PM praises African people's resilience

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar outside the Red House on July 28. PHOTO BY AYANNA KINSALE -

PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has praised members of the Afro-Trinidadian community for their resilience and contribution to Trinidad and Tobago's development.

In her Emancipation Day message to the nation, Persad-Bissessar said, "This day honours the courage and resilience of millions of African ancestors who endured the brutal Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, a centuries-long atrocity that exiled over 11 million Africans to the Americas to be enslaved and exploited for the building of the New World."

She added, "Stripped of liberty and dignity, they were unimaginably brutalised and denied basic human rights."

"Yet, through faith, strength, and collective will, Persad-Bissessar continued, "they rose against injustice and reaffirmed their rightful dignity as human beings, laying the moral foundation for the freedoms we enjoy today."

Persad-Bissessar recalled TT was the first nation to declare African Emancipation Day a public holiday in 1985.

"This bold and visionary step inspired countries such as Jamaica, Barbados, Suriname, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Canada, South Africa, and several US states to follow suit."

She said, "African Emancipation Day is not only a remembrance of suffering overcome, but a celebration of what has been built. "

Persad-Bissessar added, "The contributions of African descendants continue to shape our society, from national festivals and cultural expressions to academic, political, and global leadership."

She told citizens the lessons of Emancipation are not confined to history.

"A we honour our ancestors, let us also uplift those still striving for recognition and opportunity."

Persad-Bissessar quoted famous US civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King Jr to underscore this point.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, (but) we shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”