I was a country boy of almost 21 when I migrated to Toronto, but almost immediately after my arrival there I began to notice the disposition in Guyanese to improvise, to fix things, to repair and recondition, which was not nearly so widespread in the Canadian community where there was a tendency to discard and buy new, instead of restoring or repainting or patching up. Part of it, of 
course, was the lack of financial wherewithal among us, the recent immigrants, many of whom, like me, had come from very humble circumstances in Guyana, but a part of it, I gradually came to see, even in myself, was this ability to be good with our hands, to almost immediately become a handyman. It’s something I see again, living in Guyana, where so many people have this inclination to fix the bicycle, or tune up the motor car, or patch the wall, instead of always hiring somebody to do it.
It was an inclination I noticed from early on, particularly because, although I was seeking my way as a musician in Canada, I could see, in parallel, this leaning in me to be a bit of a handyman; to figure out how something worked in order to fix it, or what materials to use on what renovation job around the house. Apart from the fact that it made good economic sense, I was learning of the satisfaction I got from these various household jobs, and I was also benefiting from the rise in self-esteem that came with it. I had learned of a capability within me that I didn’t know existed (I’m frankly still puzzled by it, and so are other people who know me only as a musician) to the extent that years later, as my house was being built in Cayman, I ended up putting in the greenheart floors by myself – the first such floor in the country. I had to rent a special side-nailing device from Miami, and a heavy-duty drum sander for the job, but while I admit I sometimes had serious doubts about the scale of the project I had taken on, I got through it and ended up with a floor that drew praise from visitors and gave me pleasure every time I walked barefoot on it, which was of course every day.
This inclination I see in so many Guyanese, both abroad and at home, is something that fascinates me, and leaves me curious about its origin, but it is a disposition that I have seen repeatedly in my people in the countries where music has taken me. From Grenada, in the south, to the Virgin Islands in the north, and everywhere in between, I have seen Guyanese applying their talents and succeeding at various trades and professions and business ventures, often subconsciously unaware of the inherent qualities from their homeland they brought to their new environment. I saw it in Paul DeSilva, working as an innovative engineer in Toronto; I saw it in Harry Singh, a pharmacist in St Lucia, and in Ronald Ramjattan, the owner of Baron Foods in the same island; I saw it in Aubrey Choy, successful in business in Barbados, and in Harry DeSouza leading a building crew in Cayman; all of them Guyanese. Some years ago at a Florida/Guyana Association function in Orlando, I made a speech on this point, and I vividly recall the next day being approached by Rosemary Moonasar of the Caribbean SuperCenter; she and her husband Narain operate the most successful Caribbean supermarket in Orlando. Virtually with tears in her eyes, she said, “I never thought of it before, but it’s true – much of the success my husband and I have had is based on qualities we came here with from Guyana.”
One frequently hears business people in the Caribbean and North America remarking on the hard-work qualities in their Guyanese employees, and I can attest to several instances of businesses in Cayman placing ads in Guyanese media to attract workers, based on their previous experience with Guyanese migrants. At one point, Cayman had several pharmacists, professionals, prison warden staff, construction foremen, and security officers, all originally citizens of Guyana.
The day before you’re reading this (assuming it’s Sunday, November 6), an event was put on in Orlando, Florida by the Caribbean American Passport Association (CAPA), paid tribute to this inclination in our people. CAPA in celebrating Guyana’s 50th independence, focused on honouring Guyanese immigrants to the USA who have done well in that country – all of them persons who have come to America with truly only their talents and their willingness to work hard.
Living in Toronto and then the Cayman Islands I have seen this inclination popping up again and again, and in my later years I see it operating wherever we end up; it is something, as the saying goes, that we come with. What CAPA did yesterday in Orlando, by honouring persons who have come to America with their Guyanese talents and made their mark, financially and otherwise, deserves our commendation in bold letters. Undoubtedly, we have many things to fix in Guyana, but time and again we spend too much time denigrating our homeland while neglecting to credit it for the part it played in forming and delivering us as people. The CAPA bouquet, coming in a time of celebration, is a most welcome occurrence making a timely point.
