Having read Reinder Bruinsma’s article in response to Errol Lawrence’s I feel compelled to respond and clarify a few points. Bruinsma’s assertion that the brethren at "the [Trans-European] Division can hold their heads high[,] [t]hey have not been guilty of anything that smacks of racial discrimination," demonstrates that he has failed to recognize the import of the plaintiff’s victory and the fact that it leaves the division looking very bad.

For those of us who have taken the time to read the tribunal’s report it makes for very painful reading. Painful in that I belong to an institution that could have acted thus. Painful in that the shameful events surrounding this case should ever have reached a public tribunal and have done so much damage in the process.

Although the former employee did not win her case for direct racism in the workplace, the tribunal makes it clear that officers at the division have nothing to be proud of. Furthermore, the £77,000 awarded to the plaintiff was awarded for unfair dismissal and victimization in terms of her race and sex. These results are quite clear.

If the prevailing attitude is that the tribunal’s decision is unfair then it appears there are no lessons to be learned because, according to Bruinsma, all is rosy in the garden of that institution. So rosy in fact that employment law at a very basic level was ridden over roughshod, and the plaintiff was left with no recourse but to seek justice in another place.

If one wants to know whether racism exists, the last person to ask is someone from the majority ethnic group, because he or she is invariably the perpetrator (intentional or not). That person will tell you that he or she has "not been guilty of anything that smacks of racial discrimination." However, ask those of the minority group and they will tell a different story.

I hope that the points made by Errol Lawrence will be given serious consideration and implemented, and that we can see progress in the area of diversity and human relations. This case has been very damaging for all concerned; I wish it had never happened. However, let us not bury our heads in the sand and say we’ve been treated harshly. Let us learn the lessons that need to be learned and by the grace of God come to the place where we can see in each other brothers and sisters made in the image of a loving Father.

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