Guyanese ‘uncle’ innocent question to Jennifer Lopez goes viral
Caribbean Life, APRIL 16-22, 2021 31
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The brochures have been
sitting on your counter for
months.
Once, everything was
planned: flight times, luggage
restrictions, hotel reservations,
tickets to the places you
wanted to see. The pandemic
put a halt to all that but you
know you’ll take the trip eventually.
Maybe this year, maybe
in five years. As in the new
book “Beyond the Sand and
Sea” by Ty McCormick, the
journey is worth the wait.
Born in Dadaab, a refugee
camp in northeast Kenya,
to parents who had fled the
Somali civil war before his
birth, Asad Hussein grew up
in a makeshift shack that
flooded every rainy season.
With no ID, no birth certificate,
and no way to legally get
either from Kenya or Somalia,
he was a person in-between.
Coming to America
McCormick met Asad “a day
or two after Trump announced
his travel ban.” He was an editor
for an American magazine
then, assigned to cover
Africa when he read an article
in New York Times Magazine
that was written “by a young
man who had grown up in
Dadaab.” It never occurred
to McCormick that the writer
was “still… stranded in the
camp.”
Stranded physically, but
not in his mind.
Ever since he was small,
Asad had dreamed of getting a
good education. As a child, he
had eagerly taken advantage
of whatever formal schooling
was offered at Dadaab. He
devoured all printed material
he could find and he seized
every opportunity he could
get to learn, becoming largely
self-taught. Still, though
Asad experienced a discouraging
avalanche of educational
setbacks in his lifetime,
his tenacity attracted supporters
and McCormick soon
became one of them. It hadn’t
been easy, but it had finally
appeared that a near-miracle
was in sight and Asad’s
dream might be possible in
America. With no personal
paperwork and no country as
anchor, would the travel ban
– “an executive order… that
changed everything” – put a
stop to the journey?
Open the newspaper, click
on the news, and you’ll probably
hear about immigration in
pretty short order these days.
You have opinions. Now read
“Beyond the Sand and Sea.”
Step in, and that sand isn’t
pleasant: author Ty McCormick
writes of its relentlessness,
the heat, the squalor
of camp and danger of war,
a destructive rainy season.
Or might sand be a metaphor
for grit? Surely, that could
be true for the laser-focused
Asad, and more so with Asad’s
tougher-than-steel sister,
Maryan, a woman who threw
aside cultural laws to save her
family. She’s a big presence in
this story, and you’ll wish it
was bigger.
Alas, the sea is choppy and
so is the last half of this book.
Not to be a spoiler, but it’s
a whirlwind of Asad’s more
recent past and his future and
despite that it’s inspirational,
it’s also uneven. Pay attention
to the time-frame on chapter
headings; that helps.
The inspiration, though:
don’t miss it. Don’t pass up
a chance to be thrilled. If you
need a book that’ll make you
stand up and cheer, “Beyond
the Sand and Sea” is just the
ticket.
“Beyond the Sand and
Sea: One Family’s Quest
for a Country to Call
Home” by Ty McCormick
c.2021,
St. Martin’s Press
$28.99 / $38.50
Canada 279 pages
Book cover of “Beyond the Sand and Sea” by Ty McCormick.
By Nelson A. King
A Guyanese “uncle” and
American actress and singer
Jennifer Lopez were at the
center of a hilarious video making
the rounds recently after
the man had no idea who J-lo
was, according to Dancehallmag.
com.
It said on April 5 that the
moment, originally part of an
American Idol feature in 2015,
went viral on Twitter when it
resurfaced last week.
“The multi-platinum singer
and actress was being filmed
as she took a walk down memory
lane, back to her childhood
block in the Bronx,” the magazine
said.
“In the video, Lopez can be
seen walking and pointing out
the home she grew up in, which
is now occupied by the Guyanese
man,” it added. “Seeing
the man, Lopez says, ‘hi’ and
proceeds to inform him that she
used to live there. And, as a true
Caribbean elder, the Guyanese
uncle replied, ‘You’s who?’”
According to Dancehallmag.
com, Lopez told him her first
name. But the magazine said
that was not enough.
“So, she shared her last
name, but the uncle was not
impressed, and still confused
about what the fuss the camera
crew was about,” Dancehallmag.
com said. “Leave it to
a Caribbean elder to humble a
world-famous singer.”
It said Guyanese nationals
have shared the video and their
thoughts on twitter, with Botlolo
Grootboom, for example,
reassuring: “Typical Guyanese
mood.”
Dancehallmag.com said others
credited “Uncle’s” reaction
to Mariah Carey’s infamous “I
don’t know her” phrase.
It said that, in an interview
with a German TV host in the
early 2000s, Carey was asked
about then Grammy-nominated
Lopez, replying: “I don’t know
her.”
In the video, Dancehallmag.
com said Carey was also
asked about Beyonce, to which
she promptly replied, “I love
Beyonce’ Beyonce is fabulous…”
According to Dancehallmag.
com, Carey’s fans have dubbed
the Lopez snub as one of the
internet’s “greatest memeable
moments.”
Jennifer Lopez performs in Times Square on New Years Eve in New York City, U.S., Dec. 31,
2020. Gary Hershorn/Pool via REUTERS/File
/Dancehallmag.com
