Guyanese Online

By MOHAMED HAMALUDIN

Probably 60 years ago, after graduating from high school in my native Guyana and became a teacher, I considered emigrating. I do not recall why I set my sights on the United States of America. It was probably because of what I had seen in movies. I started the process by trying to go to a college, probably Rutgers in New Jersey because, if I remember right, the name looked impressive. If that sounds naïve, the reason I gave for applying may seem even more laughable. I was born on the Fourth of July, as was the United States, and I mentioned that coincidence in my application.

I never followed up, though, probably because I may not have been serious and, anyhow, there was no pressing need for me to emigrate. Perhaps it was because, in those days, the focus was more on Britain, Guyana’s colonial power until 1966. The country of Stratford-upon-Avon seemed to be a better place, no doubt because of Guyana’s British-oriented education system, than the American West populated by cowboys and “Indians.” Indeed, it was more appealing to me than Guyana’s hinterland with its majestic Kaieteur Fall, which, at 741 feet, has the sheerest drop of all such natural wonders – and which I still have not visited.        Continue reading →