The Guyanese in New York: Unsung Pursuers of the American Dream
The Soman family arrived in New York from Guyana in February of 1994. Sheets of snow covered the streets of Richmond Hill, their new neighborhood in Queens. For many New Yorkers, the weather must have seemed relatively calm: a massive blizzard had hit the city just a few days before. But for the Somans, the piles of heavy snow were completely alien.
“It was scary,” said Sharon Soman, who was 17 at the time. “There was snow everywhere that I’d never seen before. I wanted to go back to Guyana.”
In the melting pot that is New York, the Guyanese population holds the title of being the fifth largest immigrant group in the city. And yet, compared to other groups, like the Jamaicans, Chinese and Dominicans, both the Guyanese community in New York — as well as the history of Guyanese immigration to the United States — have traditionally gotten far less attention.
“Some people really don’t have a clue where [Guyana] is, and sometimes when you say Guyana they think it’s Ghana in Africa,” Sharon explains.
While the average New Yorker may not be able to find Guyana on a map, you’ll find it at the top of South America bordering the Atlantic Ocean. In New York City, the Guyanese population now adds up to about 140,000 people. According to the United States Census Bureau, that means the Guyanese now also represent the second largest immigrant group in Queens, which has long been the city’s most ethnically diverse borough.
“When I came here in 94’ there was a lot of Guyanese, but not like now,” says Galo Soman, the matriarch of the Soman family. “The whole of Guyana has family here.”
“I left behind all my friends, but my entire family on my mom’s side was here, and shortly after, a lot of my friends came over too, so it wasn’t too bad,” says Sharon Soman. “[They came] I guess to be with family and for a better life. Everybody wants to live the American Dream.”
The American Dream has always been a key motif in the narratives of many immigrants coming to the United States: it’s the notion that this country’s social, economic and political processes make it possible for everyone to be a success. In Guyana, the notion turned into an especially strong pull after the country, once known as British Guyana, became independent of the United Kingdom in 1966.
“In America you have better police and protection, and better health care,” said Galo Soman, explaining why she left to pursue “a better life.”
Sharon Soman is somewhat saddened that people are constantly migrating out of her home country, but she’s not surprised.
“Everybody is just looking for a better life for themselves and for their kids,” she said. “Especially for people living in Black Bush, where I grew up. There’s no proper education, so what can they do? They’re farmers, so should they just let their kids grow up and be farmers too or try and have a better life for them?”
“When I came here I had two children,” adds Galo Soman. “One of the most important reasons why I came was because the education was far better than it was in my country. It was hard at first for them, because when you’re a freshman in school, people want to hit you and pick on you. They had a hard time for the first year, especially my 12-year-old-son.”
Sharon’s brother, Shawn, is the youngest member of the family: she says he experienced bullying that was often ruthless after coming to America.
“He was picked on a lot and bullied,” she said. “He was new and people recognized that. You come here, you don’t speak proper English and people make fun of you and laugh at you. Kids used to beat him up for his money.”
She added: “He eventually joined a karate school, and that allowed him to have more self-confidence.”
Sharon herself had to adjust in a totally different way.
“Things that people do here that nobody cares about are looked down upon in Guyana,” she said. “Like if a girl were to go to a bar with a bunch of friends and order a drink, over here that’s no big deal. You can’t do that in Guyana; you would be looked down upon like you’re a bad person or a wayward girl.”
In Queens, the community of Richmond Hill is completely reminiscent of Georgetown, the capital and largest city in Guyana. Everyone you go, you’ll see the influence of the Indo-Guyanese, a reference to the many East Indians who were brought to Guyana to work as servants in the 19th century and who eventually integrated themselves into the social fabric of Guyana. Here in Richmond Hill, you can find both Guyanese restaurants and Hindu temples, as well as hear the latest “chutney” songs, a reference to Indo-Caribbean music that is similar to calypso.
Still, Sharon Soman, for one, maintains that Richmond Hill is not entirely like Guyana.
“It’s really different from how I grew up, where everybody knows everybody, and you can depend on your neighbor for anything,” she said. “There’s a lot of Guyanese people and it makes you feel at home, but it’s not the same,”
In Richmond Hill, many Guyanese values are still the same, like valuing religion, having both a close-knit family and community, and maintaining clear gender roles. But Little Guyana is far more private than the communities in Guyana, and this allows kids within the community — especially girls — to hang out more freely, without having to worry about being caught by someone who knows their parents.
Galo Soman, an American citizen, laughs when asked if she’s Guyanese or American.
“My roots are Guyanese but now I’ve become American,” she said.
“If you asked me to choose one, I’d say I’m American. I feel safer here, all of my family is here. Even if I go back home, there’s not much for me to do.”
For Sharon Soman, the question is more difficult. “I identify as Guyanese,” she said. “I lived more of my life here than In Guyana, so now I’m very much adapted to the culture here, but I still have my Guyanese values with me.”
