Dear Editor,
While the media have reported that Caricom is sending aid to the countries ravaged by the recent tropical storms and hurricanes, we have heard nothing about the government, the opposition, the trade unions, the private sector or any part of what is called civil society launching a drive for Guyanese to give money and goods to be sent, in particular, to Haiti and Cuba.
What manner of men and women are we?

First, Haiti, our sister Caricom country. Although most Caribbean people seem to be unaware of it, this whole region owes Haiti a debt of gratitude for its contribution to humanity as the first country to abolish slavery – an act of courage for which it has been forced to pay dearly for centuries. That is what lies at the heart of Haiti being the poorest country in the hemisphere.

 Today Haitian people, reduced to eating mudpies even before Hurricane Ike, are facing a catastrophe, with hundreds dead and two-thirds of the population homeless and without the basic necessities of survival, in particular water and food. 

And second, Cuba. If we do not know our debt to Haiti, although we should, how can we be unaware of our debt to Cuba? How many doctors have we trained and are we now training in Cuba?

How many other professionals? How many Cuban doctors have held up our medical services through the years? How many thousands of Guyanese (and other Caricom people) have had medical treatment – and in particular, eye treatment – in Cuba in the last few years.

Free. Now this country that has given us so much needs us to give back, devastated by Hurricane Ike in spite of an ability to organise against hurricanes which is a model for the world.

Like many other groups in civil society, ours is a small group without the financial or human resource capacity to organise a drive to raise massive support for Haiti and Cuba with the necessary speed, efficiency and accountability. That task needs to be done by the government, the opposition, the trade union movement and/or the private sector. Will anyone take up this responsibility and ‘tek shame out we eye’?

Yours faithfully,
Christobel Hughes
Chair
Commemoration Committee for the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British trade in captured Africans