By Sue-Ann Wayow
RELIGIOUS, political and racial strife should continue to be rejected by all as the nation celebrates Indian Arrival Day.
In her message in commemoration of the day celebrated on May 30, President Paula-Mae Weekes said the vision of the East Indian indentured immigrants who hoped and dreamed of a better life in Trinidad and Tobago should be furthered.
She said that the introduction of Indian indentureship in 1845 heralded the start of a new era for the nation as the arrivals came equipped with not only agricultural knowledge and expertise, but also their values, traditions and ways of life.
“We salute and celebrate the indelible impact of their contributions, social, cultural and economic on the national landscape. We remember also the challenges and hardships they endured as they pursued a brighter and more prosperous future. Their accounts of sacrifice, perseverance and triumph are rich sources of inspiration to all of us, particularly as we seek to put the Covid-19 crisis well and truly behind us,” President Weekes said.
She said, “Braving a traumatic journey across the kali pani and harsh living and working conditions on the sugar plantations, our forebears stayed the course, buoyed by the knowledge that they were building and establishing a proud and lasting legacy.”
Persevering through the harsh living and working conditions on the sugar plantations, nationals would do well to adopt their determined spirit especially as the fight against Covid-19 continues and overcome the many other tribulations such as rising crime, soaring food prices and unemployment that affect national development she added.
President Weekes said, “Our country is ever grateful to those intrepid immigrants who opted to remain here, making Trinidad and Tobago their home, and contributing to its growth and progress. In order to ensure that their sacrifices and ordeals were not in vain, we must continue to build upon the foundation they helped establish, rejecting completely the religious, political and racial strife that so often threaten the very fabric of our rainbow nation and working together to forge a clear and common path forward, even in the face of overwhelming difficulties.”
