Finally got around to posting this. I spent several days in Guyana in April: Georgetown, Guyana Zoo, the Seawall, New Amsterdam and Bartica. My observations may seem naïve, I don’t know as much of the country as you people here. I can post pix later if anyone interested.
Airport: You know you are in a poor Third World country when you have to walk for 10 minutes from the airplane, in pouring rain, through constructed zone, to get to the taxi.
Georgetown: The city takes its name from Stabroek (before 1812). It was a farmland before it became a seaport. The Dutch forced the Amerindians and African slaves to build the sea wall to keep the water out because the city is below sea level. The streets were bustling with activities. Dem mini bus and taxi drivers are hustlers and will really drag your ass into their buses.
Contrary to what you might read on GNI, I saw many young mixed couples, Afro, Indo and Amerindians. Afros and Indos were sitting side by side selling their organic produce, getting along very well. Banks also had workers of all races.
I ate some weird fruits called Star Apple, Soursappy and a Sapodilla…they were great!
GT was not entirely clean. It was sad to see displaced persons sleeping in front of Parliament.
I tried getting in Parliament to see one of the sessions, but was not allowed because I wore a t-shirt.
New Amsterdam: This is a ghost town at night. Looked very depressing, not as crowded as GT, but lots of new buildings and hotels going up. Either people were very rich or very poor. Almost every Guyanese I spoke to had relatives abroad and were themselves planning to go abroad. I was told I could travel to Mara and to Corrivaton to see the end of Berbice, but we had no time.
Most of the businesses seemed owned and managed by Indians, Pitt Street being the busiest.
Bartica: This was a long ass trip on speedboat to nowhere. Scary boat ride, nice but strange place, difficult to identify the race of many people, nothing like GT or New Amsterdam. Some people spoke Spanish, some were Amerindians and others looked like mixed race people. A lot of dem look like they into the gold mining industry. Thought I was in a different country.
Respect: I was impressed with the respect and hospitality people displayed. Every body says “good marning” and expect you to do the same.
Racial conflict: I did not experience cases of racial conflict where people cuss down each other like some of you knuckleheads do every minute on GNI. Everybody seems to be struggling to earn a living and Indos and Afros got along fine.
Crime: I was warned to hide my money and jewelry. I did not see or experience any crime or felt threatened in any way in any of these cities. I did see many Indians who seem timid and acted like they were guests in GT. Afros were more confident. However, crime does seem to be a concern for many business owners.
One day, a crowd built up near Demico House…this seems like a popular spot. An Indo priest (a Hindu in yellow robe) and an Afro were debating religion. The Afro pointed out that Hindus were racist because of the caste system, while the Indo pointed out that Hindus are not influenced by caste in Guyana. Bystanders got involved too, but it was a friendly parlay.
Amerindians: There were many Amerindians in GT. Whoever said these people like to live in the interior is dead wrong. They spoke perfect English and many worked in the hotels.
Government Offices: Many of the government offices (Immigration, Airport, Post Office, Dept of Foreign Affairs, Culture, etc) were run by a majority of Afros. I tried getting into GECOM (since it been in the news) but the office was fenced in and the entry doors were in chains. I went to the Post Office and some of the Ministries. I suppose if I had visited Guyana during the PPP time, these government offices would have been occupied by a majority Indos.
Mini bus: I wanted the “mini bus experience”. I sat in the front seat. The driver and conductor were Indos. On the way to New Amsterdam, I noticed the driver singing along to what he explained was “chutney” music. Two Afros came in, then the conductor, with urgency, told the driver to play “dub” music, which I take to mean non-Indian music. I asked him later why he would stop the music in the middle while he was enjoying it, he said “dem black people does fight up” so he kept a stack of cassettes for that purpose. I asked him if he would do the same if an Indo make the same request. He said, “den Indians like any type of music, dey don’t mind”.
Overall, Guyana does seem like a very depressed country. Hopefully, the oil economy may change some of that and enhance the lives of all Guyanese.
