MSJ: Remember freedom struggles of the past

The Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) has called on the nation to remember the struggles faced in gaining freedom from a colonial past, as general elections nears.

In a media release, party leader David Abdulah in his Indian Arrival Day message said, this is the time when there is division along the ethnic lines and the hardships of the past are forgotten.

“We have become divided along ethnic lines which frustrates rather than advances our journey “Up to Freedom.”

“It must also be noted that in spite of British colonialism’s concerted efforts and in the face of those – Indian, African and European – elites who wished to keep the races “separate,” Indian workers and African workers at key moments joined in common cause to fight against the system and those who oppressed them,” he said.

He pointed to major historical moments in TT such as the Hosay riots of 1884, the 1919-20 general strike, the June 1937 general strike, the February 1970 revolution and in the 1975 strikes in oil and sugar as some of the hurdles that were triumphant by the people.

Abdulah said the life faced by not just the Indians during indentureship, but also by Africans during slavery were exploitative and extremely hard and harsh.

He said, “The arrival of indentured workers from India was not a moment of their freedom. In fact, it meant servitude under extremely exploitative conditions.

“Of course, the Indian indentured workers were not unique in this regard as the recently emancipated African slaves had been treated even worse – being considered as chattel, or property and denied their religious beliefs, languages and culture.”

He added that while the Indians were discriminated against, viewed as inferior and their language and religions not recognised; their arrival to TT was one that commemorated the start of a new and crucially important chapter in our history.

“Indian Arrival Day, while not being a moment of emancipation, is certainly a moment when a new chapter was started in the evolution of Trinidad.

"It marks the start of the most important process of TT becoming a diverse society with people of many ethnicities," Abdulah said.

The MSJ, he said, salutes the contributions of the Indians who have been invaluable and integral to what the nation is today.