Stop denigrating Richmond Hill

Mar 30, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,

In several of his columns, Kaieteur News’ daily columnist, Freddie Kissoon, castigated Indo-Guyanese living in Richmond Hill and the Bronx. Freddie has a tendency to use the term “Little Guyana” in a derogatory, insulting manner telling those with whom he has disagreements “to go back to Little Guyana in Richmond Hill and the Bronx” as though there is something terrible about living in these communities.

I already wrote about how Guyanese transformed slum sections of the Bronx into model communities – one does not denigrate such a community but admire them. Now, I briefly examine how Guyanese have transformed Richmond Hill from a depressed, low home value area into one of the highest real estate sections of New York state, if not the country. I should note that while real estate prices have declined by about 30% in some areas of the US, including Florida, real estate value has held up in Richmond Hill because of the presence of Guyanese.

A competent academic or a good columnist does not put down a community. An academic tries to understand a community – the way its members behave and their actions, achievements, etc. Attacking a community for its positive attributes is unacceptable. I live among and ground with them. I join in and often help to organise their struggles for a better community. I have written extensively on them as a newspaper reporter and a columnist. I teach many of the youngsters and often tutor some of them for free (no payment, not even powder milk). I know the community well. Richmond Hill Guyanese are to be admired for their productivity and achievements. They are a model community and have been featured in several mainstream NY newspapers and magazines which applaud their achievements and accomplishments.

They are proud of who they are and what they achieved in America. Areas where Indians have settled in America (Rtichmond Hill, Queens, Village, Jamaica, Schenectady, Jersey City, Cypress Hills, Westchester, Parkchester, Miami, Orlando, etc.) have been transformed from poverty stricken to middle income. Freddie needs only come and inquire what these places were like before Indo-Guyanese moved in. And he would get an understanding of the productivity of the community.Richmond Hill is a vibrant community thanks to Guyanese. Prior to Indians moving into the area, it was blighted and in decay.

Crime was up and houses were being abandoned. It was beginning to look like a ghost town. Population was shrinking quickly. Race relations between Whites and non-Whites were tense and worsening. As Whites began to move out to Long Island and upstate and elsewhere, Indians began to move into the area in the late 70s as renters and by the early 80s they became homeowners. By the mid-80s, they started acquiring businesses and setting up real estate offices. In just a matter of a decade Guyanese transformed the area into a better livable environment.

By the late 1980s, Guyanese groceries and restaurants were established. And in 1990s, Liberty Avenue was dominated by Guyanese-owned businesses as well as professional services from medical to legal to real estate, etc. A business on the avenue became a prized possession. Guyanese culture took root.

Richmond Hill has undergone a miraculous transformation in a couple of decades because of the presence of Guyanese. Guyanese have set an example for other depressed American communities. Freddie should not use “Go back to Little Guyana in Richmond Hill” as an insult. It is an honour to live among Guyanese in the area. Stop denigrating Richmond Hill!

Vishnu Bisram