THE EDITOR, Sir:

Gareth Thomas, British Minister of State for Trade and Development, made the recommendation to the region, on a ground which has to do with morals. He urged the region to challenge discrimination against gays. One is therefore left to wonder what exactly is the correlation between trade and morals as seen by Thomas.

If as he says, the region is discriminating against homosexuals and yet we have the second highest statistics in HIV/AIDS, what then would be our scoreline if we did not discriminate? If by discri-minating we are undermining the fight against HIV/AIDS, surely by not discriminating but cooperating, we would not fight, but simply surrender.

Level of discrimination

If although by discriminating we attract a certain level of assistance, then the obvious implication is that, by sur-rendering, we would get even greater levels of assistance. What a price!

Thomas ought to realise that we have been there before, and today the slave business is fresh on our minds. Today, we are happy to be a free people who don't want to go back there, 'trading' morals for money, nor exchanging financial aid for social and physical aids. Please keep both. We might be poor, but we are not for sale again.

By the way, Thomas, thanks for the Bible your forebears left with us on the previous encounter. We still have it and read it and it has served us well. In fact it helped to free us.

I am, etc.,

VICTOR McGIBBON (Elder)

c/o Olivet Gospel Hall

43b Waltham Park Road

Kingston 11