As has been noted elsewhere in today's , 2005 will be remembered as a year of natural disasters, beginning with the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami in Asia, near-famine in Niger in Africa, the worst hurricane season in memory in the US and the Caribbean and the earthquake in Pakistan and India.

Bermuda was fortunate to avoid these catastrophes, but the damage wrought by Katrina and the other 2005 storms was a strong reminder of just how terrible hurricanes can be ? and, indeed, how fortunate the Island was that Hurricane Fabian was not worse.

These natural disasters demonstrate the delicacy of life. People engaged in their day to day pursuits can suddenly have their lives turned upside down, making many of the irritations we tend to get worked up about seem trivial and giving extra significance to the small joys that we too often take for granted.

Bermuda is extraordinarily fortunate, and most countries would no doubt be very happy to take our problems in exchange for their own. But as we give thanks for all that we have, we should remember those in this community who find it harder and harder to make ends meet. The elderly, the sick and the dispossessed all face tremendous burdens, and Bermuda's economic success does not reach all corners of the community.

If anything, the economic transformation of the last decade or so has widened the gulf between rich and poor and has put the Island's middle class, the bedrock of the Island's stability, under increasing pressure.

Nonetheless, Bermuda remains blessed with much, from a stable political situation, a still relatively low crime rate, a strong economy and a citizenry that constantly and consistently shows its compassion for the less fortunate, both within and without our shores.

That does not make the problems we face any less serious. They may be different from those reeling from storm and earthquake damage, but they still require effort and thought.

No problem poses greater challenges that the legacy of racism and the gulf that continues to exist between black and white and Bermudian and expatriate in this community, and the need to tackle it remains as great today as it did 40 years ago when the formal separation of the races was ended.

It requires open minds and civil discourse, and these, sadly, have been lacking in the last year.

It is possible to have a free and frank debate about these subjects without having it degenerate into race baiting and the racial stereotyping that many thought was a thing of the past. Indeed, it is not possible to have this debate at all unless the misperceptions and slurs of yesteryear are done away with. Reintroducing them, regardless of how strongly they may be felt, does not open discussion or allow flexibility of thought. It merely hardens positions and shuts off debate.

The fellowship and goodwill of Christmas shows how well this community can get along together. Applying that mood, along with the Christian principles of tolerance and forgiveness, will help to bring this community together and will allow it, in Premier Alex Scott's words, to work best together.