Dear Editor,

I read with interest a letter, "Sorry, Mr Deputy PM" in the Observer of May 28. The letter, written by Mr Michael A Dingwall, castigates Mr Mike Henry for "insulting" the British deputy PM, and offers the gentleman his apologies "on behalf of the Jamaican people".

As I understand it, Mr Henry "insulted" the deputy PM by refusing to meet with him because the latter refused to apologise for slavery. I also understand that this slavery occurred over a period of over 300 years and was carried out by the ancestors of the deputy PM against the ancestors of most Jamaicans. I further understand that during this period, countless Jamaicans were maimed, tortured and murdered for the simple "sin" of seeking their God-given freedom. I am also led to believe that this free labour, provided for over 300 years contributed, in no small measure, to the wealth and prosperity of Britain, that the deputy PM and his compatriots enjoy today.

It seems that, for Mr Dingwall, none of this is as bad as Mr Henry's deadly sin of refusing to meet with the deputy PM. The first does not require an apology, but the second does.
While I bear no ill will towards the British deputy PM, I think I must respectfully ask to be excluded from the group of Jamaicans on whose behalf Mr Dingwall has apologised.

Hugh P Smythe
10 Schooner Court
Westmoorings
Trinidad and Tobago
hsmythe@tstt.net.tt

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