Guyana
Guyana
I visited Guyana, when Janet Jagan, Cheddi Jagan’s wife was in power. I was invited by a family in Georgetown. I was intrigued by Guyana’s mix of Asian and African people, and their lilting Creole, and their Soca and Chutney music. But what I saw was two communities that did not get along and distrusted each other. The Asians seemed terrified of the Africans.
The airport is quite far from Brickdam, so my friend had to come and pick me up with driver armed with a gun, the area from the airport to the city was dangerous. In the night after a 12 hour delayed flight we passed sugar factories with rotten smells emanating from them.
The week I spent in Georgetown, was like living in a gated community that was bolted by fear. The house had guard dogs that were always tied up and were barking at everyone. Every night, the silence was broken by a girl, who suffered from mental retardation, screaming and weeping all night. We slept under mosquito nets, but were bitten by big mosquitoes anyway. Their were major water shortages. The family, it seemed were under lockdown in the house, watching television, that showed the listing of all the people that had died, the day before. We ate the same food reheated, from Christmas until New Years, but I did have my first tasting of the delicious Black Cake.
The house was a born again Christian home, so Christ’s words were all over the house. But the house seemed shrouded in sadness, the mother yelled at her daughters, and none of them wanted to be around her for very long. They had adopted a boy, who was the only bright spot, when he came from his orphanage on the weekends. I learnt about Jumbies (ghosts) from the little boy, who saw them everywhere.
I saw the magnificent Kaiteur water falls, and picked up a major rash when I took a dip in a stream in the Amazon forest. I saw some native children, who looked at us, like they had never seen tourists before. The landscape was lush green, filled with palms, and the biggest lotuses I ever saw. But their was fear all around, and I felt I was in a jail, choking and suffocating..
I visited Guyana, when Janet Jagan, Cheddi Jagan’s wife was in power. I was invited by a family in Georgetown. I was intrigued by Guyana’s mix of Asian and African people, and their lilting Creole, and their Soca and Chutney music. But what I saw was two communities that did not get along and distrusted each other. The Asians seemed terrified of the Africans.
The airport is quite far from Brickdam, so my friend had to come and pick me up with driver armed with a gun, the area from the airport to the city was dangerous. In the night after a 12 hour delayed flight we passed sugar factories with rotten smells emanating from them.
The week I spent in Georgetown, was like living in a gated community that was bolted by fear. The house had guard dogs that were always tied up and were barking at everyone. Every night, the silence was broken by a girl, who suffered from mental retardation, screaming and weeping all night. We slept under mosquito nets, but were bitten by big mosquitoes anyway. Their were major water shortages. The family, it seemed were under lockdown in the house, watching television, that showed the listing of all the people that had died, the day before. We ate the same food reheated, from Christmas until New Years, but I did have my first tasting of the delicious Black Cake.
The house was a born again Christian home, so Christ’s words were all over the house. But the house seemed shrouded in sadness, the mother yelled at her daughters, and none of them wanted to be around her for very long. They had adopted a boy, who was the only bright spot, when he came from his orphanage on the weekends. I learnt about Jumbies (ghosts) from the little boy, who saw them everywhere.
I saw the magnificent Kaiteur water falls, and picked up a major rash when I took a dip in a stream in the Amazon forest. I saw some native children, who looked at us, like they had never seen tourists before. The landscape was lush green, filled with palms, and the biggest lotuses I ever saw. But their was fear all around, and I felt I was in a jail, choking and suffocating..
Comments