Dear Editor,
On October 6 we mark the anniversary of the horrible CU-455 Cubana Air Disaster off Barbados in 1976, which took the lives of seventy-eight persons, including several Guyanese students who were on their way to fulfil their dreams of obtaining a profession to serve humanity.
It was an event that demonstrated the intolerance of a group which did not share the same ideology and philosophy as the Cuban government. From antiquity this has been a problem with human beings. We had the major religious leaders superintend the slaughter of millions because they did not share the same beliefs. The Crusades, Jihads, the holocausts against Jews and Africans, and the world wars, all took the lives of innocent persons.
As we mark this day let us hope and pray that we can learn to respect the religious and philosophical beliefs of others, in other words, practise tolerance and love.
It remains my hope that we can bequeath to our children and their children a Guyana and a world characterized by love, decency and tolerance.
Yours faithfully,
Hamilton Green, JP