For international reporting, I’ve decided to cover the Guyanese diaspora in New York City. Recently Guyana’s President Mohamed Irafaan Ali has been in the news because there were accusations that his administration is practicing racial discrimination. The accusations claimed that the Indo-Guyanese People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) administration was discriminating against Afro-Guyanese in the provision of land, jobs, and contracts. The president dismissed these claims and asked critics to provide proof. Recently Vice News did an episode about China’s presence in Guyana. In recent years China has increased investments in Latin America and the Caribbean. They have also loaned billions of dollars to governments in this region. This money often funds infrastructure projects that Chinese state-run enterprises run. This is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, their attempt to spread power across borders. There is a project to build a hydroelectric power plant in the rainforest. The rainforest is a huge collector of carbon dioxide. It collects more carbon than Guyana emits. It is crucial for fighting climate change and is home to indigenous populations. Currently, Guyana has one of the largest growing economies due to the discovery of oil. There is the worry that china will benefit most from this discovery while the citizens of Guyana suffer. Corruption is evident in the Guyanese government. Most of the corruption has to do with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. He holds a lot of political power in the country and has been called a “climate hero” outside the country. Essentially the vice president is taking bribes to have China build infrastructure in Guyana.
According to the Census Bureau, in 2019 there were 231,000 people claiming Guyanese descent in the United States. There are approximately 140,000 Guyanese residents in New York City most of which live in Richmond Hills in Queens or Canarise or Flatbush in Brooklyn. In Queens, the Guyanese-American community is the second-largest foreign-born community. According to the Center for Strategic & International Studies, approximately only half of Guyanese live in Guyana, the rest of the population lives across the globe with a large population living in the United States, Canada, and the UK. This is due to the steady emigration that began in the 1970s. A majority of Guyanese live in the Northeast section of the United States. The current population of Guyana is 808,726, this is a decrease from the previous year.
In New York, Guyanese immigrants typically work in healthcare, domestic labor, banking, clerical, and physical security field. Some Guyanese people established small family-owned businesses such as bakeries and take-out restaurants that cater to the flavors of the Caribbean. As Guyanese immigrants laid roots in the communities they inhabited they opened real estate offices, small grocery stores, neighborhood law offices, and beauty salons. The U.S. population of Guyanese immigrants grew in the 1980s due to economic crises such as the devaluing of the Guyanese dollar, a significant increases in prices of consumer goods, and shortages in basic needs.
Some major organizations and advocacy groups in this community include the Caribbean Equality Project, the Greenlight Guyana Education Project, Christ Church School of Guyana Alumni Assocation, Inc., Guyana Unity Movement, Daughters of Guyana, and Guyana Caribean Islamic Movement, USA Guyana Humanitarian, and Guyana Watch.
Some publications that cater to Guyanese and the West Indian community, in general, are Caribbean Life and the New York Carib News. The big news publications in Guyana are the Guyana Chronicle and the Official Gazette of Guyana which are both government-owned. The popular privately owned media houses include Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, and the Argosy. According to Reporters without Boarders, Guyana ranks 34 in the world for press freedom, the website says, “while Guyana protects freedom of speech and the right to information, journalists who oppose the authorities face intimidation.”
The GDP per capita in Guyana was $11,040.71 in 2021. This is equivalent to 87 percent of the world average. The main industries in Guyana are argo-processing (sugar, rice, timber, and coconut) and mining (gold and diamonds).
Guyana has a semi-presidential parliamentary style government with a multi-party system. The president is elected through a popular vote and is the Head of State while the Prime Minister is the Head of the Government and is picked by the president. Presidential elections take place every five years with no term limits. Guyana became an independent country on May 26, 1966, and its first president was elected on Feburary 23, 1970. The NY Consul General for Guyana is Ambassador Michael E Botherson. He has been the Consul General since July 2, 2022.
Link to Three News Story
- https://www.caribbeanlife.com/guyana-govt-to-further-strengthen-diaspora-relationship/
- https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/little-guyana-street-sign-nyc-stolen
- https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-west-indian-day-parade-returns-brooklyn-20220905-mbezjsmarrc4bou3gb6rzwbbly-story.html
Popular Guyanese shops are located in Richmond Hill, Queens which is also called Little Guyana. Some include S&A, Little Guyana Bake Shop, Tropical Jade 3 Roti Express, Sybil’s, and Sonny’s Roti Shop.
Three potential story ideas:
- Exploring Anti-blackness in the Caribbean community, there is tension between afro-Caribbean and indo-Caribbean people that leads back to the colonization of the West Indies by Britain
- Highlighting LGBTQ+ people and how they navigate through a community that tends to be anti- LGBTQ. Also how their religions are highlighted through their queerness.
- Little Guyana street vendors event, I learned about this from the Caribbean Equality Project.