Quebecers unite!

Patrick Béland writes that there must be something bad in the air of Montreal that is causing what remains of his anglophilia to disintegrate [Letters, "514 vs. 418 cont.," Sept. 30].

Having lived in the anglo ghetto myself, perhaps for too many years, I can corroborate his feeling and would say that, despite claims to the contrary, we anglos consider ourselves outsiders still.

We are well-conditioned by our institutions and leaders to believe that francophones so virulently hate our culture, our language and us that they wish us only harm, and urge us only to flee, not to stay.

This feeling is a mantra so oft-repeated it is now considered a truism, an urban legend equal to that of the fat saleslady at Eaton's who tells francophones to "speak white."

To protect ourselves from the perceived evils of Quebec nationalism and fears of assimilation, we live holed up in separate communities, separate schools and hospitals. Instead of embracing the linguistic reality of Quebec, we are repelled by it, resisting something we regard collectively as an imposition, a correlative diminution of our community's status in Canada. Rather than buckling under, many of us would rather leave while others stay behind, trying to fight the good fight against all odds.

In this microcosm, we continue to fight the old battles of the two founding nations, forgetting neither the battle of the Plains of Abraham, nor the St. Leonard riot, nor other battles over language during the 1970s and 1980s, remembrance of which now constitute our own battle cries. So entrenched is our divorce from the rest of Quebec society that we consider ourselves the only true federalists in Quebec - fifth columnists, without whom Quebec would already be an independent state.

For all our resisting, however, we have lost much of our community, our youth, our institutions, our rights, our hopes and aspirations and, above all, our future. Instead of cursing the darkness, our leaders should light a candle and lead us out of the cold, dark cave: our anglo ghetto. Let us work together with francophones and the Quebec government - our government - to give our community and its members the tools necessary to flourish in Quebec - our home. If we cannot trust one another, work with one another, stand together shoulder-to-shoulder to strengthen our community, the greater Quebec community, we québécois will suffer together.

For the sake of all québécois, let us set aside our distrust, our hatred and disrespect for one another. For the sake of all québécois, let us move beyond past slights, past hurts, past losses. For the sake of all québécois, let us work together for peace and growth. If we cannot do so, we and most certainly our community will be worse off for it.

» Deepak Awasti

Genetic gambling

In my haste to edit an already lengthy letter that ran on Sept. 9 ["Sperm, eggs and the law"], I sacrificed some of the meaning in my treatment of AHR (assisted human reproduction)-related birth defects and health problems. I wrote, "More than 50 per cent of children conceived through AHR (including IVF) are born with birth defects and prone to disability and sudden death." Here is what was originally intended:

Children conceived through AHR may have more than a 50 per cent increased chance of birth defects, compared to children conceived normally. They are at increased risk of low birth weight, prematurity and sudden infant death, and are prone to developmental problems, leaving them vulnerable to lifelong disability. Failure rates are high - with increased risk of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy - while abortion undoubtedly masks the true rate of genetic defects of children conceived through AHR.

I hope this expanded version helps to clarify the issues.

» Deborah Rankin, Ville LaSalle

International manhunt

I am a man aged 40 who very much would like to correspond with gay people in Canada. As your paper addresses itself to mainly gays and lesbians, I wonder whether you would be able to publish my wish to correspond with someone in the gay community?

My chief interests are such as reading, writing, movies, theatre, plays, nature, flora and fauna, travelling, music, art, jogging, swimming and foreign languages and culture.

People wishing to contact me via mail are most welcome to correspond with me in French, but owing to my poor French grammar, I still prefer to answer all letters in English.

I now wish there are many gay people of all ages and creeds who would like to receive interesting mail out there in Canada!

Thanking you in advance.

» Alex Busch, Skarpnäck, Sweden

My name is Eduardo Hechtman. I live in Brazil. I am making a research of my family history and probably Ken Hechtman is my cousin, but I don't know him. I would like to contact him. Can you help me?

» Eduardo Hechtman, Brazil

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