The goodwill that has been extended to the new political administration by nationals in the diaspora is a corollary to the high level of interest that had been evinced in the elections campaign by Guyanese residing abroad.
It represents something of a shift from the behaviour of the past. On the whole, Guyanese in the diaspora have not matched their Jamaican counterparts’ passionate collective identification with their home country, at least not in terms of any strong, structured and sustained linkages to social, economic and political events at home. Such links as have existed between Guyana and Guyanese in the diaspora manifest themselves in family ties and in the movement of remittances and other forms of subsidy mostly from North America and the United Kingdom to Guyana.
It would require a considerable dissertation to set out the reasons why Guyanese in the diaspora have not emulated Jamaicans in terms of strong identification with home country though one of the primary reasons has had to do with differences linked primarily though not exclusively to political events in Guyana.
This time around the Government of Guyana may well have been presented with the best opportunity to embrace Guyanese in the diaspora and to secure from them more contributions to the country’s development that go beyond periodic monetary remittances that target family and relatives.
Remittances aside there are various ways in which Guyanese in the diaspora can contribute to the growth and development at home. Those ways that come to mind include responding enthusiastically to what we expect will be an open invitation from the government of Guyana to invest in businesses of one kind or another at home; helping to alleviate the problem of scarce skills that plague so many sectors of the society either through remigration and full-time work here or else through visits here to undertake structured voluntary work in various fields; active lobbying that target agencies in the countries where they live to create initiatives designed to redound in one way or another to the benefit of Guyana.
This can be realized through the creation of Guyanese organizations in countries where nationals live in significant numbers as well as the strengthening of existing ones. These can support the mobilization of Guyanese on a non-partisan basis to brainstorm initiatives to help the home country in one way or another.
The Stabroek Business is raising this issue even as Jamaica prepares for its own diaspora conference in June. While we have no figures on the extent to which investment, for example, by Jamaicans in the diaspora, has come in the wake of the five diaspora conferences that have been held so far we believe that their continuity suggests that they are considered by both Jamaicans at home and Jamaicans in the diaspora to be worthwhile.
Over the years there has been a great deal of discourse about the prospects that exist for Guyanese in the diaspora to make a more meaningful contribution to the country’s development. This is probably as good an opportunity as we have had to embrace that dream.
