Dear Editor,
I had planned writing about Cotton Tree to inquire where things are, since there is an information vacuum present. Events, however, ran ahead of me. For there is that gruesome murder of a pensioner, allegedly as admitted by his neighbor, for us to contemplate now when, if ever, Cotton Tree will be closed.
It is not just any neighbor, but someone loosely related to one of the murdered Henry cousins. And this latest murder of the pensioner means that four have died in the most hideous manner, with the Henry duo, being the most recognized and most barbaric. Though I differ and distance from some of the extremes that were displayed back then, I recognize and accept that the murders of Haresh Singh and now this pensioner, were retaliatory in nature. We must do the same, if we say we are for justice and peace. Editor, it would be comforting to me to hear the expressions of outrage across the board; not from one side wounded, but from all. Such would be more than comforting to me, who does not matter in the big scheme of things. It would be soothing to the torn psyche of this nation; if we are to get anywhere in our relationships, then we cannot continue to have the obviously naked dishonesty that comes with selectivity on issues like these. To be expressively blunt: I only find voice and conscience, when it involves my people, my color, my politics, and my prejudices.
If our religious agents prove again to like that, and just that, then there are nothing more than opportunistic agent provocateurs, who serve no purpose to the people of this country, be such the families of the murdered, the nearby communities, or the nation at large. If our political leaders (and I expect nothing different from both sides) are, once again, nothing more but the same raw jaundiced partisan stripes that did harm in Cotton Tree, then they are capable of only what is supportive of their dastardly visions. It could of those who are caustic in their castigations of those suspected; or those leaders that contribute the assets of the state to provide cover. I brace for the passions of one side to be vented sharply; and by the same token, those of the other to mouth some unpersuasive platitudes that pooh-pooh the matter until it blows over. Throughout, we are reminded, that Cotton Tree festers venomously.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
