The Guiana Twins

by Songül Arslan

The two countries British and French Guiana have fascinated me with their names. Though they have Suriname situated between them, they seem to me like twins, one British and one French.

The funny thing both of these countries are so under exposed in the media that most people forget they even exist. I am convinced that I am not the only one who sometimes mixes them up and confuses one with the other.

Yet there is something about French Guiana (official name: Department of Guiana) that attracts me. Most likely this attraction stems from its history, which has been quite hectic since it was first settled in 1660 by the French. Over time this small parcel of land was passed around to the various European powers that were the great explorers of the day, including the Dutch and Portuguese. French Guiana is located in the north of Latin America and borders Brazil and Suriname. Its capital is Cayenne and the nation has a total population of about 200,000. Even a small country like The Netherlands has cities that are inhabited by more people.

British Guiana (official name: Co-operative Republic of Guyana), on the other hand, was claimed by the Dutch in the 17th century but eventually came into British hands. Unlike French Guiana, where at least a part of the people became part of the French Overseas Department and enjoyed the same privileges as French citizens, British Guiana became independent from the British and is officially called Guyana today. British Guiana borders Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname and its capital is Georgetown. Guiana has been nicknamed "The Land of Many Waters," which is the meaning of the native source word for Guiana. About 750,000 people live in this country.

Most countries have something that they are famous for, and I've dug around to find just such a tid bit in relation to French Giuana or British Guiana's past, but I haven't unearthed anything earth-shattering. Both of these countries were once known for their slavery and slave plantations, and since the abolition of the slave trade they've lost a great part of their prosperity. Also, in two countries that have a total of less than a million people, so they aren't exactly on the map as super powers. I've tried to reckon the odds of meeting somebody from either of these two countries, and I've concluded that they aren't high.

In searching for information on these two countries I did discover that Frenchman Henri Charriere was imprisoned in French Guiana in 1931. Even though he was innocent of the murder that was attributed to him, he was convicted. He tried to escape several times, and years after he finally succeeded he wrote a book called Papillon about his experiences. In more modern news, the European Space Agency operates a satellite-launching facility in French Guiana. I don't consider either thing typical of French Guiana.

But what is typical for a country, after all? That depends on its geographic location, its history or its people, all things that are very similar for these two tiny countries. Without being insulting or trying to be disrespectful to either of the countries, I have to say that they truly are like twins with only minor differences distinguishing them.