Tearing down statues can’t right past wrongs

sir – Many generations ago my family were slaves in Egypt, but I do not claim that this requires me to smash all statues of the slave-owning pharaohs in Egypt – or even in the British Museum (“Demonstrators target Sloane statue over slavery links”, report, August 25).

My great-grandparents came to this country as refugees in the 18th century, and found everything here very strange. That did not mean they thought it necessary to demonstrate, vandalise, riot and demand that the history and traditions of England be changed to suit them.

Conversely, they believed that, having chosen to live here, they needed to adapt to English customs, whether they approved of all of them or not. They brought up their children to do likewise.

As foreigners, they were sometimes insulted and even assaulted, but they also knew that one cannot demand respect: one has to earn it.

Mervyn S Kersh

Cockfosters, Hertfordshire

sir – At the age of 12, my grandmother was taken out of school to work in the Lancashire cotton mills. She caught tuberculosis and nearly died. Many thousands of other children did die. It was only the wealthy mill owners who gained from this – but then many, like Titus Salt, built hospitals, libraries, schools, universities and homes.

Britain did something similar in Commonwealth countries, where we built railways and other infrastructure; and the Romans did something similar here. They killed many in the process – but we do not now blame the Italians.

You do not teach future generations about rights and wrongs by burying history. No one likes slavery, but organisations such as the BBC and Black Lives Matter need to reconsider their approach.

Hilary Roper-newman

Keighley, West Yorkshire

sir – Years ago, while on a holiday in The Gambia, we stood before a memorial to slavery. It took the form of a pit, in which stood four figures of slaves in positions of abject misery and degradation. It was very powerful.

As we stood silently before it, taking in the shameful horror, an African man came up to us and said: “The British put an end to slavery. You are British and you should be proud.”

Pam Littlewood

Newark, Nottinghamshire