Clinton as “their gal.” Some time ago I saw her described as a “white gal” in an SN blog. Some people may find this offensive and racist, just as Bill Clinton’s reference to Barack Obama as a “kid” was, the equivalent of the put-down term ‘boy.’ As I recall, the terms ‘gal’ and ‘boy’ were used at one time by American whites to belittle even educated, elderly non-white people. And we were all offended by such disrespect. Sauce for the goose…
Yours faithfully,
Geralda Dennison
