Dear Sir:

You think that racism happens only in America, or racism just means differences between black and white people? If you think so, then man, you are sadly mistaken. Look just what happened in Trinidad. It shows that racism is very rampant and has bad consequences in the Caribbean. This is especially so in Guyana and Trinidad, where there are strong divisions between black people and Indian people.

That is why Panday not only got two years, but two years hard labor. That is what you must publish. No way does what he was accused of justify such a harsh sentence. But the man is an Indian. So he gets it bad. I am not saying he should have gotten away free. He did something wrong, but not two years hard labor man. He could have gotten a huge fine.

The man was a prime minister of the country. He did serve his country well. But there is this push and pull between him and the government and a black prime minister, and a message had to be sent. The thing there just not fair, man.

Justice must be served to fit the crime not to punish a black man, a white man or an Indian man, because of his race. Try and use this paper to help stop racism, sir.

Alfred Singh, Coral Springs

Set up a community social fund

Dear Sir:

I would like your paper to support a Community Social Fund. Many people from the community from time to time fall on hard times and there is nowhere for them to turn, Recently, a woman who was once a wealthy realtor lost her business and home because of an accident which cost her thousand of dollars in medical bills. This woman was homeless, virtually living on the street, seeking assistance from strangers. Fortunately, some people helped her.

We need a social fund to which members of the community contribute and be managed by honest, trustworthy members of the community. This fund would help people who are down on their luck or in need of medical care, and for any other reason. Other ethnic groups are famous for helping each other. What about the Caribbean-American community? We cannot continue to be so selfish. Please, Mr. Editor, use the influence of this paper to get such a fund going.

Marcia Bent, Miami Gardens