Guyana’s Diaspora – to come or not to come

May 14, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Guyana’s President is reported to have said that the diaspora must not be “lazy” in taking advantage of the rich opportunities and sweet promises offered by this country. Quite a few members of the widely scattered Guyanese diaspora, largely concentrated in America and Canada, have contemplated whether to return to Guyana, or to stay where they are, and keep building on the foundations that they have erected for themselves. On the other hand, some Guyanese have actually taken the plunge and retraced their steps to take up permanent residence in the land of their birth, their memories, their love. Still, the challenge lingers for many, regarding whether they should heed the national leader’s call, and make the move back to their homeland.
Indeed, the Guyana of today is not the one that they have left a decade or two ago. For those who left since the 60s, 70s, or 80s, this country would be like a new planet to them. It would be almost totally alien to what they had always known. That Guyana is gone, and is now replaced by a sweep of activity, a rush of intensity, that characterizes many segments. It is the pull that tempts, and is what political leaders have been marketing in their recent journeys, their speeches, and as they highlight (like politicians the world over) the bright side only. The arrival of oil, and its continued discoveries in massive quantities, has changed everything overnight. The local hustle and bustle have been ratcheted up to a fever pitch, with announced, projected, and actual shortages of skills, talents, and expertise in numerous areas, both oil and nonoil related.
The dilemma for Guyanese in the diaspora slowly and cautiously weighing their options is what is the best move for them to make. That is, should they stay in America or Aruba, or should they come back to Demerara? As examples, there are those Guyanese who have done well in what we call the trades, such as masonry, carpentry, and fixing sophisticated machinery, ranging from vehicles to appliances to technology. Some of the overseas based locals still have families, assets, even a real estate base here, which makes the attraction even more tempting.
The Guyanese diaspora is also aware that there is a construction boom underway in this country, and that there is serious shortage of skilled workers. The question for these Guyanese is what they should do, meaning, pack up their traps like they did when leaving here, and starting over again, but this time on familiar grounds, as in home? For sure, there must be a decent contingent of Guyanese engineers of different specializations, Guyanese accountants and auditors, and Guyanese with funds to invest in real estate and other businesses. As tempting as things are in Guyana, there is a strain of hesitation, a degree of fear, that still prevails about what is the best thing to do for themselves, given how Guyana is beneath the glitter.
The hesitations and fears are largely centered over such meaningful issues as corruption, discrimination, bureaucracy, crime, policing and, of course, this country’s rotten politics and its hard-edged polarization. From all of these, there is what is still believed to be lacking, stability and justice, leadership ethics and clean governance. These were among some of the very things that chased hundreds of thousands of Guyanese for decades into what is now called the local diaspora. It didn’t matter whether it was the PPP-C or PNC-R that was in power, Guyanese fled for greener, safer, pastures. Now the advent of oil in immense amounts has made for more miseries and monstrosities in this society. What should be beneficial for all Guyanese has, so far, turned out to be artificial and detrimental, except for those in power and their chosen few.

Thus, as much as many Guyanese desire to return, they are caught in two minds. It is why give up what is proven, what has been good, for what is uncertain, and could be of the same old culture, environment, and circumstances that led to the heartache of leaving. The oil has a magical quality about it, but Guyanese in the diaspora are also aware of its long, dirty underbelly.

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Guyana’s Diaspora – to come or not to come

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