U.S.-based Guyanese reconnecting with roots

MeGuyana CEO Mark Khan

For Mark Khan, a Guyanese living in the U.S., reconnecting with his homeland is something he always cherished. Now his aim is to help those who want to connect with their culture and heritage through his offerings of unique t-shirts and hats with humorous and thoughtful Guyanese sayings. A journey that took him to the land of many opportunities, Khan was very excited to be in his new home in the U.S. but at age 10 he did not know how important losing ties with his homeland would have affected him.
“New York City lights twinkled like a dream. The cold was shocking on my face and my body shivered uncontrollably in the breeze as we stepped outside. It was an odd feeling this shivering in the cold, one I never got accustomed to. We had left sunny Guyana behind. Not sad but actually more excited to come to America. I didn’t miss my friends nor did I miss anything about Guyana. At the age of 10, I was too busy envisioning what television would look like. This was a whole new life with things to learn, accents to get rid of and new sports to master. School was easy for us. We breezed through everything and as Muslims, got a first rate Catholic education.
Guyana had become a distant memory and living in New York City with all its bigness was enough to contemplate for a 10-year-old.  It wasn’t until the early 1980s when my cousins moved in across the street in Brooklyn that Guyana came rolling back into my mind. I was about 17 or so. We had assimilated into the culture. We had our friends, our parents had their friends and life went on,” Khan narrated.
Before Khan’s cousins moved in next door, their connection to Guyana was “Pop”, his father, whose dream was to ‘go back home’. But he was too busy working to keep his family eating and educated, and never did return. In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Khan recalled his father was referred to as ‘Mr. Guyana’.
“Without Pop and his stories, Guyana would have been lost to us. People would come over and the stories would commence.  We knew them all, perhaps better than he did, but admirably, he told them exactly the same every time. We still laughed at the end though because after delivering the punch line, Pop would break into a laughing fit and grab and shake you as he laughed and coughed uncontrollably; you had no choice but to join in. ‘Tell us about the alligators you used to shoot Pop, or tell the one with your Hakeem Buddy and the bicycle. Tell us how you cut your foot in Pit and used the fella’s white shirt in front of you to wrap your toe while you watched the movie.’ We excitedly asked him. Pop was a great story teller,” Khan reminisced. Khan’s mother cooked everything Guyanese. He said his mother’s roti was “heaven”. It was a delicious reminder of his beautiful motherland. When his cousins came from Guyana, they brought with them memories of things Khan had forgotten. The things he did as a child. He immediately embraced everything they showed and told him, from making gum for catching birds to building kites and slingshots. It was like a rebirth for Khan. From then on the switch clicked and the memories made themselves available to him once more. “I guess I had been too busy trying to become an American that I forgot where I came from and who I was. I had packed much adventure into my 10 years in Guyana, roaming the backdams, fishing, catching birds and snakes and lizards but most proudly stealing fruit from the neighbours’ yards. Somehow I felt Guyanese again.
I realized that I didn’t have to look like my Irish, German and Italian friends in the neighbourhood. I wasn’t less for not being born in the USA. I was Guyanese – half Indian, half Portuguese, and really happy to have regained my own identity. When I reconnected with my culture and heritage, I was grounded solid in who I was,” a thankful Khan outlined.

MeGuyana origins
In art school, Khan’s design professor told him that he had a unique life experience coming from another land. His professor was puzzled as to why Khan was not tapping into his homeland’s history to bring about his own distinctive design statement. Khan said he honestly did not understand what his professor was pointing out.  It was only until a few years ago, when he had long completed his studies, that Khan remembered what his professor said. After a career as an industrial designer for more than 25 years, it was clear to Khan that what he was truly connected with is his homeland, Guyana.  “I thought what to do with this new realization. Well, I figure I’d try to marry my design experience with my love for where I was born.  Started in July this year, our Facebook page affirms for us that what ‘MeGuyana’ brings to the Guyanese diaspora is necessary and desired.
It has been a huge success, and I’m grateful that the idea has been so well received. For pure nostalgia and a connection to culture and heritage for generations born in and outside Guyana, our products help to ‘gladden the heart’ as my mom used to say.  For those born as second, third and generations far removed, MeGuyana offers that crucial connection to family culture and heritage.
We’ve been presented with so many ideas through Facebook that we’re inspired. Already, we are partnering with creative small businesses in Guyana with near-future plans to sell their products to Guyanese outside Guyana on MeGuyana website.  We’ll all stay connected to our history while helping those back home,” Khan pointed out.
Khan hopes that MeGuyana becomes a marketplace where those living outside Guyana: those interested in their culture and heritage, can purchase the products he manufactures. His long-term goal is also to sell products made in Guyana such as ceramics, jewellery, craft items and much more. He plans on helping to stimulate the Guyana economy by buying products made in Guyana from local artisans and make them available to those living outside Guyana through his website and his Facebook page.