Country Report Sample Paper #1

Hank's Comments: The citation method used here is not completely appropriate. It was permitted because the student was using the history field method in another project that was related. There is still a bit more detail about "things" than I would like, but the analysis at the end really makes a good effort at getting a more "EMIC" perspective of the country. This paper points to the advantage of talking with someone from the country.

Every night, while sitting in my room, the Guyanese culture surrounds me. I see calendars made in Guyana, ornaments purchased from Guyanese vendors, and even a scroll hanging displaying Guyana's many waters. From the beginning of the school year, I have roomed with a woman from Guyana; therefore, I am slowly being immersed into the culture. Before this year, I only knew where Guyana was because it is not a country often spoke of Little do Americans know how similar, yet distinct, this culture is from the United States.

The word Guyana means "land of many waters," and was named this by the indigenous people, the Arawak and the Carib because of its vast supply of streams and rivers (Icweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query2/~?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+gyOO13), Jan. 29). This small, English-speaking country has a population of over 700,000 and is located on the northeast coast of Latin America. The capital of Guyana is Georgetown, with a population of 240,000. Guyana's population mostly consists of Indo-Guyanese and AfroGuyanese with nearly 50 and 36 percent respectively. Mixed and Amerindian races makeup the rest of the population with seven percent each. Guyanese life is mainly influenced by the British, French, and the United States. Although English is the official language, which is taught in schools and used in government documents, the people speak a dialect based on English called Creolese (Skabelund 130).

The major problem in Guyana is the economy. Prices are rising and people are struggling to survive; the rich get richer and the poor get even poorer. Right now, citizens are so frustrated with the economy that they are leaving Guyana and moving either to Canada or the United States. The ones who leave to attend school in other countries usually do not come back (Darson).

The Guyanese culture is one very similar to American culture, yet there are very distinct differences. Although I live with a Guyanese student, it is difficult to completely understand Guyanese society, yet it is possible to obtain more knowledge and awareness of the culture; thus, helping me gain more of an EMIC perspective. In the following essay, I will try to gain an inside perspective by describing some major areas such as history, government, education, and social structure along with other areas of importance. Within these areas, I will apply some of the theories and concepts from class, such as Hofstede's cultural values, in order to further understand Guyanese structure from a theorist perspective.

HISTORY- Even though Christopher Columbus first sighted the coast of Guyana in 1498, the Dutch were the first settlers of the country in 1616. They established a trading post in order to trade with the indigenous people, which consisted of Carib and Awarak people. Many of the indigenous people died, leaving the colonies without workers, thus, the Dutch turned to Africa to import slaves. Many slave revolts followed, but the most important revolt happened in 1763. Slaves rebelled and started to take control of the region. With this action, Europeans started to flee and the slaves began to outnumber the whites. Cuffy, the national hero of Guyana, led a crusade to overthrow the whites, but was unsuccessful (Icweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query2/~?frd/cstdy:@,field(DOCIUD+gyOOI4), Jan. 29). In 1796, the British outpowered the Dutch and took over (Bemhardson et al. 813).

In the early 19th century, slavery was abolished, which produced a labor shortage, thus, workers were brought from India. This move drastically changed the population make-up of Guyana (Bemhardson et al. 813). For the next fifty years, the country underwent many changes in government, including the addition of political parties and universal suffrage in 1953 (Europa World Yearbook 1581). In 1961, Britain granted Guyana self-rule and nine years later, it became The Co-operative Republic of Guyana on February 23. In March 199.7, President Dr. Cheddi Bharat Jagan died. Currently, his American born wife, Janet, is the new President Europa World Yearbook 1998 1581-82).

GOVERNMENT- For most of its lifetime, Guyana has been under British rule; therefore, its style of goverment is similar to Britain (Icweb2.loc.gov/cgibin/query2/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+gyOO 10), Jan. 29). Guyana has a parliamentarystyle democracy which is lead by a President, who is chief of state, and a prime minister, who is chief of the goverment. The president acts as the executive branch and chooses a cabinet, which includes the Prime minister. The legislative branch consists of sixtyfive members called the National Assembly (Icweb2.loc.gov/cgibin/query2/r?frd/cstdy:@,field(DOCID+gyOI02), Jan. 29). Of these members, all but ten are elected directly, who are elected through Regional Democratic Councils (Skabelund 132). These councils also elect two members to the National Congress of Local Democratic Organs, a national group that represents the local governments. The Supreme Congress of People is made up of these two bodies, the National Congress of Local Democratic Organs and the National Assembly (Icweb2.loc.gov/cgibin/query2/r?frd/cstdy: @field(DOCID+gyO 104), Jan. 29). The judicial system of Guyana is very similar to English law. Towns have mayors and town councils, but really have no power outside of municipality (leweb2.loc.gov/cgibin/query2/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+gyOI05), Jan. 29).

As for its political parties, Guyana consists of many, but the two main parties are The People's National Congress (PNC) and the People's Progressive Party (PPP). These parties were first established during the early 1950's and continued to have a major impact on the social and political atmosphere (Skabelund 129). In March of 1997, PPP leader Janet Jagan, an American born citizen, was elected as President, following her husband Cheddi Jagan. The death of Cheddi Jagan had a major impact on the country because he was loved by all of the people (Darson).

Since Guyana!s economy is not stable, people all around the country are talking about this issue. Another issue that is very important in today's society is how U.S. dollars are being spent. Guyanese~ wonder- where all of the money goes because the country always seems to be in debt (Darson).

EDUCATION- Although Guyana is an underdeveloped country, its literacy rate is 96 percent, one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere. The reason for this high statistic is because education is free from preschool through the university level (Icweb2.loc.gov/cgibin/query2/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+gyOO53), Feb. 13). All ethnic groups in Guyana have taken an interest in their education and the average Guyanese has completed 6.8 years of school- However, Guyanese need to pay for books and uniforms, which might hinder some from attending. Children start attending nursery school when they are three and then attend primary school -by age six. From there, Guyanese attend secondary school by age ten. After they have completed this stage, they may enter the job market, prepare for the Universityl or obtain more training. No private schools exist and teachers are paid very little. If a student wants to attend the University, they must pay for tuition. The only university that exists is the University of Guyana; however, students can also attend one of three nurses' college, a teacher's college, or several technical colleges (Skabelund 13 2).

Gender roles are not as apparent as they once were in schools. Women are not pushed into any specific gender-based jobs. However, many men attend technical schools compared to women (Darson). Even though gender roles are becoming more fluid, men and women still have some separate roles in society (this thought will be explained later in the essay). Although more traditional roles are changing, the issue of respect is still very important, especially in the classroom. When Samantha went to school, teachers were older and were very similar to their parents. Now, teachers are younger and do not have as much experience. Yet, teaching methods have stayed the same. Teachers usually punish students physically, in the form of lashes, and students deal with teachers on a more personal level, rather than always having a lecture-type format (Darson).

ECONOMY- Even though the educational system in Guyana is strong, the economy is not. In 1966, shortly after gaining independence, Guyana was one of the least developed countries in the hemisphere. The To's and so's did not bring any more help to Guyana's economy. In fact, Guyana's condition was deteriorating. One of the main problems was the great amount of debt the country owed along with the no longer abundant supply of skilled workers. In 1990, forty percent of workers were still earning the minimum wage, which is about five cents per hour in the United States. In the 1990's, after major changes in the presidency, the budget deficit is lower, foreign currency trading is legalized, foreign investment is encouraged, and market and official exchange rates are unified since independence (Icweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query2/~?frd/cstdy:@,field(DOCID+gy0062), Feb. 13). However, the value of money keeps decreasing and prices are sky-rocketing (Darson).

Most of Guyana!s money comes from agriculture, which includes sugar cane, rice, and fishing. Bauxite is the leading mineral export with gold and diamond mining coming in second and third (Turner 664). Multinational corporations, such as Reynolds Metals, have invested in Guyana's mineral production. Within recent years, the government has encouraged more multinational companies into the country, but still is skeptical of these larger companies (Bernhardson et al. 818). Presently, the country relies a lot on exports and imports as their main share of GDP. Also, they receive large amounts of money from countries, especially the United States (Darson).

BUSINESS- Since the economy of Guyana is getting worse, business is suffering. Many Guyanese earn their education out of the country, preferably in the United States, and do not return back to the country. This affects businesses because there are less and less skilled workers in the country (Darson). Also, many people are leaving the country because of the poor condition, thus causing a labor shortage. Although there is a labor shortage, there are over twenty-two labor unions in Guyana (Europa World Yearbook 1228 1589). If one works for the government, benefits and salary are lower than private companies. Like the U.S., doctors, lawyers, and bank personnel are perceived as high status and usually high-class citizens obtain these jobs (Darson).

Twenty years ago, women were -not seen in the work force, however, today that has changed. More women are obtaining powerful jobs. One could guess that gender has not been a major factor in job opportunities considering the current President is a woman. Today, women are not suppressed from jobs; however, are encouraged to obtain a job in the work force (Darson).

Hofstede's societal norms are obvious in the Guyanese business world. From talking with Samantha, it is apparent that Guyana is low in power distance. People seem to discourage power and feelings of inequality. In the last ten years, President Chedde Jagan wanted to help others by giving land and money to those in need. In the category of masculinity, Guyana would be in the middle. Sex roles are becoming more fluid in Guyanese society and Guyanese focus on relationships more than money, considering most of them do not have a lot. Also, Guyanese do not focus on independence rather interdependence or the reliance on others (Darson).

MASS MEDIA- Although the economic status of Guyana is underdeveloped, their communication systems are numerous and widely available. Georgetown has two daily newspapers, the Starbroek News and the Guyana Chronicle. Along with these newspapers, it also has an American owned telephone company, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company or GT&T. This former government owned company is available throughout the country, and is the chief means of communication in Guyana. The Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) is the primary radio company and the Guyana Television Broadcasting Company is the major television company along with two other stations that show U.S. television programs. However, the latter two are privately owned whereas the GBC and the television broadcasting company are both government owned-, thus, the government controls most of the communication means in Guyana (Europa World Yearbook 1998 1588). But, U.S. programming is very easy to see and watch by all of society.

Social classes are very similar to the U.S. social classes, but one class is not seen as better than another. Almost everyone in Guyana knows how to play one sport, Cricket. Cricket is the most popular sport in Guyana and football, or soccer, is also a favorite sport (Darson). Other sports that are popular are field hockey, golf, and tennis, which are played by men and women. At night, Guyanese like to watch action movies, or go out to the bars and karaoke clubs because they can mingle with friends. On the weekends, Guyanese, enjoy attending church festivals because these events are fun, very inexpensive, and a wonderful family event (Skabelund 13 1). In Georgetown, a seawall separates the

town from the Atlantic Ocean, and is large enough that as a pastime, teenagers sit on it and visit with one another (Darson).

RELIGION- The Guyanese are a very religious people and over half of the population consists of Christians. Guyana is mostly comprised of Protestant and Roman Catholic, making up 57 percent of the population. Hindu is also a large part of the population with 33 percent and the rest of the population is Muslim. When Guyana was under British rule, the only church recognized was the Anglican religion; however, today a religious groups are looked at as equal, one not being superior to the other (Skabelund 130). Yet, Jehovah Witnesses and the Assembly of God are not looked at favorably. There are no churches that are state sponsored; however, before the government took over the schools, the churches ran the schools. Most of the population attend some type of church whether they are Christian or otherwise. In Samantha's family, religion is very important, so important that her grandmother wants her to become a pastor (Darson).

Taoism plays a large role in religious beliefs because Guyanese belief that one must find their place in society rather than making their place in society. Also, harmony is favored and Guyanese want their life to be balanced and conditioned. Many Guyanese take each day one at a time and believe that they have a certain destiny (Darson). These ideas form the backbone of their religious beliefs.

FAmily - Within a family in Guyana, life is very simple and traditional. Before the so's Guyanese men and women had explicit roles in family life. Women were expected to cook clean, and do the laundry while the men were the "breadwinners. " It was unheard of if a man helped a women with the housework. The only work that a male would do, concerning the house, was the house repairs. Also, many women did not look for jobs outside of the home because their job was inside the home as a housewife. Samantha points out that her mom would not even consider allowing her dad to help with the cooking and cleaning. However, today in Guyana, roles are becoming more intermingled and women are working outside of the home. Yet, after a days work, the wife still comes home to do the cooking and cleaning.

Within the family itself, children are very respectful of their parents and extended families. Since there is little housing in Guyana, it is very common for children to live with their parents and also to have extended family live with them. Samantha notes that neighbors are very friendly and respectful towards each other. Children usually address adults by Auntie or Uncle and gray-haired people as grannie or grandpa. Adults do not address each other by first names until they know each other well enough (Skabelund 131).

Punishment is usually physical and in the form of a licking with a belt. Samantha recalls her father saying to never do anything that would make him mad. From this example, it is apparent what a large role the father plays in family life. He is the prime decision maker and the mother would not even think of overruling his decision. During the seventies and eighties, the father was very protective of his daughters when it came time for them to marry. Usually, the father would not let the daughter leave the house at all, unless they were married. However, this role has changed in the nineties and the father no longer requires his daughter to stay at home while dating (Darson).

In Guyana, the family reinforces certain gender roles. Boys are allowed to do many things that women are not allowed to do. Women are expected to be proper and to take care of the family by cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry. Also, when courting, a man always pursues the woman. Samantha explains that it would be the talk of the century if a woman courted a man. Although these roles are becoming less defined than they once were, gender roles are still an important part of Guyanese life.

ARTS AND LITERATURE- Arts and literature are not a major part of Guyana; however, they are prevalent. Painting and sculpture are the most developed and can be seen at the Georgetown Museum (Bernhardson et al. 816). Also, Georgetown has a cultural center where five theatrical productions are held. Usually, these productions are put on by the University and are written by the students who attend the college. Many of the topics deal with issues that are happening in the world such as crime, divorce, people migrating to the States, and Clinton. Also, music competitions are put on for everyone to listen to. However, music is not a part of the curriculum so Guyanese children do not grow up learning how to play an instrument or how to sing (Darson).

The mass media plays a large role in Guyanese society, especially with the influence of the United States. Because almost everyone in Guyana has a television set, people watch American programs and want to copy the lifestyle. With the watching of crime, Guyanese see ideas of how to break into places or how to rape people, thus, the crime rate has gone up and more and more people are becoming scarred in their own homes. Samantha said her uncle was burglarized and the thieves stole a of his CDs and his VCR. She said that the crime has gotten so bad that many people have moved to Canada or the United States.

In order to search for an almost completely EMIC perspective, it is necessary to analyze and apply the above data to Hofstede's social dimensions along with numerous variables that affect communication. Because all of the dimensions and variables apply to numerous areas, I have decided to analyze them together, rather than separately. These two theoretical issues will be examined further in the following paragraphs.

Hofstede offers four categories that help one analyze a country's values. These dimensions are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity. Like the United States, Guyana is considered to be in the middle in power distance. Many Guyanese feel that everyone should have equal rights and no one is better than anyone else. However, power is relevant and is gained through money. The government also has a lot of control over the people and there is definitely a hierarchical governmental system. I would not say that Guyana is extremely high or low, rather the country is in the middle. However,, I feel that Guyana is moving towards the low spectrum, if anything.

Guyanese are low in uncertainty avoidance. Guyana is very dissimilar to the United States for this fact. Felt time, rather than lineal, is a part of the culture, and the Guyanese do not feel any urgency to arrive at specific times. Also, people look at life as carefree and easygoing (Darson). The economic state has left many Guyanese to take life as it comes and to believe in common sense. However, I would not say that Guyana is very low in power distance because the government does have many rules and is considered to be an influence in society. But, like power distance, I feel that this too is moving lower on the uncertainty avoidance scale. This dimension may make communication between Guyanese and Americans extremely difficult.

Even though the Guyanese do not have a certain ethnic dress, they are very low in individualism. The Guyanese children are required to wear uniforms, and self-identity is based on ethnic heritage and social class. The family plays a major role in influencing children's behaviors and values. Guyanese do not feel the need to be distinct from others and to have their personal space. Parents work to help others, rather than to help themselves, and people look out for one another in society (Darson). Communication might also be difficult between Americans and Guyanese because Americans are more focused on themselves rather than on others.

Finally, I would consider Guyana to be in the middle in terms of masculinity. From my research, I have found the Guyanese to care more about relationships rather than money. Also, work is not their main priority and sex roles are becoming more fluid. In the family, children are staying with their parents until they marry, sometimes, even after they marry, and extended family usually five in the same house. However, the rich in Guyana have very masculine values because they value money and power (Darson). They are decisive and want to excel at what they do. Depending on the people and the situation, Guyana has characteristics of both masculinity and femininity, thus, it is considered to be in the middle.

According to Hall's culture context model, Guyana would be considered more of a high-context culture because gestures are a big part of life. Also, interaction relies mostly on implicit meaning because of their dependency of their family (Chen and Starosta 50- 1). As I stated before, value harmony and do not speak much. If in a conversation, Guyanese will not push their viewpoints on others and will tend to talk around the pointing, avoiding saying that they dislike something (Darson). Thus, in a conversation with an American, the American's views might be pushed onto the Guyanese; thus, the Guyanese might not be looked at as intelligent people.

The Guyanese society is one that many people do not know much about. Considering the economic state, Guyanese are surviving rather well and technology is fairly advanced. Yet, for a society very similar to the United States, it is far behind in economic growth. Without international aid, especially the United States, the country would be even worse. Soon, more Guyanese might decide that the struggle is not worth it, and the United States might get to know Guyana from an EMIC perspective.