Identity is important

Dear Editor,

This is nice to know: “New York Library unveils section on Guyanese”. According to the report in the press and also a number of emails, I get the distinct impression that there is indeed a little Guyana in New York. I now ask if this is good or bad.

First up, being immersed in Guyanese Creolese and cuisine is nothing to be ashamed of. The local Creolese (basi, meso and acro) is fantastically rich. It is inaccurately deemed ‘bad’ or ‘broken’ English. I emphatically declare that this is not so. Guyanese Creolese is just another complete, sufficient and sufficing linguistic system. It has its rules, just like French, Spanish, English, etc have.

However, there are quite a few caveats. Guyanese Creole language remains parochial in its use. It is reserved mostly for the spoken and informal occasions. In fact, trying to spell Creolese words is most onerous. Sometimes reading the Creolese is quite challenging. However, it is a great medium for solidarity among Guyanese.

Guyanese, even in New York, still ‘does halla’ on their children, and they also ‘a murda cuss up,’ when at the parks playing cricket, or at the bar having a beer. Okay, you want some positives? This I did when I was there with my cousins: soak bread and biscuit in tea; ‘saneh me food;’ ‘eat wid me haan.’ And I had ‘toase bread and egg’ and not ‘egg sandwich’. I also had nice ‘parata roti’ since the ‘oil’ ones are not too good for my health.

As for the ‘chota’, it was better than the ‘pancake’ both to my ears and taste buds.

Now, because Creolese is the mother tongue of all migrating Guyanese, especially those who left Guyana late in life, the transition becomes quite difficult. The local first language turns out to be an impediment where absorption into mainstream North American society is concerned. Thus a lot of the adults who move across simply settle for the less prestigious jobs. Why? Creolese (alone) speakers just cannot attend high- level interviews. They even find it difficult to fill out application forms, etc. However, they are not to be despised. Many of them have no choice but to work and maintain their families. An Indian trait is that parents live vicariously through their offspring.

Now back to this ‘libry ting’. “The Richmond Hill collection features about 100 titles on various topics, including food, sports, migration, assimilation, music, history, politics, as well as social and gender issues. Books on Dr Cheddi Jagan were on display. The ICA (Indo Caribbean Association Inc) said that it hopes that ‘the collection will not only foster exploration of Indo-Caribbean history, identity, and experiences by the Indo-Caribbean community, but by other communities as well.’Well, to all of this, I say a big ‘amen’.

I close by again iterating my joy regarding ‘Indianness’. Being proud of one’s cultural and racial heritage is not being narcissistic, and for sure, it does not mean any kind of inherent prejudice. Foremost, I must accept myself in a healthy way. This will allow me to respect others. I must also continue to expand my horizon.

Kudos to the ICA Inc.

Yours truly,

Ryhen King