Dear Editor,
Following my letter questioning the lack of cultural and ethnic diversity in Caribbean Airlines’ new advertising campaign, I have taken note of the local launch featuring Machel Montano and the Park Side Steel Orchestra at Stabroek Market.
The airline’s CEO Garvin Madera was full of talk about the region’s cultural diversity but, like our local and regional politicians, it was all shameless rhetoric and fat talk. Shameless because Mr Madera knew that the images presented on his stage and in his advertisements do not match the promises being made of recognising and respecting the region’s diversity.
In Guyana where Indians are the largest ethnic group, Mr Madera, if he and his company had any respect for the real diversity of the Caribbean identity, would have staged a launch that would have included chutney music, and some Chinese and First Peoples’ representation.
The campaign is a sham and a lie. The trouble is the airline has a monopoly on our travel to major destinations and where this might have made a corporate body guided by high-minded principles more sensitive and considerate, it appears that Caribbean Airlines has no such compunctions.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address supplied)
