A Voice from the Diaspora – By Dr. Dhanpaul Narine
Dr. Dhanpaul Narine
University of Guyana
This is an excerpt from my presentation at the Diaspora Conference in Guyana. The Conference was sponsored by the University of Guyana.
Thank you Mr. Chairman. Your Excellency, the President of Guyana, our esteemed Vice Chancellor, members of the Diplomatic Corp, UG staff and students, members of the media and friends all. Welcome to this historic Conference.
Please allow me to recognize the role of the media and in particular my good friend Mr. Mohamed Alim Hassim from ‘The West Indian’ in New York. Alim has not only publicized this Conference for free but has traveled to Guyana to cover it for the readers and he is here. Thank you, Alim.
Let me begin by introducing three new letters to our local lexicon. They are PGO, Persons of Guyanese Origin. It does not matter where you are; as long as you can identify with the green land of Guyana you are a PGO. Our President has told us that Guyana is really a split between 50 per cent of Guyanese at home and the rest abroad, mainly in North America. This is an usually high number.
Read more: A Voice from the Diaspora – By Dr. Dhanpaul Narine
Comments
I love Dr. Narine’s suggestion to tear down the prison and build a park and name it the ‘Jagan Burnham Recreation Park.’
Thanks, don’t forget we are introducing three letters to the Guyanese lexicon and they are PGO-Persons of Guyanese Origin. When we speak of the diaspora PGO will become increasingly relevant.
Impressive presentation Dr. Narine. You made some great suggestions that have merits. Yes, Guyanese diaspora has been making great contributions to Guyana in terms of remittances and they are willing to make more contributions with their skills and talents and donations, but too often the diaspora is used as a means for political party ends. Also, as you mentioned, they are lured to visit Guyana and when they do they are treated with deception, disrespect and inhospitality which has long been a turn off. Yes, based on the population of the diaspora, it’s justified to create a ministry to represent them ….the PGOs. The government of Guyana need to recognize that the people of diaspora/PGOs are a valuable resource that will always play a vital role in the country’s economy.