Dear Editor,
I visited the Giftland Mall this past weekend. I noticed in the Super Saver Store a number of photocopied textbooks on sale. Upon enquiry I learnt that the Super Saver store is part of the Giftland Stores group belonging to the Beepats. The Beepats had a few years back removed photocopied textbooks from sale in their Giftland Water Street store amid public outcry following the then government’s sourcing of photocopied textbooks for public schools.
To copy and sell other people’s intellectual property is a crime in Caricom and beyond. It is a despicable act perpetrated under the guise of offsetting the high cost of purchasing original textbooks. Make no mistake, this is not a case of rich people helping poor people. This is a case of rich people selling other people’s property to make themselves richer.
We live in an enlightened age. It is time we stop encouraging acts of criminality such as this.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
