ON November 16, the International Day of Tolerance was observed worldwide under the auspices of the United Nations.  Over the last quarter of a century, the nations or states of the world have become progressively more plural with the emigration and settlement of people of diverse ethnicities, nationalities, cultures, and religions within their borders. 

There are many push factors that drive people to leave their countries and homes and try to settle in other countries, but the two most evident are economic hardship and political instability, which, in most cases, feed on each other.  This is manifested by numbers of young people and even children from Asia and Africa trying to enter Europe by boat through Italy and Greece, or over the North Sea.  In the Americas, the pull is the United States, which hundreds of thousands of Latinos try to enter from Mexico.

The transportation of illegal emigrants has become an industry where emigrants pay enormous fees to the smugglers who cram them into unsafe boats or buses in the case of emigrants trying to get into the United States. Every so often, these boats capsize and sink, with most of the emigrants drowning. In September, there were two such accidents — in the Mediterranean where nearly 800 Africans lost their lives and in the North Sea and nearly the same number of Pakistanis similarly lost their lives.  Thousands of these illegal immigrants, however, succeed in getting into Europe, where they spread themselves into various countries.

At first, many countries such as Germany and the Scandinavian countries, invoking their traditions of democracy and tolerance, willingly accepted such immigrants and tried to integrate them, while other countries, such as France, with far greater numbers, unenthusiastically allowed them to stay.  With such large numbers of immigrants, the governments of these countries were faced with the problem of dealing with hostility to immigrants, as shown by large sections of the population and electorate, and the problems of integrating them.

Various methods of integration have been or are being tried. In Turkey, the million-plus Syrians are allowed to live in their own communities, while in some of the countries of Europe, they are taught the language and customs of the host community, and employment is found for them.

But integration is not happening fast enough, and in every country, immigrants still stand out as an undigested part of the community. This largely arises because host populations have not understood diversity and its value, which would result in tolerance, acceptance and integration. The importance of accepting the message of the International Day of Tolerance has grown worldwide.

Tolerance, as defined by the United Nations and the Guyana Ethnic Relations Commission, is “the respect, acceptance and appreciation of the multifaceted diversity of human cultures, ethnicities, religions and languages that make up the world.  It is the foundation of peaceful and inclusive societies.”

In Guyana, there are areas in the society which are fairly integrated and where tolerance has been completely absorbed. Still, there are areas where the diversities of Guyanese society have not been grasped or understood. It is these areas which the Ethnic Relations Commission will have to study and which are sometimes placed before it as problems to be solved.

There are two levels on which such problems could be approached: the first is to deal with the immediate complaint, which could be racial discrimination of some kind, and the second level is to try to educate society about the meaning of the diversity which many see as the cause of the discord and how the healing force of tolerance could be applied and absorbed.  The ERC is quite aware that the second level will take much longer to be understood and suffused with the balm of tolerance.

Accordingly, in its International Day of Tolerance message to Guyanese, the ERC stressed the theme of understanding and tolerance:  “Guyana is blessed with a rich heritage of cultures and traditions.  This diversity is our greatest strength.  It makes our nation more vibrant, dynamic and resilient. All Guyanese must learn about and appreciate the different cultures and traditions that make up our nation,  challenge stereotypes and prejudices,  speak out against intolerance and discrimination and promote empathy and understanding… Let us work to create a more harmonious, tolerant and inclusive society… and stand up for tolerance, respect and unity.”

The advocacy of understanding and tolerance to gradually eliminate the conflicts and discord caused by diversity is applicable not only to societies or other large groups of people;  individuals who meet these diversities with tolerance eliminate all tension and worry about them and have pacific, stress-free and happier lives and even enjoy diversity, as when they could sample the cuisines from different cultures.