Kamla: Cherish our differences

CITIZENS should celebrate their differences of origin, said Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar in her Indian Arrival Day message, amid her being disinvited from addressing Maha Sabha celebrations due to her criticism of that body’s ban on OJT Nafisah Nakhid wearing a hijab at their Lakshmi Girls College, St Augustine.

“Let not our differences divide us, let our differences unite us, and let us take delight in our differences.”

Her message praised the resilience of indentured labourers from India, but also celebrated the contributions of immigrants from other countries who helped build a vibrant, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious society in Trinidad and Tobago.

Persad-Bissessar urged all to continue to work together to build a stronger, more prosperous future for the country, and return TT to growth and prosperity and a united nation everyone can all be proud to call home.

Tracing the history of East Indians in TT, she said they had first arrived 173 years ago as indentured labourers seeking a better life for themselves and their children.

“On that first journey in 1845, more than 200 Indian women, men and children came, and in the years following, tens of thousands more arrived.

They didn’t know the hardships they would have to endure; the inhumane working conditions on the plantations of Trinidad.

Persad-Bissessar hailed their indomitable will and enduring spirit.

“It is a vision which they lived, and laboured to ensure that it became a reality.”

Their descendants today hold positions and careers that have greatly helped build TT.

“It is remarkable that though many of them could not read nor write, they knew the importance of education as a pathway out of poverty and for success.”

She said many died in the harsh conditions, but others used every means they had to survive.

“It is difficult to really grasp the horrific conditions in which they existed and managed to eke out a living, but perhaps the one redeeming factor was the ability to keep their culture — their dress, their languages, their religions.

“Their most precious institution was the family and they made education the cornerstone of family life, so their children could escape the drudgery that characterised their lives.”

Persad-Bissessar said the indentured stayed in Trinidad as they saw an opportunity to own land, grow crops, practice their religion, educate their children and somewhat recreate the homes they had left behind.

“They created a community characterised by sharing and togetherness, based on respect for one another. It was a place where they nurtured generations of responsible women and men.”

Persad-Bissessar praised the immigrants’ struggle during indentureship and their decision to make TT their home.

“We celebrate the incorporation of the customs and traditions of their ancestral home into their new home, Trinidad and Tobago, in which they created a community that has blossomed into the greatness we have today.

We take pride in what, as a community, we have been able to achieve and our special contribution to nation-building.”