Remigrants making their mark on Guyana’s development

In recent times, Guyana has witnessed a continuous flow of overseas-based Guyanese returning to the country. These remigrants have brought with them special skills and abilities that can be harnessed to aid in the transformative development of Guyana. Carlos Adams migrated from the United States about two and-a-half years ago after living in the United Kingdom and the United States for a number of years, dating back to the 1960s.
Adams, who is the chief executive officer of ‘Adzer Win-Doors’, revealed that after spending about 30 years in the UK, he moved to the U.S. However, several back and forth trips to his home country Guyana, compelled him to return permanently.
“Guyana is my home. This is where I was born. This country means a lot to me in many ways,” Adams said in response to questions about his reason for returning.  Commenting on the skill he brought with him, Adams said although he was not in that type of business, manufacturing windows and doors was a skill in which he became proficient and enjoyed. “This is my contribution to Guyana so I could provide employment. I enjoy making my customers happy, I like seeing the smile on their faces,” Adams remarked.
Questioned on whether there was anything too difficult to part with on returning home, Adams stated that although he misses the theatre, there is nothing that he enjoyed in North America that he would not have access to in Guyana. “I miss the theatre, but I can always get that when I travel.”
Although Adams is a regular contributor to several charities, he has not selected any specific project for adoption. Adams believes that overseas-based Guyanese will come back to Guyana once the fundamentals are in place; listing security and medical facilities as crucial and important. “I would encourage anyone to come back home because things could be positive here; once everyone makes their contribution,” Adams said.
Collette Bryan spent six years in the United Kingdom before returning to Guyana in 2009. While abroad, she received training in financial management. “Before I left here, I was working at the level of a clerk, but when I came back I brought with me training as a certified accountant.”
She stated that she worked as a managing accountant at a large housing association in UK. She also has experience in customer service, equal opportunity and many other fields.
She believes that the experience of working abroad in a first-class environment with readily available technology and equipment is often a plus on returning home. There are many things that can hinder people from returning to Guyana including the comparison of salaries. Bryan was earning 2500 euros every month, but that did not deter her from returning to Guyana.
“I don’t like it that there is widespread disrespect for the country’s laws, especially the traffic laws and littering. Enforcement is severely lacking in these areas. Everybody expects you to give them extra to do their jobs. If there is one way I would love to give back to the community, it would be a contribution to the elderly. I would like to someday open a nursing care home. I recognise that this is a real need in Guyana.” She explained that she has had experience dealing with elderly care.
“I would also want to figure out a way not only to clean up the garbage, but to permanently find a way to prevent people from littering. Maybe we need to provide garbage cans to each resident in the country and have a systematic garbage collection system that works. I have been encouraging others to come back and build their own country rather than stay in another country.”
Steadily returning
Guyana’s Ambassador to Caricom, Elizabeth Harper said that more Guyanese living in various countries in North America, the Caribbean and other parts of the world are steadily returning to their home country. Harper, who also serves as director general of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, cited the improving economy coupled with the global financial crisis, which almost crippled the developed world, as the deciding factor which has influenced persons to return home.
“We are seeing a lot of nationals coming back home who are not just retirees but people in their mid 30s, 40s who have lived abroad for some time and who have remigrated and are opening up businesses and capitalising on the country’s resources. Obviously, the economic growth is picking up,” she said.
Harper and a delegation from Guyana recently made a passionate plea for Guyanese living overseas to return home, invest in their country of birth and assist in its development. Guyana is one of three countries including Haiti and Jamaica to have the highest migration rate in the region.
She stated that the first order of business would be to garner a pool of skills available among the diaspora, from which the state can fill critical vacancies. “The first thing that we are trying to do is collect the data of what our diaspora has out there, the skills they have, their interest in a particular area, and when we are able to get that data and assess it, then we have to do the parallel exercise to make sure that we can match those interest and match the skills with the gaps in the public and private sector.”