EMANCIPATION DAY MESSAGE August 5, 2013 My fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders, today we observe August 1st as commemoration of the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire in 1834. I pause to first recognize the sacrifices and efforts of those who have gone before us in the struggle for emancipation, these heroes included our own forefathers and champions for the right to freedom across the region. The historic acts of many were the catalysts for the change that led to the victory of the abolition of slavery. Today as we celebrate here in the Turks and Caicos Islands, we must give God thanks for his small mercies and ask for his deliverance as for us Turks and Caicos Islanders as our “full freedom” is still yet to come. Like our forefathers recognized, the act of emancipation though a significant and important achievement, true or full freedom was not then, and as we have come to learn, is still not fully within our grasp. August 1st merely marks or commemorates the commencement of a period of change, the enactment of legislation and the birth of a new movement. True liberation will only really come when there are changes in attitudes, beliefs and practices across barriers of race, nationality and socio-economic class. As our forefathers fought against the whips and chains, so too must we recognize that our battles still remain to be fought against political subjugation, economic suppression and racial discrimination. So cry out we must continue to do, as the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed”. I celebrate this emancipation day with mixed emotions, as even though we have won many battles, we as an Afro-Caribbean people have not yet won the war for full liberation and I ask the question, is our celebration premature? Many of us Turks and Caicos Islanders and our Caribbean brothers and sisters will forever be scarred by the whips of the colonial slave era, as the far reaching effects of oppression have gravely affected every aspect of our existence even in this 21st century. Where our former masters were compensated for losses of human property, we received nothing hence our foundations for economic instability and our continued dependence on former empires in one way or another. The fight for literacy, education, justice and socioeconomic parity continues to be an uphill struggle across the region and where our sister territories speak of scars of Colonialism, some of us are still bleeding from wounds more recently inflicted. The CARICOM position on Reparation as a means of easing the pain and erasing the burden and the recent book by Professor Sir Hilary McD. Beckles, “Britain’s Black Debt” speak to our claims as a region for recompense. Many acclaimed historians, psychologists, musicians, politicians and social activists have attributed the fact that many Caribbean people and Caribbean nations are yet to achieve their maximum potential as a direct result of the damage dealt by slavery. It is essential that we as a people recognize that the power for change lies within us and that the truth is that we must first become the change that we seek by overcoming personal challenges of self-hatred as a race and as a people. We must seek to destroy on a personal level, feelings of envy and jealousy for our own brothers and sisters and to instead together build each other up. If we are to prosper and be dominant as a nation and as a region we must not allow our own lack of self-regard to be the specter of slavery that this generation falls prey to. In the words of the great Bob Marley “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds”. My Turks and Caicos Islanders, as a people we must first understand the true meaning of liberation; we must next continue the fight to determine the destiny of our nation and the destiny of our people. Jose Marti said “The first duty of a man is to think for himself”, and until that time comes when we are the ones to make our own decisions in our best interests we will not be free! Another great philosopher said, ”It is better to die on one’s feet than to live on ones knees” so until that time comes when we are no longer told that we cannot survive unless we are still a dependent territory, we will not be free! Until we believe in ourselves as people and a nation and until we believe that Almighty God will guide and protect us all as a new nation we cannot be truly free! Let us liberate our minds, our spirits and our nation as we move each other forward into the promise of our future. I leave you with these words to reflect upon today and charge you to be reminded of the true meaning of this day, as it speaks to how much still remains for us to accomplish as a people as we aspire to reach our goal of true freedom. May god bless us and may God bless these our Turks and Caicos Islands. Dr. The Hon. Rufus W. Ewing Premier
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:30:50 +0000
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