We Got Oil! Realizing Change in Guyana and the Role of Diaspora Hometown Associations

Aug 07, 2018 News

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The South American nation of Guyana has been in the news recently for good reasons. Stained by the horrific tragedy of Jonestown in the late 1980’s and recently maligned by a New York Times writer, according to ExxonMobil, oil discovery off Guyana’s northern coast will top four billion barrels, becoming a leading oil producing nation in the region.
However, owing to the large number of Guyanese who emigrate, much of the nation’s skills and expertise, including those that could contribute significantly to the oil industry’s success, reside in the Diaspora.
There has not been an effective strategy to engage expatriates – perhaps until now. Despite the almost euphoric optimism expressed by Guyanese at home and abroad, there are challenges only marginally discussed. One observer noted, “With major oil set to flow as soon as 2020, authorities are bracing both for the shock of wealth and its attendant woes.”
This article focuses on the potential role of Hometown Associations (HTA) in helping to understand the socio-cultural ramifications, identifying the risks and harnessing required skills, attitude and cultural adaptation needed to ensure reaping the benefits of this unprecedented, historic natural resource discovery.
HTAs are organizations formed by immigrants from the same village, town, community or shared institution seeking to support their country of origin, maintaining connections through cash or kind, while retaining a sense of community as they adjust to life in their adopted home.
There are more than 400 Guyanese immigrant HTAs in North America and the primary support they provide to the home country are in the areas of education, community development, and healthcare. Resources in cash and in kind represent a wide range of ‘give back’ mechanisms.
The history and track record of these organizations, place them in a unique vantage position for enabling the growth of local communities within the context of anticipated newfound wealth; whereas in the past, these organizations were viewed as doing ‘charity work.’ More recently, their activities occur through community development, sending collective remittances to villages, towns, regions, communities and members’ past shared social institutions.
HTAs, a popular conduit for cultural and material aspects of Diaspora connection, also play an important role in sustaining cross-continental linkages. The members can be a collective asset in various capacities in a transforming society, helping to ensure that economic gains from oil royalties will be used for the public good, particularly in areas of job creation, improved infrastructure, healthcare and the overall quality of life of citizens.
Guyanese engineer Vincent Adams posits that there is an unprecedented “repository of knowledge and other resources in the Diaspora” while President David Granger prefers ‘brains, skills and expertise’ over barrels. An emerging challenge for HTAs is to extend the provision of educational services that would improve the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) curriculum, identifying areas such as oil exploration, resource development, industrial engineering, industrial management, accounting and oil industry personnel training at all levels.
Social scientist, Norman Munroe believes that following oil discovery, there will be “a need to develop global strategy training courses and career development support towards future technology.”
Hometown Associations embody one of the conduits of knowledge and other resources and can play an intrinsic role in identifying and recruiting Guyanese (and those of other nationalities) that have expertise, knowledge and skills in the oil refinery or related industries.
Furthermore, members of the Diaspora will be able to complement aspects of the local workplace culture, bringing ideas, strategies and a professional decorum that have been tested and successfully implemented in similar industries. These intersecting “social remittances”, respectfully introduced and reinforced can enhance sustainable development.
Individuals and organizations in the Diaspora remit to their country of origin, information, norms, practices, materials, identities, human capital and other social resources that can both promote and impede development.
Much of what immigrants ‘give back’ to their country of origin is influenced by habits, tastes, technology and behaviours learned and inculcated in their adopted home. If HTAs are to make any meaningful, non-threatening contribution, the way, in which these social remittances are introduced and monitored, is essential.
This is particularly important, since the methods and attitudes exhibited by returning immigrants may conflict with traditional hometown ways of doing things. Local residents often feel an existential threat from returning immigrants, while some in the Diaspora display unconscious bias by imposing their ‘foreign’ ways of getting things done.
These reciprocal actions and reactions often cause resentment and frustration among non-immigrants and re-migrants alike. Mutual respect, compromise, a sense of community, as well as validating strengths and acknowledging failure, underscore successful Diaspora engagement.
While immigrants continuously send personal remittances to family and friends in their home countries, HTAs have been increasingly helping to develop and sustain local communities, often in the form of community development projects. The projects include rebuilding edifices, construction of new community centers, repairing schools, medical institutions, and other infrastructure.
HTA members (many seniors or retired) report that the organizations provide a sense of purpose, an opportunity to engage in philanthropy and to ‘give back’ to the country. It is also an expression of generativity, i.e., promoting opportunities for future generations.
As with any episode of societal transition, opportunities and challenges are inevitable. If HTAs are going to be one of the arbiters of the transformation, executives need to understand the anticipated changes and ways in which they can motivate local communities and help members comprehend the realities of impending adjustments.
Working collaboratively with local non-profit organizations and government institutions is essential. Importantly, expectations related to organizational behaviour and consumer habits have been an area of concern likely to create conflicts as HTAs attempt to contribute to the continuous development of local communities.
Aspects of Diaspora engagement have been viewed as challenging local beliefs, customs, and practices, causing tension. For example, some diaspora organizations have been accused of using tax-free concessions for personal transfers. In a statement about the role of Diaspora organizations, President Granger urged, “When they (HTAs) want to send a petition next time, ask them to petition for a permit to open a factory or a farm.”
In the past, government officials have reached out for help from HTAs seemingly only right before national elections, a situation, which has caused resentment. These examples are indicative of the tensions that exist between the government and the Diaspora.
In the efforts to manage the incipient influx of petro-dollars, stakeholders must be wary of the concomitant socio-economic and psychological pitfalls. Lessons of success and failure can be learned from the experience of other developing countries.
It is also important to note that benefits will be stymied by inept and insufficient preparation. Nevertheless, HTAs can play a significant role in successful Diaspora engagement in the preparatory period and beyond.
Emotional attachment to the homeland may have been reignited by reverse push factors (anti-immigrant rhetoric/policy) and ‘gushing’ pull factors (prospects of petro wealth) and viewing this moment as an opportunity to remigrate or reconnect in various ways.
Ultimately, Guyanese in and outside the country must exercise due diligence to spend this imminent windfall wisely turning impoverishment into prosperity. This is the opportune time for those in the home country and the Diaspora, including voluntary organizations, to use their social capital to engage the networks, norms and trust that would enable them to work together more effectively to pursue shared objectives.

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