brain drain” – US think tank report P

NEWS13 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Guyana must seriously address “brain drain” – US think tank report

The Washington-based America, accounting for 80 per exist in other places, includ- in Latin America and the Center for Strategic and cent of Guyanese immigrants ing Illinois, Minnesota, and Caribbean also have signifiInternational Studies worldwide; the Caribbean and California, according to the re- cant populations of Guyanese (CSIS) in a recent report stat- Latin America, with 12.4 per port. immigrants. Suriname, ed that Guyana’s development cent, the majority of whom Canada, according to the Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua efforts will continue to be seri- reside in the Caribbean; and report, has been another pop- and Barbuda, and Barbados ously undermined unless con- Northern Europe and the ular destination for Guyanese each have small Guyanese dicrete and immediate action is United Kingdom, with 5.9 per emigrants since the 1980s. aspora communities ranging taken to address the issue of cent (approximately 30,000). In 2016, 88,570 people living in size from 5000 to 15,000. skilled professionals leaving Very small Guyanese dias- in Canada reported Guyana Additionally, they noted for “greener pastures”. pora communities also exist as their country of birth, al- that the number of Guyanese

The report “The Guyanese in Asia, parts of Africa, and though some members of leaving for Venezuela was Diaspora” which was au- Oceania. the diaspora estimate that highest during the years of pothored by Michael Matera, The United States con- Canada could be home to as litical instability in Guyana in Linnea Sandin and Maripaz tinues to be the most popu- many as 120,000 to 200,000 the 1970s and 1980s, reaching Alvarez, provided a com- lar destination for emigrating Guyanese. well over 100,000, with some prehensive analysis of the Guyanese. It is estimated that Further, approximate- estimates of almost 300,000. Guyanese Diaspora and sug- over 400,000 people in the ly 30,000 Guyanese live in However, in recent years, with gested a framework with- United States are Guyanese the United Kingdom, most- Venezuela’s slide into instain which this valuable asset or of Guyanese ancestry with ly in the North East region, bility and crisis, the number could be utilised for the benefit of both the diaspora and their home country. With the ongoing discovery of massive oil and gas reserves in Guyana, the country anticipates a significant increase in demand for skilled labour in many sectors beyond energy. Many had expressed hope that the country’s oil boom would contribute to helping to stem the tide of skilled professionals leaving the country. According to the report, the “brain drain” that has characterised Guyana since its independence has exacerbated Guyana’s chronic shortages of skilled labour. “Unless the issue of “brain drain” can be addressed through convincing Guyanese with local tertiary degrees to remain in the country and through attracting diaspora members back to the country, development efforts in Guyana will remain undermined,” the authors warned. They argued that although higher education institutions in Guyana are trying to implement more targeted education and training programmes, the country’s persistent underdevelopment in recent decades and lack of professional opportunities continue to push many Guyanese to migrate overseas in search of better opportunities. Noting that the Guyanese Diaspora is “an educated and skilled community”, the authors cited the United States where over half of working-age Guyanese are in professional, managerial, or sales occupations. Other Guyanese living in the United States work in the service, construction, and agriculture industries. They further pointed out that key occupations and industries reported by the Guyanese population in Canada were sales and service; business, finance, and administration; retail trade; and healthcare and assistance. Guyana’s emigration rate, which skyrocketed in the 1960s due to the hardships created by the then LFS Burnham-led People’s National Congress (PNC) Government, is one of the highest in the world, numbering about 30,000 annually. According to the report, the first-generation immigrant Guyanese Diaspora today is estimated to be approximately 550,000 worldwide, not including their descendants. “Since the 1960s, the Guyanese emigrant population has increased due to difficult economic conditions, a tense social and political environment, a weak educational system, high levels of insecurity, and an inefficient healthcare system,” the report stated. According to the report, favourable immigration laws first in the United Kingdom, and later in Canada and the United States, and better job and education opportunities abroad have helped to motivate high levels of emigration among Guyanese. It noted that as Caribbean countries established better regional relationships through the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in the late 1980s, another significant wave of skilled Guyanese migrated throughout the Caribbean, providing immigrants with a cultural and environmental context similar to that of Guyana (eg, weather, language, religion, heritage) with greater political and economic stability. “In the early-1990s, investment in Guyana declined, the economy deteriorated, wages remained extremely low, and the country experienced a period of negative growth. This combination of factors contributed to another wave of emigration, as many skilled and educated citizens such as doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, and technicians chose to leave.” The report further outlined that the regions with the highest numbers of Guyanese immigrants in 2019 were: North most of them residing in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, and Maryland, though smaller communities the East Midlands, and in the London metro area. The authors further observed that other countries of Guyanese in Venezuela has dropped as many Guyanese have returned to Guyana.