Neither Here Nor There-Indo Caribbean Diaspora | Shades of U.S. 

My people have suffered not only in the subcontinent but were also dragged over 2 continents and oceans to compound to it. Yet their resilience outshone their perils. Long live Bharat and its children.

As an Indian American I love my Indian Carribean brothers and sisters, at the end of the day we really are just one massive Indian diaspora and we are connected forever.

Majority of Indian don’t know our history and Guyana has 46%Indians descent

You are born for a purpose. Our ancestors suffered immensely. Congratulations and continue your work Blessings OmNamaste. Viewing from the French island St Martin in the Caribbean.

The younger generation of guyanaese definitely identifies with Guyana. Idk why the older generation always says that the younger generation doesn’t identify with Guyana but we certainly do. The older generation can come off as very insecure with this kind of thinking. What the younger generation is doing is taking western values that are appropriate and rightfully so incorporating them into guyanaese culture. For example, the younger generation tends to not be racist, less homophobic, we drink less (sometimes), we engage in was less adultery, way less domestic violence, was less sexual violence, we are more secular (non religious), less colorism, and we don’t hit our kids. These are all improvements to our rich culture. We maintain our language, food, dancing, and music along with these additive improvements. The older generation believes in religion over everything, being racist, being colorist, and of course hitting their kids. What the older generation sees as “American” isn’t necessarily America. We are making improvements to cultural issues: drinking, domestic violence, organized religion, and more. Again what they see as us leaving our culture is use actually improving it. We maintain the food, the language, the music, and the dancing and improve on everything else. The older generation just holds us back with this thinking. Our identity is complex as it just. The old people just need to learn to be some supportive.

India is not one culture. Most indo-Caribbean people’s ancestors are from Bhojpuri speaking areas of the present day provinces of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. But most Indians coming to North America these days are from other communities - Punjabis , Gujaratis, Marathas,, Bengalis, Tamils, etc. So one cannot expect any sense of familiarity from these groups to long lost Bhojpuris who are now more Caribbean and/or Westernized than anything.

Thank you for this historic and important documentary on East Indians of the Caribbean living in the US. Glad to know that many East Indians living in the big US still maintained their indian culture.

Best attempt I’ve seen at explaining who Indo-Caribbean’s are and where we come from. Growing up in Orlando, I was there when the Indo-Caribbean community was extremely small and no one understood who I was. I remember being made fun of when my packed lunch for school was roti and pumpkin, or when people would be like you mean Ghana- no fool Guyana- and I most definitely remember saying I’m Indian but not Indian. So I get the statement “neither here or there”. As for the bridging the gap with India, I think it would be great for a more peaceful world, but in my opinion it’s like fighting for acceptance from a community that turned their nose at us. Growing Up I saw first hand my parents and then later on had my own experiences where East Indians in the Orlando area completely disrespected, did not accepted or looked down on us when they heard my family was Guyanese. I remember being in college and a good friend, who I know did not mean any harm, said “If only you were Guju you’d be perfect for my family “ and to this day I can’t help but think sooo because I’m Guyanese I’m not good enough. Over the years I’ve seen the term Indo-Caribbean pick up popularity and I see how the younger West Indian generations hold on to our Indo-Caribbean culture and I love it. To bridge the gap between Indo-Caribbean and East Indians would be wonderful but at the same time I’m very proud to be Indo-Caribbean and have no desire to have that change so it fits the mold of being “Indian”. Today when asked, I say my ancestors are from India. But I am Indo-Caribbean.

I hve never beeen to Caribbean but cricket connected me to indian Caribbean and their journey is very fascinating. I love their culture and tradition they have managed to retain indianness. Hats off. I am a chef based in Uk and opened a Caribbean restaurant. I love you all and we all are connected and together. ❤️

I am quater Indian from Trinidad paternal side and Muslim I was brought up Christian either way proud to have Indian and Muslim as part of my background and my family loves us all unconditionally

We never Indians enough,we never Guyanese enough Sucks we lost our language

The Fiji 🇫🇯 indian Community came under the indentured system and carry on their traditions just like the Caribbeans. Almost half left for new zealand, Australia, USA, Canada and some in UK after the political turmoil of 1987 in Fiji. Fiji Indians are proud of their heritage and say they are Fiji indian no matter which part of the world they live in. Fiji is now more excepting and has matured as a nation and acceptable of all races namely the Indians. So pleased to see this video

In Mauritius too my ancestors came here out of the identured system .However , here in Mauritius might be due to the proximity the connection with India has been stronger. Here we fought for the teaching and acceptance of the Hindi language and also that the Indian ritual religious marriage be an accepted norm .

Who else is here because of the Caribbean Civ assignment?

in Fiji we have a big Indian community and the culture is very similar to Trinidad

in Trinidad and Guyana it’s always blacks against Indians, this needs to change. Majorly in politics it’s always these two races against each other

I love this sm!

Did he say they came on the same boat? No, sir, they didn't. -A Jamaican Indian

This is amazing , thank you so much everyone involved in documenting this . Definitely so beautiful to acknowledge our heritage and that we are not alone and to learn more about our history as well as modern day presence . So much relation to this . When I lived in queens during highschool , it was the best experience . Many desi classmates connected with me and helped expose me to other aspect of Indian culture . Grew up around so many diverse cultural ethnic roots , and it was hard to explain to people growing up plus , I didn’t know much about origins as well . So excited that there is community . This resonates so much and I’m glad and looking forward to connecting further . 🙏🙏🙏💖

Very similar to South African Indians....S.A also had an indentured system.

True. I'm Guyanese but left when I was really young. I get so offended at the term "white washed" but at the same time, there is such a thin line. I agree with you. I'm not Indian enough or Guyanese enough and I look middle eastern. There is such a conflict of identity, like living on the edges of all these cultures but never being fully assimilated. But That's where the future is heading, if not already. There will come a time when people are so mixed and multicultural that it would be a non-issue.

I have an almost obsessive interest with Indo-Caribbean narratives and history because up until a few years ago it was something I knew almost nothing about because there are no movies or tv shows or really any famous books fiction or non fiction which focuses on it, and yet it makes up such a large part of the Caribbean diaspora and culture in places like, not only Guyana and Trinidad but also Grenada, Belize, Jamaica, St. Vincent and even Antigua and Barbuda that I feel it should be more well known. Growing up in the states I am already well versed in how bad the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was and the intricacies and horrors that came with it as well as the relationships and culture which arose from that in the United States alone. But I didn't know until fairly recently in my life that most of the slaves didn't even go to the United States they went to Brazil in South America! I also didn't know that after slavery African indentured laborers came to the Caribbean from places like Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Saint Helena. It sometimes feels as though the powers that be are trying to push this history under the rug because they want to push some sort of agenda.

Great job!

You are always welcome in your ancestors home brothers and sisters . Namaskar 🙏🙏 🙏

My goddaughters mother is Puerto rican and her father is Afro Guyanese. She is beautiful. I ❤NYC cause we have so many different cultures and i love the food.

Please don’t listen to politicians. Respect everyone. Love all. Get the best education you can manage. We will succeed in our own way! Thanks and God Bless all of us.

I once spoke to an Indian from India she could not believe that Indians from the Caribbean listen to the indian music and not understanding then she says we r indians not them but its also how Jamaicans Indian s get look at comparing them to guyanse and Trinidad indians

Geographically Guyana is South America, culturally Caribbean and mixed with their and others' ancestry. We are often lost in our identity. Stop comparing with others, we all had our struggles. Stop the hate, stop the fights, stop the racism.

14:05 - In case anyone's interested in that dance, it's the title song from the movie 'Aaja Nachle', not Devdas (which was also a really good movie with beautiful dances).

1:00 - First Person (Dr. Dhanpaul Narine) 10:37 - Second Person (Suzane Mahadeo) 16:43 - Third Person (Mohamed A. Amin)

UWI brought me here.

We didn’t abandon India. We were enslaved! We were taken against our will! Need I say, had we stayed we would’ve still been at the bottom of the caste system. In some ways our ancestors had to choose between two evils because even when they returned to India after slavery we weren’t accepted. I love Guyana and I don’t need acceptance from anyone.

last minute assignment gang

WISHING OUR PEOPLE ALL THE BEST AND WELLCOME BACK TO OUR INDIAN FOLD.

The majority of Indians are not able to encapsulate the diversity within their own country. Let alone understand and take in our Caribbean brothers and sisters.

Love from India that is Bharat 💕💖

Almost everywhere Indian Subcontinentals go they find success

My great grandparents were on one those boats

Excellent

good stuff

It’s so sad that in India they don’t learn about indentured Indians that the British French Dutch kidnapped and took to many places Fiji to the Caribbean Malaysia Singapore to South Africa Mauritius to reunion island Seychelles Kenya Uganda Tanzania etc

Yes my foreparents came from India....an I am Guyanese an a proud one too.....Even sometimes the Indians from India don't see us as Indians because we cross the waters they say....but I ndians from Guyana have maintained our identity even sometimes surprising the Indians from India.....all an an I love my culture an proud of it...

Great respect

@3:58 Not they did NOT come on “the same boat, literally”. Where they the East Indians chained, or where their Indian names stripped from them? It’s historically inaccurate and insensitive to make chattel slavery and the experience of enslaved Africans to that of indentured East Indians in the Caribbean.

Dhanpaul is a great person (the first speaker). I know him personally. He is not a Indo-Caribbean historian. Please keep that in mind. He is narrating his experience.

Those guyanese left Guyana because they did not want to be under black leadership, not because they were being "repressed". How were they "repressed"?

1:36-1:46 other official sources the Indian-American population was 3.852 million (United States Census Bureau - 1/7/2018). Ministry of External Affairs of Indian, 4.460 million (31/12/2018).

Suzanne looks like Laura Dern when she smiles!

What language the indo caribbens spoke? I would learn but I cant, the only time I hear the language is when I list to old chutney songs

It's weird that they think that these people simply "left". Indentureship was initially a five-year contract to work on the sugarcane plantations, taken up by people mostly from modern-day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (where my ancestors were taken from to Mauritius), as well as some from South India and Maharashtra and even a few Punjabis Most of them went because it was a choice between staying in India with no income, potential homelessness and starving to death or following the false trail left by the British to promises of success by working on the plantations in the colonies. A significant number also arrived in these countries under false pretenses (as with Suriname, where many assumed they were going on the voyage of "Sri Ram") or through outright kidnapping Those who remained behind in their adoptive homelands either couldn't afford the hefty return fees, or simply had nothing to return home to. So as a descendant of labourers, I find anyone saying that they "abandoned" India disdainfully INCREDIBLY offensive

ஆசீர்வதிக்கப்பட்டிரு

Definitely didn’t come on the same boat

Just want to say: I am a mixed Trinidadian, half Indian on my father's side. Trinidad didn't have as much fighting as the Guyanese had in history amongst blacks and the Indian population I see. We still don't really have that in our community. Also, we have even more deeper identity issues as we have more Syrians and Lebanese than anywhere in the Caribbean. We share African, South Asian, and Middle Eastern cultures.

The major Indian Caribbean Diaspora predomitly from Guyana and Trinidad ,but also from Jamaica have settled in the state of Florida in the USA due to proximity to the Caribbean and similar weather The largest number live in the state of Florida live in S.E. Florida;predominatly in West Broward county the cities of Pembroke Pines, Miramar,Tamarac, Sunrise,Coconut Creek and Parkland harbor large Indo Caribbean communities.There are also large Indian-Caribbean communities in Orlando,Tampa and Jacksonville in Florida.Other areas with Indo-Caribbeans are : New Jersey.Raleigh ,North Carolina ;Richmond .Virginia; Texas,California,Chicago and Las Vegas

Grt to see even after so much persecution u kept ur identity alive

HAPPY TO NOTE THAT THE PEOPLE ARE GOING BACK TO THEIR ROOTS AND RELATING TO THEIR MOTER LAND INDIA AND THE CULTURE NAMASTE.

🕉️🙏🏽

Hindustan community in guyana suriname Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaican

But this division dont exist in your french neighbourhood in Martinique and Guadeloupe, they live together into mix creole culture without impact of british racialism

🇬🇾🇬🇾🇬🇾🇬🇾 💪🏽

Mohamed is a brave soul.

Shop at wife's 2 Puja. Stores on Liberty. NAMASTE, and D&J.🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

🙏🏽frmKolkata🇮🇳♥️🇬🇾🇹🇹🇯🇲

I feel like some of this is stereotyping India based on the average Indian who may simply be ignorant about this history. A lot of Indians would quicker think Indo-Africans like from Kenya and South Africa or Uganda when they see and hear about Indians from the outside, especially those who went through Indentureship. Not many know about Guyana and Trinidad, except for those who have come here for work. While I understand culture shock, a lot of Uttar Pradeshi and Bihari culture would be similar to Caribbean culture. You just have to go to the right place. These are big, DIVERSE, areas.

Same with South African Indians...

The Indians of the Caribbean were the first in the western hemisphere.

Also, identity is a very important part of human psyche. An absence or obfuscation of it can cause immense emptiness. One that I've felt in recent years, despite living in India. We are people with amnesia. My parents can only remember the names of their grandparents and there are no written records of our genesis on either of my parents side.

People whose ancestry is from another continent need to know where that is; however they are often not accepted, as their identity and culture is where their parents and they were born and brought up in. A famous psychologist Alsop, once said; 'a white baby growing up in China , with Chinese carers, eating, speaking and growing up in China. This child will grow up thinking, speaking, dreaming, living and identifying as Chinese". The only difference is in his skin colour and features '. Indians from the Carribean who think they should be able to fit neatly into India or amongst Indian from India need to address their own identity, otherwise they will always feel displaced. What is wrong with seeing yourself as Trinidadian or Guyanese; or as a Carribean person! That is who your are. The Caribbean is made up of various racial groups. All of whom share a culture which is unique to their specific island or Country (in the case of Guyana ) you were born in. Having lived outside Trinidad for the majority of my life. I still consider myself a Trinidadian and although I have duel nationality, being a Trinidadian will always come first and I will never call myself anything but a Trinidadian. My identity is important to me

I think we need to think critically about colonial indentureship - the Indians brought to Guyana, some of the poorest, systemically marginalized ( through caste and political systems), and possibly uneducated people “signed” up to go to South America to work on sugar estates and plantations for “ payment “? Yes I’m sure the British paid great expat benefits to these people. Secondly I’m sure the local Indian governments were very critical of the treatment of their people “traveling” to the West Indies and those local governments were not incentivize Or paid by the British because they Indian citizens could never be considered just labor. Yea I’m sure British had great reason they did not want to record keep on people who were “indentured servants” right after slavery ended. Future generation didnt need know about their ancestors, thank god for British colonialism that made this happen!

From this it seems Jamaica does not have Indians....only Trinidad and Guyana mentioned....why?

West Indisch, the caribean, Gayana, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobego,

We indian welcome all descendants of indentured labors feom carrebian, africa, fiji etc to visit Ayodhya and make pilgrimage to our lord rama temple which was demolished by muslim invaders. Your visist will also provide an opportunity for you to see your ancestors village/region. Similarly we indians want to explore carebbian,fiji for holidays, stress free vacations or investment. Long live indians and Hindus

How educational ☺️. As a fellow Indian Guyanese myself,. I completely understand that the older generation has no tolerance for the LGBTQ community. We are becoming educated and tolerant w the younger ppl coming up now. Change is a coming,. Stay hopeful and blessed 🤗💖.

Why is homosexuality a theme in story?

SHIVA BLESS THE INDO-CARIBBEANS! JAI BHOLEKI JAI HIND!

More the politics separated Black Afro and Indian Guyanese people racism is still alive and well in India. India was colonized by the Brits since which they've been brainwashed as a result the Indian Guyanese begave in like manner.

Where are the afro carribeans?

That was incorrect with what she said.there are plenty of Indians who come from European colonies that still can speak there language. She does not even know what she is talking about. There are different dialects of Hindi the majority came from Bihar they speak bhojpuri every state in India has a dialect standard Hindi known as khariboli is the dialect of the capital of India and for those that do not speak the language and know anything about being Indian their families came before 1873. And for the Indians who still were able to retain their culture they came after 1873.

For me Kamala Harris is not Indo Caribbean because her Caribbean roots is African and her Indian roots is Asian direct to the U.S. it’s not Indo Caribbean that one parent is Asian Indian American and another is Caribbean American (particularly Africans descents)

Hello indo-caribbeans I as a Indian person orginated in Guyana make me indo-caribbeans why I'm so related to Indo-European why I'm so related to Europe and Asia

Please establish contacts with INDIA - the mother land , a great , noble ancient civilization . Develop exchange programs and study programs , cultural programs . India will play an enriching role - a great country.

Now that I think about it, the history of the Americas is full of generational traumas and separation. You got native peoples being conquered and even decimated (e.g. the Caribbean) to a handful of minority populations numbering only in millions. You got black and Asian people (Chinese and Indians) uprooted from their homeland to work in plantations for economic profit. The only winners were white people, just look at Brazil for example. The most prosperous states are predominantly settled by European descendants and they are still proud of their heritage (German/Italian/Polish) despite being uprooted from Europe.

22:34

Lovely dance on ding dong Susane Mahadev,I Love you.

We light skin brahmins from reunion island. We are proud of our Indian root. We speak more french than hindi...

Why this video don’t talk about Afro carribean when majority of carribeans in the world are Afro not indo

hay zendaya Marie, if you can find one Guyanese speaking any of the indian Langauges I will pay you, oviously not people who studied in india or hindu priest,but ordanary Guyanese of indian desent. what fooled you is Guyanese singing in an Indian langauge, well they can sing but dont understand what they are singing about,unless of course its transalated,and for sure they cant speak it,so dont tell a man about his own country.

First the man said Indians returned to the Caribbean due to a more admirable social status, then he said blacks and Indians have the social issues. He just contradicted himself.

Micah and Kaim to go to college so be careful how you speak in young lady

Very similar to how African Americans feel

18:30 SUS

So why is it that Guyanese Indians are separated from Afro-Guyanese in Brooklyn! Again you said it! You all don't want to be Caribbean or considered Caribbean, unless it serves a purpose. Labour Day you are mostly absent! Sad!

I had to watch this for UWI FOUD 1001 into to Caribbean civilization. Being gay cannot truly be accepted by society due to the fact if everyone was gay it would affect the birthrate negatively, so until we have the technology to replicate birth it should not be accepted of obvious reasons.

16:53 gg

The problem is identity she should identify as European/ American with south Asian ancestry.! Her family chose to go to the USA so I don’t understand why people still hold on to their nationalities especially if the country does not share good values or even the values of the country her family asked to be apart of I notice this a lot with people from third world countries my family went straight to the mainland USA 🇺🇸 Canada 🇨🇦 Britain 🇬🇧 so no one in my family has this problem and this whole idea of Caribbean culture is rubbish there are only four continents in the world 🌍 Asia,America,Africa,Europe so pick one people who are not Indian from America have a European American culture with Asian influences that is it. Period

that fruity dance though lol

Please ask PM modi to visit , all the Caribbean islands which has people of Indian origin.India is now ,the fastest growing economy the fifth largest over took the UK soon to be the 3rd largest, in the world. Even cars , trucks buses scooters , and consumer goods are cheaper, made in india. They are the best IT Time to reunite the family.

Fire bun dem battybwoy.

22:23