A good idea, although previously ignored, always bears repeating. Here is one: Guyana should officially set about taking advantage of the very substantial unused resource this country has in the Guyanese diaspora sitting in the developed world. Admittedly, no one knows the extent of it – no reliable study has been done – but there is clearly a juggernaut of expertise, financial wherewithal, and, most importantly, considerable commitment to the homeland, in this scattered Guyanese population living abroad. When one considers the continuing, and even urgent need for those commodities in present day Guyana, our government here is missing the boat badly in not mounting a concerted drive to garner them.
Whether it comes through the government directly, or through a probably more palatable private sector stream, an official Guyana Diaspora Office (choose your title) should be established quickly to begin the process of capturing this latent and often neglected resource.
Three years ago, passing through Jamaica, on a trip here, I booked into the Pegasus Hotel to find the place overflowing with an impressive crowd of black-tie Jamaicans; it was a mob scene. I was taken aback. The hotel’s Guyanese manager, Eldon Brenner, laughingly told me, “No, Dave. It’s not Caricom; it’s the Jamaica Diaspora Association.” I had never heard of the group, but the Jamaican PM was there, with most of his cabinet; there was a mix of resident and foreign-based Jamaicans; many leaders of business were there, and Harry Belafonte was one of the guest speakers, along with several other famous Jamaicans. Jamaica, it turns out, had been milking this resource of its people living away, and the dividends were clearly evident. This bustling gathering, celebrating an anniversary, was a sight to behold.
Guyana needs to copy that strategy. I don’t know about the UK, but I can speak with authority on the situation in Canada and the USA. Every single time I play in one of those cities I’m impressed by not only the extent (I know the numbers of us outside are huge) but particularly the quality of these people who are major achievers in such places. And further, to the point here, in also every one of those cities many of these Guyanese have an ear or an eye, and sometimes a heart, for the homeland. It comes out in the Guyana flags on their windshields. It’s there in things people shout to you from the audience. It comes out in the conversations they entrap you with after the show – like the group in Queens that had me encircled on the sidewalk at 3 in the morning – and there are two aspects: one is obviously nostalgia, and close behind that is the disposition to help. “Who can I call? Can you put me in touch with somebody?” Sometimes it’s a concrete contribution; sometimes it’s an offer of support, or specific services. I usually try to steer them to civic groups, like the ones in Toronto, New York, Orlando, etc., but I have to tell them there is no official conduit for these outreaches. If these intimations are coming spontaneously, how much wider must be the interest and the commitment, waiting to be capitalized on, that is not surfacing?
We should be proactively going after this interest, not sitting here and expecting it will gradually filter its way down to us through the civic groups; significant support is obviously going to be missed in that process. Part of our business of making life better in Guyana should be to go beyond being grateful for this resource; we should have a unit specifically set up for not only channeling this expression of interest, but to go beyond that into campaigning in the diaspora to extract the interest that is there.
Mind you, there are some hurdles to cross. One of them is the often negative response on the ground here to some of these diaspora offers. Just this week, one of our Guyanese professionals, on an exploratory visit here, was complaining to me about the lukewarm reception to his offer of services. In some of those cases, unfortunately, the “cut and run/stay an’ bun’ ” view, while not always voiced, is at play, and offers go a-begging. There is the psychological problem here, not unique to Guyana, of this condition of the ones “leaving the tribe”, so to speak, for any appreciable time, being then left outside the pale. Nonetheless, any diaspora effort will have to take it on board as a challenge. I know of several instances, in both Canada and the USA, where the rebuff here has resulted in the interest to support being abandoned and, as in most negative experiences, the details then being relayed to dissuade others similarly inclined.
Ironically, this same disposition often lands on the “comebackees”, returning here to live permanently, who are sometimes similarly rebuffed in their efforts to contribute. Indeed, an official Diaspora Association should be building a data base of such Guyanese, not only to take advantage of their abilities here, but also to use them as an informal resource to interact with their overseas brethren who may have doubts about contributions to the country.
There is also the often expressed diaspora concern, based on media reports on corruption and incompetence, about where their support will end up. While not so much a factor at home, this concern is high on the radar of those living outside, and any recruitment effort aimed at them will have to take that position into account. Here, as well, the “comebackees” could play a significant role by providing a neutral reading on the ground.
Critically, however, the Diaspora Association must function merely as a channel; put people with needs and people with resources in contact, and leave them to work out the details. To go beyond that, into negotiating between the need here and the provider outside, is a recipe for disaster because politics and corruption will take over.
On the positive side, there is already in existence a far-flung and vigorous network of Guyanese associations and groups in North America (the GCA of New York; the Orlando Guyanese Association; the Toronto Saints group, etc.) that could be the springboard for a national group that draws on this tremendous resource in the diaspora. It is wide-spread, it is sincere, and it is showing its intent, openly and covertly, everywhere our people live outside.
The Guyanese diaspora factor is akin to a fish swimming in the sea waiting to be caught; we should throw out a line and reel it in.
