Forum

I was born and raised in beautiful Guyana and there I remained until 1990 when I migrated to the UK. My knowledge, of this lush, vibrant land of many waters and six races, is extensive because we were taught in school, and had to memorise, the names of all the rivers, regions, products for export, the meaning of the colours of the flag, draw the map, coat of arms yada yada yada! I knew Kaieteur is the world’s largest single drop waterfall and that the St. George’s Cathedral is one of the world’s tallest wooden buildings. My mother was an educator and so I visited many places where her job took her including Sandhills in the Berbice River. However, it was not until I returned ‘home’ a few times that I decided to do some planned sightseeing. My first stop was the Baganara Island Resort not far from Bartica in the Essequibo River. What an absolute treat!! Worth every bit of the $US we paid which made my eyes water ever so slightly. Tour guides and staff were all native Guyanese but the people in the group of which I was a part were all ‘returnees’. I guess what I’m asking is do you have to be a Guyanese earning tons of $GY or overseas based, to access Guyana’s beauty or do we even care? Thoughts please!?

My daughter is 27 and still living at home, through no fault of her own I hasten to add. Recently we have been having more high-volume discussions than normal and the saying ‘two big 'oman kyan live in d same house’ frequently jumps out of my mouth. As if it were yesterday, I can hear my mummy saying the same thing to me. Another of her favourites when I was in a mood was ‘Guh bac an cry whey yuh stump yuh toe’. There are lots of others so, come on, share an leh we ‘gyaff’’!