Dear Editor,
At the end of a wonderful visit to my beloved shores for the Christmas holidays, I patronized one of our renowned jewellery establishments (King’s Jewellery World, Quamina Street), enticed by their advertisement on the national television stations. While perusing their fare, I came upon a sizeable gold pendant. Engraved on this pendant was the six-point ‘Star of David,’ which peaked my interest, as I have just left the Middle East, after working there for seven plus years. The Star of David is comprised of two overlaid equilateral triangles and is a revered Jewish symbol, prominently displayed on the State of Israel’s flag. Ironically, Adolph Hitler forced European Jews during his Nazi occupation of many of the European countries in the late 1930s to mid 1940s, to wear a yellow Star of David on their outer garments with the word Jude for easy identification. His Nazi regime easily targeted them for degradation, grisly human experimentation, free labour, torture, and ethnic cleansing.
Upon closer inspection of the gold pendant, there were about 12 swastikas within and between each triangle. The swastika is the infamous symbol of the Nazis, whose ultimate goal was the extermination of all Jews, along with millions of other human beings they deemed undesirable and inferior. Every Guyanese, would have been lumped in these two categories, as none of us would have been considered a member of his beloved pure Aryan race.
When I brought the pendant to the attention of the manager, he said that someone else had mentioned this to him before. I was surprised that he would know that such a piece existed in this respected establishment, and his nonchalance ruled out any thought that this might have been an innocent oversight, as he had made no effort to remove the offending piece before, and certainly not while I was still there. I know that Jews cannot be found in any significant numbers in Guyana, but it is inexcusable that a major jewellery establishment would carry such a piece.
Whatever one’s take on the politics and policies of the State of Israel, it would serve the not-so-innocent persons involved in the creation and attempted sale of the offending piece of jewellery, to remember that it was Israel that brought instantaneous and effective response to our earthquake stricken Caricom sister-state, Haiti, by sending their superior rescue teams and medical personal. They have gained their expertise treating the gruesome injuries sustained by over 1,000 Jews and Palestinians, from scores of attacks by suicide bombers, over the past 10 years. This is what I know for sure.
To the manager, for peace sake, please melt the offending piece. Don’t be a pawn in some bigot’s game. Intolerance breeds intolerance.
Yours faithfully,
CEE Noel
Editor’s note
We sent a copy of this letter to Mr Looknauth Persaud, Managing Director of King’s Jewellery World and received the following response from Director, Mr Rohandev Persaud:
“Thank you for affording me the opportunity to respond to the letter received by our valued customer. I am attaching a picture of the pendant in question. [Ed note: Photos were included but would not reproduce well for newspaper purposes.] The swastika (from Sanskrit svastika) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right facing form or its mirrored left facing form.
“Swastika shaped ornaments are widely used in eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Though once commonly used all over much of the world without stigma, because of its iconic usage in Nazi Germany, the symbol has become stigmatized in the Western world.
“The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit word svastika, meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. The swastika is considered extremely holy and auspicious by all Hindus, and is regularly used to decorate items related to Hindu culture. It is used in all Hindu yantras and religious designs. Throughout the subcontinent of India, it can be seen on the sides of temples, religious scriptures, gift items, and letterheads. The Hindu deity Ganesh is often shown sitting on a lotus flower on a bed of swastikas. The swastika is found all over Hindu temples, signs, altars, pictures and iconography where it is sacred. It is used in Hindu weddings, festivals, ceremonies, houses and doorways, clothing and jewellery, motor transport and even decorations on food items such as cakes and pastries.
“It is unfortunate that Ms Noel did not recognize the Om symbol in the middle of the pendant nor the Hindu deity Ganesh sitting on a lotus flower bed on the reverse side. The pattern originated from India and is used as a good luck charm. I would like to apologize that this information was not conveyed by our manager to Ms Noel and I can assure that all of our staff are now informed of the meaning of this sacred pendant.”