Guyana has a diverse society that is made up of various ethnicities, each of which has its own cultural and/or religious practices. We largely embrace each other as Guyanese and enjoy and respect each other’s traditions as is evidenced in our celebration of Hindu, Muslim and Christian festivities, which we observe not as separate cultures but rather as part of the “Guyanese” culture!
Of recent, our country has opened its doors to receiving foreigners from Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela. As we walk the streets of Georgetown, we can see the melting pot that the city has become, where local vendors use what Spanish they may know to attract the Spanish tourists and would-be residents.
Whether it’s a case of shopping for goods to take back home like in the case of Cubans, seeking refuge from an economic/political crisis as in the case of Venezuelans, or gold mining in the case of the Brazilians, we are mixing beautifully and being given a chance to learn new languages and cultures different from our own.
We Guyanese know a bit ourselves about being in other countries and the discrimination that we often face. In light of this, we should be grateful that as a result of the growing Latin community here, we will not only have a solution to our longstanding under-population but a healthy mixing of cultures and language.
We should remember that people leave their homelands for different reasons, and especially when it is out of necessity it is not easy for them because they are leaving their families and sometimes everything they know behind, including their language. Being in a country that isn’t your own with different cultural practices and having to learn a new language far different from your own is not easy. As a result, we as “hosts” should try to be as welcoming and accommodating as possible and to treat these foreign “guests” as we would want to be treated when we take up residence in North America, the Caribbean or elsewhere.
The world today is indeed a global village and instead of frowning upon the foreigners living in our country, we should reflect on the fact that we, as Guyanese, live in other people’s countries and although a language barrier is almost never an issue because we mostly choose to reside in English-speaking countries, we aren’t always greeted with warmth and kindness. Remember, too, that our new Latin friends do a great deal in boosting our country’s economy and that there are many Cuban doctors in our health facilities in addition to our Cuban-trained Guyanese doctors who are looking after the health of our people. Furthermore, that our children go to school and laugh and hold hands with their Spanish speaking or Brazilian friends while learning snippets of their language is a thing to be grateful for. Not every Guyanese will be fortunate to travel outside of their homeland to discover new lands and cultures, so this opportunity is one to be embraced and our mission should be to make our new friends feel as welcomed and as at home as possible.
Alicia Roopnaraine is a Psychologist at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s Psychiatric Department. You can send questions or comments to her at aliciaroopnaraine@gmail.com
