Caption: Ishmael Tarouba at last year’s Independence Day Parade

Dear Editor,

Sadly, no Independence Day parade but only Together we Aspire, Together we Achieve!

If there is only one reason to smile for the year, the Independence Day parade will claim it.

As a youth, witnessing our Independence Day parade for the first time in my life last year, this year, no matter what election result, what is going on in my personal life, I eagerly awaited for information and news on this years celebrations to only be shocked and totally disappointed.

I am disappointed not just for myself but for the other youths like myself being robbed of the opportunity to witness history live and also thinking about those who count and attend every single Independence Day celebration, worrying if this year was their last to witness.

As a youth, that thought never crossed my mind however, for our elderly, I am disappointed in this selfish government.

I am also disappointed for all the small businessmen and women because not Carnival, not Christmas, but Independence Day is actually the biggest day for sales for some of our brothers and sisters of the soil.

Many pie men, soup women, nuts men and drink vendors, etc, from afar on our lands, all corners, gather to service and provide during the parade.

Independence Day is the one day we can truly unite as a nation with different races and religions, yet this government has taken it away. Is this government trying to rewrite history?

Is this government attempting to alter the books and twist the legacies? Independence Day is now severely watered down, exclusive and not for all.

Yet as we celebrate our 63rd anniversary as an independent nation, we have a lot to be thankful for.

We must be thankful for those leaders before us who have moulded and shaped our country. We must recognise the efforts of our first Prime Minister (Chief Minister at the time)  Dr Eric Williams for the role that he, together with other party members played in the crucial independence talks that took place.

And as much as we celebrate 63 years of independence, we still have a lot more work to do. We must continue to do everything that we can to improve the lives of each and every citizen. We have to put our children first; they are indeed our future.

And like in Drupatee, Machel and Xtatik’s song, I call for real unity.

Happy Independence Day, Trinidad and Tobago!

May God bless our nation!

Ishmael Tarouba

Via email