I READ Alvin Williams' articles with much interest and frequently agree with his opinions, although not all the time. I share his concern about racial issues in Bermuda and the need for harmony.

I married a brown-skinned Bermudian in England and came with him to the island in 1965, 40 years ago. At that time we were, as a racially-mixed couple, somewhat unusual both in UK and in Bermuda.

I had, in fact, flown in the face of considerable family opposition in the UK to marry my chosen partner. I am proud to say that we raised four racially-blended children, adults now, of whom I, and their grandparents on both sides, have been very proud.

During my first few years in Bermuda I was hugely impressed by the gentility of the black population who were always pleasant, courteous and genuinely warm-hearted towards myself and my children. Subtly that benevolence seems to have deteriorated, starting in the '70s with the influx of students returning from colleges and universities in the States where racial tensions and inequality have always been much worse than anything we have experienced in Bermuda since the early 1960s.

These youngsters came back home with militance programmed into their minds. But still the generally benign attitude of their parents and grandparents seemed to temper the situation.

I have always, until the last six of my 40 years in Bermuda, lived in what are commonly known as black neighbourhoods, most of my close friends are "black", so for me the changes that are occurring now, with blatant black on white verbal abuse and black on black political disdain for non-Progressive Labour Party supporters coming as a severely unpleasant shock.

I never thought I would ever say this, but life in Bermuda has become for me a much less comfortable experience, entirely as a result of this racial issue.

For me the issue has always been, not "What colour is this person's skin? but "Does this person have a friendly and approachable manner? Is this person genuine and honest?"

On that basis I have found some whites whom I would not choose to invite into my home and many blacks whom I liked instantly and with whom I have maintained warm and lasting friendships.

However, while we can and should maintain friendly, trusting and co-operative relationships in the workplace, it is an unavoidable fact that there is a wide range of social/leisure activities here and a wide range of musical preferences and this does appear to be where there is sometimes a divide which appears to be racial. But I think it is really more cultural ? it is what your parents and grandparents introduced you to in your youth or what your peers and teachers have encouraged you to enjoy in your formative years. Some folks like classical music and cannot abide reggae for example; others, like myself, love both.

But this is the root of the separate social activities we complain about, it is simply a difference of how people choose to spend their leisure time and there is the same division in all-white communities and if we are really observant, it is probably present in the black community too, not every one chooses to hang out with just anyone because of the skin colour, it has to do with their interests and personal preferences for leisure activities.

You cannot legislate how people will spend their leisure time; however, we should be able to legislate against open verbal abuse and racial slurs and intolerance, in whichever direction they are being directed.

Beyond that, I would like to see a return to the old Bermuda where people were genuinely courteous and friendly to one another, locals or tourists. Let us treat one another as we would like to be treated.

In my experience it has worked very well.

@TIMES-18:So why are you a friend of Castro's, Mr. Williams?

SO Alvin Williams wonders out loud what he really has in common with white Bermudians? A great deal more, I'd venture to say, than he does with Spanish-speaking, Communist-preaching Fidel Castro ? the Progressive Labour Party's new best friend in the Caribbean and a dictator Mr. Williams continues to extravagantly laud in print.

I was fascinated to read President Richard Nixon's comments about Castro at the 1971 Bermuda summit meeting with UK Prime Minister Edward Heath that appeared in today's edition of the along with Mr. Williams' latest attempt to drive a wedge between the white and black Bermudian communities (part of his tedious, ongoing attempt to convince black voters they should vote for the PLP).

Nixon, quite accurately, described Castro as a dangerous radical, one hell-bent on Hemispheric subversion who was busily engineering left-wing agitation in Uruguay just as he already had in Chile. He was also seemingly bent on exporting the Cuban revolution to the Bahamas once the British granted that country Independence in 1973.

So what's changed in the intervening 35 years? Not much from what I can see.

Although he has lost his Russian benefactors, Castro is still intent on destabilising the Western hemisphere. He's in bed now with the socialist Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and recently, using Caracas' new-found oil wealth, the two helped to engineer the ascension of Evo Morales in Bolivia, an anti-American radical who is intent on legalising the coca crop in that country (meaning the South American drug lords will be able to legally manufacture cocaine for export to the rest of the world).

Hundreds of Cubans still die every year trying to flee the Caribbean "workers' paradise" that Mr. Williams so extols. Churches are still closed by Castro, the unofficial state religion being a personality cult built around this unreconstructed and unapologetic Communist.

Journalists, poets and other Cuban free-thinkers are still rounded up and jailed for indefinite terms as "enemies of the people" for having the temerity to read books that Fidel Castro has banned (would someone please tell me how Bermuda is meant to benefit from signing a "cultural agreement" with a dictatorship that boasts of one hundred per cent literacy yet still tells its people what they can and cannot read?)

And Castro, a dyed-in-the-wool racist, still boasts about defying international opinion and executing those "three little niggers" (dissidents) who attempted to hijack a ferry to Florida ? and freedom ? a couple of years back.

Given all of this, please tell me Alvin Williams what you really have in common with Fidel Castro?

I would very much like to be on hand when Alvin Williams attempts to explain to Bermuda's Rastafarian community why they should embrace "Brother" Fidel. After all, it was Cuban mercenaries sent to Ethiopia to prop up the Communist regime there who in 1975 murdered the Rastafarians' "living god" Emperor Haile Selassie. Whether or not you believe in Selassie's divinity, the fact Cuban thugs were happy to suffocate an 83-year-old statesman of international standing in his sleep should tell you all that you really need to know about Fidel Castro.

IN his last week, your columnist Alvin Williams asked: "As a black Bermudian, what do I really have in common with my fellow white Bermudian which will allow us to live in harmony?"

What you have in common, Mr. Williams, is that you're all Bermudians, sharing the same tiny island in the middle of the ocean. It's as simple as that.

PHILLIP WELLS, St. George's

@TIMES-18:You're all Bermudians

January 5, 2006

ON behalf of the Bermuda Hospitals Board, I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge the generous contribution made by the Junior Service league (JSL) to patients at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute.

For the past 52 years, these dedicated volunteers have donated Christmas gift bags to patients in hospital over the holidays. In general, the JSL provides around 380 festive bags, making efforts to assure gifts are both age and gender appropriate. The bags include a variety of items, ranging from chocolates, toiletries, games, toys, disposable cameras, teas, perfume, phone cards, water, T-shirts, books, socks and pens.

Receiving these lovely wrapped and colourful gifts certainly brings comfort and cheer to patients who are hospitalised over the holidays. The JSL spends a great deal of time and energy providing hundreds of gifts to patients every year. Such efforts are exemplary and deserve praise.

We are grateful to the JSL for their commitment to helping others. They have certainly made a difference to our patients. It also means a great deal to our staff when members of the community assist at the hospitals.

Many thanks to everyone at the Junior Service League for keeping a tradition going over the past five decades that truly reflects the spirit of the season.

DEBRA BYRD

Director of Volunteer Services

Bermuda Hospitals Board

@TIMES-18:Educate consumers!

January 11, 2005

I AM not sure if the writer of the article entitled "Industry denies cell phone customers are being ripped off" (, January 6) did any further research, but if anyone took the time to look at various cell phone plans offered in the US and Canada, you will see that many do not use this "bill and keep" regime that the cell phone companies in Bermuda speak of.

I am a student in Canada, and nearly all of the carriers in Montreal do not use that method. Some of the providers include Fido, Rogers and Telus. My plan with Fido (www.fido.ca) receives unlimited incoming local calls, 100 "free" weekday minutes and 1,000 "free" nights and weekend minutes.

If someone calls me locally (and sometimes internationally), neither of us are charged for the call if they are calling from a land line. So the story just, to a degree, perpetuates the lies.

If I were the average Bermudian consumer I would come away from that article thinking that the billing regime is standard with all cell phone carriers in the US and Canada. I think the should do something to address this.

I think a more balanced report would demonstrate the misinformation and likely price gouging that is occurring in Bermuda as regards the cell phone companies. Internet service providers are just as bad (probably worse!).

Perhaps the could do more to educate consumers in Bermuda, rather than always reporting about the poor habits that Bermudians have as consumers.