Love thy neighbour as thyself

THE EDITOR: Please permit me space in your newspaper to respond to the letter written by Mr James. In that letter he said “There he was with head bowed and between his hands as if to say, he preferred to be anywhere else than be part of the distortion Ramnath was presenting before the house”. Mr Ramnath was elected to the House of Representatives. He was sent there by his constituents to speak on their behalf. Mr Ramnath has stated clearly that the present PNM administration is using State resources to build houses for their supporters, ignoring the rest of the Couva population.

I agree with Mr Ramnath because any form of discrimination is a violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet laid their hands on the holy scriptures and swore to defend the Constitution. In the Constitution under rights and freedoms we read, “It is hereby recognised and declared that in Trinidad and Tobago there have existed and shall continue to exist without discrimination by reason of race, origin, colour, religion or sex, the following fundamental human rights and freedoms, namely:- a. The right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law; b. The right of the individual to equality before the law and the protection of the law; c. The right of the individual to respect for his private and family life; d. The right of the individual to equality of treatment from any public authority in the exercise of any function; e.  the right to join political parties and to express political views.”

The government does not have a free hand, Mr James to discriminate against the citizens of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Houses that are being built must be distributed freely to all citizens regardless of “race, origin, colour, religion or sex”. It would not be fair for example if houses were built in Morvant and people from Caroni came and were given first preference over those who live there. Why should the people of Couva be denied adequate housing when others come in and are given these houses based on race? This is the 21st century Mr James, the present administration should stop their discrimination against citizens of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. There should be an inquiry into the distribution of these houses. The PNM government plans to build 10,000 houses per year for the next five years. Mr Manning claims to be a Christian, he will do well to remember that partiality is a sin, because it is pronouncing judgment on God’s creation. No one can judge a man’s heart on the basis of his race. Mr James, Mahatma Gandhi was the chief influence on the life of a man named Martin Luther King. Luther King defeated racism because he understood that the value of a man is not “in the colour of his skin but in the content of his character”. Let us together fight the evil of racism, poverty and crime. Our world, Mr James would be a better place if we learn to “love our neighbour as ourselves”.

KHEM HARRINARINE
Port-of-Spain