THE EDITOR, Sir:
READING THE letters published in The Gleaner, I find it very sad that the moment some Haitian refugees turn up at Jamaica's coastline so many citizens seem to panic and afraid to provide them with a safe haven. Believe me, the majority of Haiti's population are yearning to live peacefully in their own country. It is sad enough that any leader during the past 200 years has amassed a 'personal' fortune, but this is no reason to look upon each and every Haitian as if he or she is the devil himself.
Sadly enough, The Gleaner's article about fears that swine fever could be imported by refugees has certainly contributed to the panic. Swine fever was a problem in Haiti in the late '80s, which was successfully solved. To link it with refugees in a political crisis is more than disgusting.
Like in any other nation of this world, the Haitian majority are honest people who only want work, and to raise their families in a decent manner. Those who do wrong have to be brought to justice, but we should extend our helping hand to a people who have suffered just too long enough already. Jamaica and the USA call themselves nations based on Christian principles, do they remember 'Love your neighbour as you love yourself'? It does not seem so, otherwise a constructive intervention would have taken place years ago to help in nation building.
Now, as Haitians turn up on foreign shores, everyone asks for a quick solution to the problem, and sure enough, once Haitians stay at home again, help will subside, until the next crisis. We live in a sad world, where everyone looks after their own selfish interests, without compassion for other people's suffering. May all who refuse to help remember that at any time, we may experience tragedies in our own nations, or personal lives, and be forced to ask for help.
I am, etc.,
ANNE ARTHUR
aarthur56@hotmail.com
Kingston
Via Go-Jamaica
