TRADEWINDS AND CULTURE IN THE DIASPORA

Mar 02, 2014 News

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By Ralph Seeram

Dave Martins and the Tradewinds were coming to town; it was a “big thing” for New Amsterdam “back in the days”. We had to go, but we needed a babysitter for our two little kids, so we sent an urgent message for their young aunt to come to our rescue. She did.
That flashback came to me as I was sitting listening to Dave Martins and his Tradewinds two Saturday nights ago in Orlando. The occasion was Guyanese celebrating Guyana’s Republic Anniversary. And why did I have that flashback? Because now some 34 years later that “baby” is sitting with me enjoying the music so many of us enjoyed in our youth.
The music of Dave Martins is timeless. I was compelled to ask Dave why his music can appeal to my daughter as it did to me since the late sixties. He explained that people can relate to the music because they feel the music is about them; that it’s what they experience in their daily lives.
Later, during his performance he took time to explain the power and beauty of the Guyanese dialect and Creole language.
He urged Guyanese not to lose their accent, their broken English; “It’s a powerful language,” he tells the largely Guyanese audience in the Diaspora. He referred to his famous song with which we are all familiar, about West Indians becoming “overnight Yankee” as soon as they land at airports in the US. This has been a struggle for Guyanese leaving the shores of their homeland for the North America and other countries. I have met Guyanese who were born in the rural areas of Guyana, but speaking to them you think they were born in Mid West America. Some seemed to be even ashamed of their names, especially the Indians ones. They changed the pronunciation so it sounded “englishfied”. Yes Dave, I am holding on to some of our slang.
I can understand speaking to American friends in American accent, but please don’t talk to me like that when I am speaking to you. For me the only thing that can immediately identify me as a Guyanese is my speech.
When people ask me, “You Guyanese?” I reply proudly, “Yes Berbician”. I don’t forget the Berbice part. I met Guyanese who are even ashamed of the village they came from. I can tell they are from rural Guyana but they always claim they are from Georgetown.
I have lived in the US for over 30 years and I have made deliberate efforts no to lose my Guyanese accent. I always have Dave Martin song in mind, and happily I have not become an “overnight Yankee”. Yes Dave Martins was right we live and experience his songs everyday in our lives.
Speaking about Guyana, whenever I visit Guyana I always make a point to take out travel insurance, mainly for medical coverage such as Medivac services.
It is worth the extra US$50 or so for peace of mind. One of my greater fears visiting Guyana is getting involved in a road accident. We all know how dangerous the roads in Guyana are. It’s bad enough as it is, now you have to deal with drunken Government Ministers.
The last thing I want to do is die in a hospital in Guyana for lack of drugs, medical care or careless medical personnel. We are all familiar with horror stories at medical institutions in Guyana. God help you if you get a heart attack in Guyana.
Obviously, this has not been lost on the politicians in Guyana, especially those in Government who boast of the “best medical services” and the billions of dollars spent on health care in Guyana. As soon they get a fever, or dengue fever to be exact, they seek medical attention in the US.
The poor have to deal with the substandard medical services at public institutions, but the elite can be Medivacced out the country; they don’t have the faith in their own medical services as Burnham did. At least Burnham believed in his institution.
I had dengue fever when it first appeared in Guyana in the late 70s. At that time it was mistakenly identified as flu by the then government. It was Guyanese Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Niamatalli Ameerally, who identified it as Dengue fever, and was criticized by the then PNC government for calling it Dengue fever.
I know the story well; I was the first to report that Guyana was hit by Dengue fever. No one even knew what it was the time. At the time my editor, the late great Cecil Griffith took “flack” from the government for “alarming” the nation. In the end the brilliant Dr.Niamatalli was proven right.
As I stated, I contracted Dengue fever but I did not need medical evacuation abroad for treatment. So if it is true that former President Bharrat Jagdeo suffered from Dengue fever, it would seem a colossal waste of taxpayers’ funds to seek medical treatment abroad.
Two things come to mind, either he doesn’t trust local medical personnel that he as President helped shape, or he does not trust the overpriced drugs his friend Bobby supplies.
However, if as reported he only spent three or so days in the hospital I wonder how seriously ill he was.
I can tell you this, even if the Specialty Hospital is built in Guyana, politicians will still seek medical attention abroad, especially if the Guyanese taxpayers are footing the bill.
I don’t blame them, I don’t even blame Jagdeo. After all, the doctors in Florida saved my life 12 years ago. Had I been in Guyana you folks would not be reading this column today. Seriously.

Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: [email protected]

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