Dear Editor,
Today (Tuesday May 05) seems to be a public holiday.
The messages from the major political groupings published in the print media refer to this holiday as “Arrival Day.” So, too, do the vast majority of the Greetings advertisements in the print media. Some few of those in the latter grouping add to their words of greeting a sentiment such as “especially to our East Indian brothers and sisters.” Some few of the advertisements officially call the holiday “Indian Arrival Day.” One advertiser (“We commemorate Arrival Day”) even provided historical information such as: “AFRICANS – 1841-1856;” “CHINESE – 1853-1856;” “PORTUGUESE – 1838-1841;” “EAST INDIANS – 1838-1917.”
My question is: Does Stabroek News (and the other print media) have a responsibility to ensure that the advertisements printed should at least have the name of the holiday correct? This is not a matter of spelling differences between (say) Christmas and Xmas, or between Divali and Deepavali. And is there any responsibility to see that historical dates are at least reasonable?
Yours faithfully,
George N. Cave
Editor’s note: Some advertisers may wish to send greetings to specific segments of the population on Arrival Day but their rendering should not be considered as the official description of the day. Advertisers are responsible for the information presented in ads but the newspaper does make changes on rare occasions.
