This Week's NATIONAL ETIQUETTE AWARD goes to.... Guyana!

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I hereby grant the National Etiquette Award to Guyana, as it is customary in that country to remove shoes when entering homes.

Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America.

The practise of shoes-off in homes is a result of the large numbers of people there who originate from the subcontinent of India. These were orignally agricultural labourers who were brought in by the British to replace the freed African slaves who no longer wanted to work on plantations. In the past there has been a good deal of racial tension between the Black minority who were politically and socially domminant and the Indian majority, who were politically marginalized.

Guyana is a very poor country. Its economy suffered the negative effect of Marxist rule for a long time.

There were some severe floods in Guyana a few years ago, a hazard resulting from its low-lying coastland.