IT SEEMS MR IAN MARSHALL has a colour axe to grind and could not wait for the dust to settle on the case of the missing Mrs Harris before he was mouthing off in this newspaper.
One only has to read a few lines of his letter and can tell exactly what side of the fence he sits. Nowhere in his letter did he mention any good wishes to the family that the white woman, as he puts it, was found unharmed and alive.
It is appalling that anything that involves the Caucasian race in Barbados is always highlighted as a black and white issue. Can matters not be dealt with for what they merit rather than bring in all of this race talk?
How often have we been alerted to the missing of a white Barbadian female or male for that matter in Barbados? As far as I can remember in my lifetime, this is the first case for me and if it took the missing of a white Barbadian female to bring out the best in all the forces and organisations, then Hip! Hip! Hurrah! And trust that it will be done in all future cases.
The point that Mr Marshall is missing in the above matter is that it seems that the white female’s friends and family never waited on the police or any of the other forces to start their searching as they started in mere hours into the discovery that Mrs Harris had not returned to her home in the time she should have done so. Is Mr Marshall aware of the number of friends and family, including professional people, who gave up their appointments to be involved in the search?
The point is that the family wanted their missing loved one back at all costs and I congratulate everyone involved in seeing that it was done and thank God for bringing her back to her loved ones unharmed.
Investigations
This brings me to deal with another aspect of the above matter. It was stated in this newspaper that the police have said that they are not finished with their investigations into the matter. The family has given out as much personal information as I think is needed as to why Mrs Harris went missing and I feel that it should end there and let the family solve whatever problem Mrs Harris has or had at the time of her being missing.
Nearly every month in recent years we can read of notices in the newspapers that a black female or male, but mostly young black females, have gone missing from their homes and the public is called upon to assist with any information they may have on the missing person; but we are never told the reason they went missing or where they were found.
We are always only told that they have since been found and that all is well. That is of course the ones who were not unfortunately found dead.
So why is it that the above missing case has to be scrutinised to every detail? Are we to think like Mr Marshall in saying that it is a matter of race and colour? I would hope that is not the case.
– ANNETTE LASHLEY