Dear Editor,
Mr Charles Sugrim was right that the audience, a packed room at the Marriott on Monday, was looking forward to a question and answer segment (‘Guyana could be transformed … ‘ SN, Sep 28) but because the programme was running late, I suppose it was not practical. However, the audience was very pleased that the President spent some scarce time to interact with the large crowd. President Donald Ramotar was mobbed by the large appreciative gathering making the Secret Service very nervous with so many people hugging and wanting to pose for photos with the Donald. The President enjoyed it all chatting, laughing, shaking hands, hugging, and posing for photos. He even jokingly chided me for critical pieces I published on him and the PPP.
President Ramotar, Mr William Swing (Director of International Organization for Migration), and Minister Carolyn Rodrigues deserve plaudits for the launching of the diaspora project. They all made a compelling case for the establishment of this entity that will survey, organize and channel the overseas talent to appropriate departments for the development of our homeland. Mr Ramotar was quite impressive in the simplicity, tone, delivery and contents of his remarks that evoked intermittent laughter and applause. Ambassador Bayney Karran did an exceptional job in moving the programme along, introducing the three main speakers and even delivering a short, sharp and crisp note on why Guyanese should support the project.
As all the speakers noted, the diaspora is extremely large and can play a very vital role (with their enormous skills, talent, free time and financial resources) in the development of Guyana. It has been an underexploited economic opportunity. Tapping into the vast resources of the diaspora to aid Guyana is not a new concept. Overseas groups have been aiding Guyana (communities, organizations, hospitals, churches, schools, etc) for decades in a variety of ways, particularly so after the restoration of democratic rule in 1992. I have written extensively in the New York Caribbean weekly media since the early 1990s on the altruistic activities of individuals and overseas Guyanese organizations that directly benefited our former homeland. An effort was also made in New York by some of us in a private capacity to coordinate aid to Guyana. Right after the PPP was elected in 1992, Mr Ray Sundar (formerly of Port Mourant) initiated a Help Guyana Project of which I was a participant and promoter. Sundar and our group coordinated and shipped a lot of resources that benefited schools, hospitals, the orphanage, organizations, political parties, and even private individuals in communities throughout Guyana. I should note that support from the government was not forthcoming and even the now defunct state-owned Guyana Airways (with its tight baggage capacity) was not very supportive with cost concessions to ship badly needed supplies to Guyana. Even the late President Cheddi Jagan told us the state was broke and could not help with shipping costs to aid our suffering nation. He asked us to bear costs for helping our country. After a couple of years, Sundar’s Help Guyana Project petered out without official government support. Suggestions were made by this writer and others (published in Caribbean Indian American News owned by Ram Jodha and in SN) during the early years of the PPP administration for the establishment of an agency to coordinate resources bound to Guyana as well as to survey talent willing to volunteer in the rebuilding of our country. It was even suggested that a desk be set up at the consulate to coordinate efforts but the government did not give a favourable response. Private efforts to aid Guyana continued but were not coordinated by a central body until now. This effort by the government
(GUYDP) is the first to coordinate the overseas pool of talent abroad and it is hoped it will pay handsome dividends as it has worked for other countries.
I should point out that Guyanese have been involved in another diaspora project in aid of another nation. Several Indo-Guyanese, myself included, have participated in initiatives (like investments, foreign currency accounts, etc) to benefit their ancestral homeland India. We long ago recognized the importance of the diaspora in India’s development and suggested it to our overseas BJP Friends in NY and they bought into the idea.
Some 20 years ago, Dharamdatt Sukhai, Andrew Lutchman and myself worked with organizations comprising Indian nationals on helping NGOs in India as well as promoting investment in India. We held many meetings with Indian counterparts in New York and New Jersey on pooling diaspora talent and resources to benefit India. Long before Atal Behari Vajpayee (leader of BJP) became Prime Minister in 1998, Dharamdatt, Ramesh Kalicharran and myself met with Vaypayee along with Dr Mukhund Modi and others and discussed projects to benefit India. When the party won, some of our ideas (pooling overseas Indian talent, meeting the global Indian diaspora communities, initiating the annual diaspora gathering or PBD, etc) were implemented as Dharamdatt and Kali would attest, although we were not direct beneficiaries of their implementation. India now leverages the skills, talent, resources for the development of the country. The idea of formalizing a relationship between Guyana and its diaspora was also suggested to Dr Jagan, but it was not implemented.
I note that last June, El Salvador flew Berbician Ashok Ramsaran (based in Queens), President of GOPIO, to San Salvador to advise a group on how to harness the El Salvador diaspora to promote development of the country.
This idea of a diaspora project is some 20 years behind schedule. Had the government started this project when the concept was initiated by Ray Sundar and promoted by people like me, Guyanese development would have been further ahead. But it is better late than never.
It is heartening to see the government is attempting to focus on leveraging the diaspora at an organized level through the Foreign Ministry with the goal of tapping into the vast knowledge, skills, resources and innovation of overseas Guyanese. This would aid in business partnership and networking channels and in other projects to help our country to take off. The diaspora should be engaged in all aspects of development projects. The success of the project would depend on the seriousness of the government and its zeal towards implementation. I applaud President Ramotar and Minister Rodrigues for this initiative. Best wishes for its success and we all should back it!
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
