Letter of the Day - Distorted by fear

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I AM saddened by a letter I read in today's Gleaner. (July 21) written by Cesar B. Lewis, "On schooling children with HIV/AIDS", in which the author strongly objects to the Ministry of Education's reported directive that "children suffering with HIV/AIDS are to be accepted in schools alongside normal healthy ones."

Too often, we simply act from a place of fear. Mr. Lewis' fear has enabled him to put children with HIV/AIDS into a group that includes "thieves, murderers, squatters, every assorted brand of criminals, sick persons and even those with minority sexual preferences".

In different times and places the list of those to be kept out of 'normal' society has included: the mentally ill, blacks, women who wanted to vote, people of any religious belief other than the majority religion, gypsies, Native Amer-icans, Australian aborigines and indigenous people worldwide, twins, people with physical disabilities, women who have been raped. The list could go on and on.

Perhaps, someday we will come to the recognition that there is no 'them'; there is only 'us'. And then we will be able to solve our difficult problems with compassion.

I am etc.,

SUSAN GOFFE

sg_ja2001@yahoo.com

Box 897

Central Sorting Office

Kingston 6

Via Go-Jamaica

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