Results tagged “guyana”

A Brooklyn woman who had traveled down to her home country of Guyana to spread the ashes of her late brother ended up in the throes of an incredible near-death experience along the Corentyne River. For 36-hours, Sherry Haynes clenched onto a 5-gallon bucket after the capsizing of a water taxi that would take the lives of a friend, her sister and in all likelihood her nephew. Besides the bucket, the Crown Heights woman says that a combination of prayer and hopes of seeing her 19 year-old daughter again kept her alive. “I never in my wildest dreams anticipated that this was what I was coming for, for all these funerals," Haynes said. She plans on bringing the bucket back to Brooklyn with her.

The tabloids have caught wind of a bird smuggling operation uncovered by customs officials at JFK airport: For years now people have been sneaking Guyanese finches called Towa Towas into New York. The birds are used by Brooklyn’s Guyanese community for singing competitions; people place bets on two birds, and a judge decides which one has the lovlier song. (Here’s YouTube video of a Towa Towa singing.)