President: 'We are still on emancipation journey'

PRESIDENT Paula Mae Weekes is questioning whether the country learnt any lessons from the emancipation of slaves.

In her Emancipation Day message, the President stated: "We ask ourselves whether we have learned its salutary lessons and whether the well-documented tribulations of our ancestors have resulted in discernible changes in the worldview, attitudes and behaviours of our citizens today."

She said Emancipation Day presents the opportunity for both celebration and contemplation.

"We rejoice in the liberation of enslaved Africans from the cruel chains of bondage while also acknowledging their painful experiences and reflecting on their long, bitter road to freedom" she said, adding that Sunday marks the 187th anniversary "of the close of this heinous chapter of human history."

The enslaved fought for their right to determine and forge their own identity and destiny, the President said adding that they sought to be treated with respect, fairness and equality and to live in dignity and security.

"We, their successors, should settle for nothing less. Their efforts to obtain their liberty should produce in all of us a strong desire to shed modern-day shackles and adopt their hope, vision, fearlessness and resilience."

She said emancipation was not easily attained and even when Slavery Abolition Act, 1833 was passed, it was not secured until 1838 after the four-year ‘apprenticeship’ period came to an end. She reminded the country that Trinidad and Tobago is the first nation in the world to commemorate officially the end of chattel slavery.

"None can argue that we are not still on the journey to full emancipation. Let us build upon and complete the foundation laid by those early freedom fighters and, with boundless faith in our destiny, create a future worthy of their struggle and sacrifice. If we are to do justice to the memory and legacy of the enslaved, we must treat our fellow countrymen with respect and consideration, keep abreast of current affairs, play a role in the political process and engage in the activism that was cruelly denied our forebears."