Dear Editor,
In the Friday, May 4, 2012 edition of the Guyana Chronicle, there was an article under the caption ‘Wha really wrang wid deze people, eh?’ written by Alex Wayne, which was brought to our attention. The choice of language in relation to two persons with a different sexual orientation smacked of stigmatisation and discrimination against the LGBTI community.
The alarming thing is that this newspaper is the mouthpiece of the government which recently through its chief spokesperson, Dr Roger Luncheon, announced imminent consultations on the repeal of archaic laws on capital punishment, corporal punishment and cross-dressing. Since pieces published by the Guyana Chronicle speak to the position of the Guyana Government on these issues, the impression has been given that the announced consultations are a mere mockery. (Please note that Guyana is scheduled to report to the UN in July on its position on these sensitive issues, for which consultations should have commenced a while ago.)
Friends Across Differences (FADs) is an NGO that seeks to work with vulnerable young men who have been displaced by society because of their HIV status and/or sexuality. We seek to offer physical shelter to such youths and promote achieving skills and qualifications that will see them reintegrated into society as positive contributors.
FADs calls on the Guyana Press Association, Guyana Human Rights Association, Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Red Thread, Guyana Rainbow Coalition, Guyana Sex Worker Coalition, United Bricklayers, the United Nations and international donor agencies to condemn such reporting and commentary.
Yours faithfully,
Stan Gouveia
Friends Across Differences
