English 21002

Sarah Perez

Josiah Rajgopaul

CCNY

Sarah is a 19 year old undergrad student at the City College of New York. She was born and raised in the Bronx, and that’s where she feels home. Her family migrated to Canada and the United States from Carribean, namely Guyana. Guyana is a tropical country, with rich wildlife and lush jungles located in South America. Sarah’s ancestors were taken out of India from the British Empire, roughly sometime around the 1800s, and sent throughout the West Indies to work on plantations, especially for the sugar industry. There was a large number of cultural diffusion going on within these areas, as African, Indian, and Chinese workers were all sent to enact hard labor together. Sarah’s story is one that has to do with a lot of travel, and a lot of hard work. For generations, her family has been on the move, due to some circumstances beyond their control, to end up in the United States. This is her experience being told.

Sarah was born on December 7th, 2004, however this is not when her story truly began. Only becoming independent from the British in 1966, meaning Sarah’s own grandparents were alive during the British occupation. Life in this area was especially hard, with sugar and gold being large exports from this country, most of the average citizen’s life was spent doing hard labor for lackluster pay. Due to these less than desirable conditions that people were facing, and lack of pay, the quality of life was poor, due to people not being able to afford much, and living in poverty. This made other countries, fresh with opportunity and money, a desirable location for these people who had to deal with these unfavorable conditions.

( Photo of Guyana’s Beautiful Rainforest ) -Source: Lonely Planet

I met with Sarah in the library in the North Academic Center, also known as NAC. We had just gotten some food into our systems previously, as we wanted to be bursting with energy for this interview. It was imperative to be in top condition. We found a cozy spot, and started to record. I asked for her permission to record the interview, customary under such circumstances to ensure she was fine with it, and we proceeded. I asked her a series of questions, pertaining to migration and history, which do truly go hand and hand. She passionately explained the history to me.  As mentioned previously, due to economic and historical conditions, people can be attracted or repelled from certain environments depending on what the situation is. Sarah began to explain the conditions of Guyana, this third world country that had lacked infrastructure and opportunity, the intense level of poverty, and how it was almost necessary for her family to leave to change their lives for the better. She explained how her family had migrated to North America, and because of the better education opportunities, and the better economy and jobs, her family was actually able to thrive and have significantly better conditions, in a sense living the American Dream. 

( Natural Disasters are common in the caribbean, here we can see the results of a flood in Guyana ) –Source: Loop Caribbean News

I asked her how connected she had felt to her home country, as she lived in New York City her entire life, and she said she went on medical missions, where she would perform surgery and help the children who were still going through these harsh living conditions. She explained although Guyana is no longer under British Occupation, they were still a third world country, meaning a large amount of people had been living in poverty. I complimented her, and I said her work was very noble and helpful for the people who needed it. I began to feel slightly worried though, because I thought some of the people from her home country might envy her, or feel jealous. So I asked her, does her family in her home country keep in touch with her? Does she feel any kind of hostility or disconnect because of the lifestyle and location difference? She explained to me not to worry, and her family was tight knit, and they supported and loved each other, despite any differences, which truly warmed my heart. We’re all human in the end after all.