Together let’s construct new future for TT

THE EDITOR: In his independence address, our first Prime Minister, Dr Eric Williams, asked two vital questions. The first was, “What use will you make of your independence?” The second was, “What will you transmit to your children five years from today?”

Now 55 years later, these questions are even more vital.

Despite the increasing racial gulf that now divides us, legally every creed and race still finds an equal place and God continues to bless us with resources and capacity that remain untapped. What we do not seem to realise is that diversity, the diversity that caused Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe us as a rainbow nation, is now being threatened by political and racial division. It is this diversity that will save us and take us forward.

Research has proven that diversity is the foundation and springboard of creativity. There is no question that we are among the most creative people in the world. We have affected the culture of our world far beyond our size, resources and population. We have produced great men and women, sons and daughters of our soil, who have made significant contributions to every human activity, from education and learning to music and the arts to sports and science. What we must do is recognise our strengths and build on them, construct a new future for TT on the combined abilities of our people, and eradicate the belief that any one group can by itself carry the country into the future.

Independence begins with an “I” — I the citizen. I the patriot. I the employee or employer. And together all become “we”. We the people of this nation who together as a creative force have changed and will change the history of the world. This is our destiny and I still have boundless faith in it.

CAROLYN SEEPERSAD-BACHAN

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