Dear Sir, A petition to our black brothers: My precious brother, you are so beautiful, with full breathtaking features, smart, intelligent, funny, smooth, talented, wonderful, from your golden skin to your deepest dark coal complexion. Stop killing each other, some are laughing not wanting you to succeed in this life, but you are strong, in mind, body and spirit.

It's in your blood my brother, to feel the sting of hard family times, from the very beginning, when they wielded your forefathers on a boat, tears flowed heavily from their eyes as they bid their family goodbye. The devil from the very beginning had a plan to separate the black men from his family!! You are the amour bearer, leader, and strength and back bone of the home.

So there is no need for selling, hustling, pimping, my brother, you are better than that.

Some of you are politicians, pastors, etc. but are discouraged. Divorce seems tempting. Don't run, stay and love your family, as Christ loves the church.

Don't give up my brother, you are the essence of true life, and the wind beneath our wings.

You are spiritually able to teach your family all aspects of life, and firm, able to withstand any and every obstacle that comes your way.

I love you my brother, slow down, no need to speed so much on that bike, remember like I said before: Satan wants you dead.

Loving you in the Spirit of Christ, Your African Sister, TRICIA FENTON-BUFFORD Hamilton Parish Who'll help our children? March 2, 2000 Dear Sir, I need to write this letter today to release my distress at the continuing loss of young lives to murder, violence and drugs in Bermuda, and to offer my sympathy to all those parents affected.

In 1965, when I first came to Bermuda, as a relatively new bride, with my black Bermudian husband, I was amazed at the graciousness of the population, every one over 30 was gracious and most of the children were well behaved! There was a clear impression that just about everyone over 30 had been trained up in "Sunday school'' and the majority were still sincere attendees at church.

Something very sad has happened in the intervening years, the graciousness has not continued on through the younger generations, it has been displaced by materialism, preoccupation with making money and having a "good time.'' Children have been increasingly neglected as more and more young mothers have found it necessary to go out to work full time, either because they are not being supported by the fathers of their children or because they apparently value their career more highly then they value their children. Moreover, I suspect that very few families regularly attend a church with their children or encourage them to learn the Golden Rule and develop a relationship with the Creator.

There is nothing more important for a child in its first 7 years of life than a sense of loving security and encouragement to excel. A child at home with a caring mother will thrive and blossom, in language skills, understanding and manual skills. Children learn by example long before they will listen to instruction. They need to be taught about gentleness, caring, sharing and helping and then they need to learn about not venting anger in a violent way.

With due respect to those who are providing day care for children of "out-working mothers'', I am convinced that no day care facility can provide the constant attention and peaceful learning environment that should be found at home. In the worst case scenario it is survival of the fittest in day care.

Whoever cries the loudest, pushes the hardest, or runs away the fastest wins out. This teaches competitiveness before loving and sharing have had a chance to take root.

For Bermuda to overcome the increasing problem of angry, disappointed and violent children and young adults, we must change the way we raise our children.

I am not speaking idly, I raised four fine young Bermudians, and I am very proud of every one of them, for who they are and what they have achieved, each without violence or criminal activity. My heart breaks for the families who have lost sons and daughters to violence, drugs and AIDS in the past few years and I must ask once again; Who will help our children if the parents will not or cannot do it? GRANDMOTHER Paget P.s. What about assistance for single mothers who are willing to devote their full time to raising their children at least until they are 4 years old and ready for pre-school? What a difference this could make! Stop bashing expats March 6, 2000 Dear Sir, Xenophobia, or dislike of foreigners, can appear in any society at any time.

Whether this social illness remains dormant or takes root and finds expression depends on many factors, among the most important being the attitudes and behaviour of those who wield power and influence. This is entirely logical, since many if not most members of a society take their social cues from those they regard as their leaders...that's what leadership is all about.

Many people are convinced that attitudes and incidents reflecting an expressed dislike of foreigners in Bermuda have risen significantly, even sharply, since the election of the PLP government. This does not necessarily imply that the PLP government has actively encouraged the `dissing' of expats as such...to the extent that many regard the advent of the PLP government as a victory of `us' against `them' it is perhaps inevitable that in some minds, `expats' end up included in `them' since a key consideration in this case is not culture or religion, or even nationality, but race, and most expats are white.

It hardly matters whether or not this development has been actively encouraged by the PLP government. Either way, if a significant portion of the populace now clearly believe that the mere existence of a PLP government has somehow legitimised anti-expat attitudes, it is the responsibility of Government to recognise and acknowledge what is occurring. If it is not the intention of Government to derive political benefit from this development, then it must become so clearly supportive of the expat presence and so discouraging of expat-bashing in all its forms, that the public, both Bermudian and foreign, is left in no doubt whatsoever as to where Government stands. Regrettably, so far this is not the case.

Likewise, it may be that some of the recent pronouncements of persons of authority in the Government which have been widely taken as anti-foreigner are not officially sanctioned. If this is the case, then, again, the official rejection of attitudes and opinions with xenophobic impact should be immediate and convincing, otherwise the people will remain convinced that Government has spoken.

Finally, on the unlikely chance that Government is either actively seeking to manipulate the Bermudian population by encouraging xenophobia, or less unlikely and almost as bad, is unwilling to do everything in its power to stem its rise, Bermudian voters should be aware that their Government is playing with matches. Once xenophobia takes root and spreads its poison, it can take decades, even generations, to defeat. Of course, long before then, most expats, and their huge contribution to Bermudian society and economic prosperity, will be long gone.

OBSERVER Sandys Parish Re-think racial quotas March 3, 2000 Dear Sir, Collectively we must offer to help our new government when they make a wrong turn (which inevitably all new governments do). A case in point: Does anyone understand that despite the honourable intent, by mandating race quotas the politicians are doing all of us Bermudians a huge injustice. The minute that quotas are introduced is the moment that we Bermudians will no longer be respected as equals for doing a world class job. Immediately our promotions and achievements will be questioned and be suspected of being the result of a quota. We will never be respected here or anywhere else in the world for our real abilities to compete and deliver. It will not be just my black colleagues, in international business, who will become a mockery with mandated affirmative action, it will be all Bermudians.

Equally, while it may make political sense to tie the hands of international business by limiting employment contract terms, reality is that some companies are already frustrated enough and have chosen to move their operations to other friendlier countries and grow them there. Man, am I going to be mad when my children return home with their graduate degree and there is no use for them as no-one is hiring. They sure won't be able go choose New York or Chicago for work with their passport. We must seek and promote a growing economy and the chance for future generations to compete in the world arena.

We also need all available tools to attract the best and brightest brains from around the world to work here. Why? Because we need leaders here so that these companies can profit and grow and hire more of us. Equally we need their help to teach us and help grow our knowledge of business in this highly competitive world.

Right now we are making it difficult for our Bermuda based companies to recruit "at will'' and compete in the world market for key leaders. It is you and I that will soon suffer. Believe that we deserve and need to surround ourselves with the very best people available. Who the heck else is going to teach me the latest thinking from around the world and challenge me to seek my next level of knowledge. We must quickly do away with hurtful short term contracts which are already killing our growth opportunities for our future.

JBB Warwick Emancipating our minds March 2, 2000 Dear Sir, Through psycho-politics under colonialism, the main aim of the UBP was to produce a maximum of chaos in the culture of black Bermudians dividing our Caribbean culture into `them and us'. The UBP worked hard to produce the maximum chaos in the fields of mental healing between black Bermudians and their Caribbean relatives.

The dastardly goal of the UBP was to create social chaos and confusion in the conquest of our mind through planned chaos and especially through the planting of double mindedness and induced contradictions, so that an entire population could be controlled and enslaved in Bermuda. What greater mission could our colonial masters pursue than to rule over a Bermuda populated by mind slaves -- robotized men and women driven to despair, fear and depravity by the planned action of our colonial masters who are promoters of chaos and contradiction.

Led by the late L.F. Wade, leader of the PLP -- whose profound insight helped us to destroy our colonial masters, on November 9, 1998, we were finally chartered to achieve what emancipation (which we have never had) is all about.

Independent under a people's government, the PLP, would be a real tribute to Mrs. Ianthia Wade and her children.

RAYMOND RUSSELL SR.

Pembroke Remarks were irrational March 10, 2000 Dear Sir, It is my considered opinion that remarks attributed to Mr. Wayne Perinchief, MP, in The Royal Gazette of March 10, 2000, on the issue of Jamaican policemen being recruited for service in these islands, necessitate an immediate response. While Mr. Perinchief insists that his comments are entirely his own, he must be aware that as an elected Member of Parliament, any public statement he makes could possibly be construed as coming, if only in part, from the party, and government which he represents.

It is not my style nor is it the style of many other Jamaicans residing in Bermuda, to adopt a bellicose and belligerent stance such as that which is espoused by Mr. Perinchief as being typical of the Jamaican personality. I would therefore like to take issue, in as calm and civil a manner as possible, with several of the points he has raised.

It would not be my expectation that the Bermuda recruiting team, having set their objectives and refined the job descriptions, would be prepared to hire anyone who is less than the best. In similar vein, it would be my expectation that the Jamaican Constabulary Force would present for interview only those officers who met the objectives and who in their opinion reflected the highest ideals of the Force.

Mr. Perinchief then leaves the arena of policing and policemen, and ventures out into vague historical generalities by making such statements as, "historically, Jamaicans and Bermudians do not blend well.'' "...places like Barbados and Trinidad and Jamaica are antagonistic to each other,'' and "...there (is) an incompatibility between the Jamaicans and the Bermudians -- they just don't gel together.'' All this is coming from a man who at one time was considered the front runner for the post of Commissioner of Police. These statements fall into the category of "things that make you go hmmmmm...''. The challenges and obstacles that many Jamaicans face as they attempt to reside peacefully on this island may not be so isolated after all.

I would just like to make the following statements of fact: The Hon. Paula Cox has consulted with the Commissioner of Police, and with the endorsement of the cabinet, has given her assent to the recruiting drive; The Bermudian Regiment have frequently been hosted by the Jamaican Defence Force as they pursue training in combat; Jamaicans have held and currently hold positions of rank in many areas in Bermuda such as the judiciary, medical care, education, technology and skilled labour; Cross-culturally, Jamaicans have always shared their talents in music, art, theatre and dance with the Bermudian community; and Jamaican Ministers of State have from time to time shared their expertise with the Bermudian people.

Jamaicans and Bermudians don't gel together? In light of the foregoing, I would be hard pressed to be convinced that Mr.

Perinchief MP, is speaking for all Bermudians. It is my fervent hope that further animosity will not be caused by the irrational statements of this prominent Government Member of Parliament.

WINSTON G. LAYLOR President: The Jamaican Association (Bermuda)