By Francis Quamina Farrier
RECENTLY, a cartoon was published online, which attracted my attention so much that it is the catalyst for this article. The cartoon showed an over-crowded jumbo-jet aircraft, on which were the words “GUYANA AIRWAYS.” The GAC aircraft was supposedly taking off on a flight from Guyana to London, England. It was packed to over-flowing with Guyanese who seemingly were fleeing their country in droves. The cartoon showed some of them even clinging to the top and wings of the aircraft. While some feel that the cartoon was disgusting, even setting-up Guyanese to be disrespected abroad, and was promoting a country from which the majority of its citizens were ready to escape at the first opportunity, others are of the view that there was some truth to the intended message.

My first reaction was that of nostalgia. The thoughts of a Guyana government-owned and operated Guyana Airways Corporation are still vivid in many Guyanese minds. Many would have been passengers of either or both the domestic and international GAC Services. The domestic service flew from Ogle on the East Coast Demerara, to several destinations in the hinterland. So, it was not difficult, even back in Guyana’s pre-independence years, to get on a plane and fly from the coast to locations such as Mabaruma in the north-west area of the country, or to Lethem and even to Aishalton in the mid or deep South Rupununi. Lethem, which is named for one of the British governors of British Guiana, is about one hour’s flying time from Ogle on the East Coast of Demerara to the Rupununi, and quite an adventure. It is located right on the border with Brazil and many visitors go over the border to do shopping. A portion of the flight is over the Pakaraima Mountain range. That gives a slap in the faces of those who say that “Guyana is below sea level.”

That cartoon mentioned of people trying to leave Guyana by their numbers proved offensive to many patriots who are happy and contented right here. They accept that there are many challenges, but they have no intention to fly off to England with a six-month visa, with the intention of becoming illegal immigrants when the visa expires. The constant message that Guyana would be empty in a flash if Guyanese are permitted to enter England, the USA or Canada, is not totally accurate but is just a myth which continues to be perpetrated over the decades. Yes, it is true that as many, or even more persons who were born in Guyana, now live in other countries.

What is the purpose of composing a calypso version of the Hallelujah chorus about that? If there is one thing about the Guyanese sub-culture which annoys true patriots, is the habit of so many Guyanese bad-talking their country openly. While so many things need to be fixed, lots of talk and little or no action is not the solution. Some years ago, there was a “VISIT GUYANA YEAR” in which Guyanese resident abroad, as well as non-Guyanese, were invited to return to the Motherland for a holiday. That project met with a measure of success. The Ministry of Tourism stepped up to the task at hand and got some success. More recently, there has been quiet buzz about another “Visit Guyana Year” for Guyanese at home to visit parts of the country which is, at this time, ‘foreign’ to them. For example, Guyanese from the Essequibo Coast visiting Linden. Those from the Corentyne Coast going the Bartica, and so on.

In the Rupununi, there are activities such as horseback riding for city-dwellers who ride motorcycles or drive cars. In making these comments, one has to take in mind, the cost. The lifting of visa requirements for a visit to London does not automatically reduce the cost of the airfare, which is rather steep to get from Guyana to London, England.
So, in a way, the euphoria shown in that cartoon of an over-loaded jumbo jet with Guyanese passengers hanging all over it may take poetic licence just a bit too far. So, maybe the idea of a “Visit Guyana Year” in which Guyanese – both at home and those in the Diaspora as well – travel around the country to areas which they have never been to before, and enjoy being tourists in their own country of 83,000 square miles, of rivers, creeks, lakes, hills,  mountains and savannahs, is most inviting. No passport or visa required.