PM: Merikins' story needs to be told

THE Prime Minister has made an indirect sales pitch for the story of the Merikins in TT to be made into a film or television series.

Apart from that, Dr Rowley was happy that the Education Ministry is speaking with the descendants of the Merikins about including their history in the school curriculum.

Rowley made these comments when he addressed the Merikin National Community Award and Recognition Ceremony at the Southern Academy of the Performing Arts, San Fernando on August 24.

The Merikins were formerly enslaved Africans who fought for the British against the US in the Corps of Colonial Marines, in the American War of Independence of 1812-1814, "the Forgotten War."

As a reward for their service, they received gifts which included lands in British colonies, such as Trinidad, where they were settled in what came to be know as the Company Villages, as they were ex-soldiers.

Rowley described the story of the Merikins as "another great story in the annals of our enslaved ancestors."

He said their story was similar to that of African slaves in America, depicted in Alex Haley's 1976 novel Roots. The book was turned into a television miniseries in 1977. Roots received 37 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won nine. The series was rebooted and released in 2016.

Rowley opined that the story of the Merikins "has all the ingredients of a similar cinematic television blockbuster."

He said the Merikins and their descendants have become an integral part of TT's national fabric over time.

Rowley told his audience, "I am happy to hear that the Ministry of Education is partnering with you to get this story into our schools' curriculum."

He added, "Your country is inspired by your resilience."

A local documentary film has already been made about The Merikins: The Forgotten Freedom Fighters.

Alfred “Boysie” Huggins, himself a Merikin and father of Hazel Manning, widow of later prime minister Patrick Manning, wrote a book about them, The Saga of the Companies: A History of the Merikin Settlers in Trinidad, which was reprinted in 2014.