July 01, 2012
David Richmond thought immigrating to America would change his life.
Several years ago, his sister was in a hospital bed in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. Richmond's family summoned the Stroudsburg man to the small country on the northeast coast of South America. His sister was dying from AIDS.
The quality of medical care had declined there since the government nationalized the industry in the early 1970s. Medications were scare, and the sister with the decimated immune system was placed next to a hacking pneumonia patient.
"If you are going to a government hospital, you're probably going to die," Richmond said.
A few days after arriving, his sister died.
His native country's poor medical care was symbolic of the reasons he settled in America.
"The opportunities are still here, although things have changed a whole lot, and it's challenging," he said. "It is still a land of opportunity compared to Guyana. It's still the place to come for people in Third World countries."
His homeland was certainly Third World.
Richmond's childhood home in a small village didn't have plumbing or electricity.
"You study by a kerosene lamp with a shade or by candlelight," he said. "There was an outdoor latrine. You'd fetch your water in a bucket from the street pipe in the village."
Along with health care, the government had taken over education too. Small church classrooms were replaced with poorly outfitted schools.
Food was scarce and expensive. In fact, everything was expensive, since most goods had to be imported.
Richmond was chosen for high school â not everyone was â and then became one of a select few to attend university. He earned a degree in agriculture and taught high school.
Meanwhile, the country was rife with racism.
It was populated with two distinct sects, descendants of African slaves and indentured servants from India, who were brought to Guyana after slavery was abolished.
The two groups worked together for independence from Great Britain, which was achieved in the 1960s. But after independence, the country split into two parties along racial lines.
A brutal civil war followed. And the tension of those days remains, cropping up at every election.
"We call it 'tension time.' It's always there just below the surface," he said. "Political corruption created pressure to vote, and vote often, for your party. If you didn't, you could lose your job, or worse.
"You're pretty stable here," Richmond said of the United States. "At election time, nobody is afraid of going out to vote and being attacked because of your political affiliations. And elections are free and fair here. You had to be careful of what you said about the ruling party in Guyana."
Yet, Richmond, a black American, said he feels none of that in the United States.
"My experience is people say there is prejudice. But I have to say of all the jobs I've had, I have not experienced any discrimination because of my race, not in business, not in school, in no area."
Richmond immigrated to America in 1986 at the age of 25. Now 50, he runs a successful insurance agency with an office on Main Street, after earning additional bachelor's and master's degrees in business here.
"I hope Americans, who were born and raised in this country, appreciate their great country," he said, "For its stance of liberty and justice and its willingness to open its doors to the wretched and poor and those seeking opportunities from other lands."
Sometimes we see ourselves more clearly through the eyes of others, and this immigrant who's become a well-respected member of this community remains a teacher at heart.
Freedom means more than the right to practice your religion or express yourself without fear of reprisal. It fosters human dignity and encourages people to reach their highest levels of achievement.
For all its faults, as America approaches its 236th birthday, it still means something special in this world.
"God bless America," Richmond said. "It's been a privilege living here."