THE EDITOR, Sir:
I CANNOT help but feel incensed by the letter published March 19, 2004 written by Kirk Johnson (PNPYO national organiser) with the caption Cheap and Selfish Thought. This letter was in reference to the appeal by the Mayor of St. Mary and Opposition Ministers to the Government to be judicious in providing aid to the Haitians.
The extension of kindness to countries and people in need by Jamaica must be done with some priority for its own nationals. If First World countries such as the USA desire to give aid to Third World countries although they have millions of people living in poverty then I say, hats off to them. They must be aware of the reasons their fellow countrymen are unable to access the resources available to them. Several Jamaicans leave here and do so quite effectively; but then I digress.
I dare not defend the sending of troops to Grenada by Mr. Seaga in the 1980s but maybe the public debt was approximately $16 billion, a containable amount with the level of production at that time. At present the public debt has skyrocketed in the region of $400 billion. This means that while we need to extend a helping hand to our Haitian brothers and sisters we CANNOT be overzealous in doing so. Someone needs to keep an eye on the public purse. While no government is without blame, we can't cry and debate over spilt milk but we can contain further expenditure.
Please, Mr. Prime Minister, and members of the PNPYO, while I applaud your generosity and political maturity, let us be mindful that this country is home for us all and we cannot afford to cut off our nose to spoil our face.
I am, etc.,
ROMAYNE EDWARDS
glamarous00@yahoo.com
Barbican
Kingston 8
Via Go-Jamaica
