Have mercy on us, Mr Manning
THE EDITOR: The Honourable Prime Minister has given $2,000,000 to the Katrina fund while his own people continue to be ravaged by the deluge of floods that batter the nation’s farmers, and citizens both rural and urban in the East, Central and South corridors of our Republic. But who cares, it is just we natives. There are no violins put to our human suffering, losing our homes, our livestock, our very livelihood. Our humanitarian efforts however are reserved for the great American citizenry, since they have the power of the media to touch the life of our very own Prime Minister, who witnesses their personal trauma over dinner while our local camera just bring home the neutered facts of the natural disasters that are a ritual part of our existence. What is our value to you Mr Prime Minister as farmers who work to bring fresh food to your table? What is our value as citizens who work in all different walks of life? Our future: "Eating food from tins," made in the USA. Why did you not think to disburse our local doctors, our personnel, thus providing our young doctors with more experience and opportunities to serve in Katrina? Surely Fidel cannot be the only one in the Caribbean Basin with imagination to utilise resources wisely. See how his film industry is developing: The life of the Cubanos is also set to music and so your empathy may one day reach within this Basin and perhaps may even come home. Every day that you allow these floods to continue and your idea of development to flourish merely prove that you have no faith in the people resource, no faith in human development. Your faith is in industrial development where the people live on the margins, engulfed in floods. Your Government like the previous one suffers from a lack of will in regard to stemming the tide of these floods. Once again the victims of these continual dreaded floods would be seen as schemers trying to cheat the system for what is really an insult to the word compensation. They are not beggars and they should be treated with utmost regard for the service they do this country. Charity begins at home Mr Prime Minister. Have mercy on us. SONJA GOPEESINGH LUCKHOO Port-of-Spain
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"Have mercy on us, Mr Manning"