by Leela Ramdeen, Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice
“At around midnight on the night of August 30, 1962, my wife and I stood in front of the Red House, with other Members of Parliament and their wives. We stood with many other dignitaries, including Princess Alice, the Princess Royal, who represented the Queen.
“I watched the Union Jack slowly being lowered for the last time and then I watched with a tremendous sense of pride, dignity and honour as the Red, White and Black – our T&T flag, was hoisted for the first time. A nation was born – our nation. We were no longer a British colony. Now we would be able to govern ourselves; to chart our course together as a people – come hell or high water.”
These were the words of my father, Balgobin Ramdeen, as he related his experience to a crew from the Parliamentary Channel who interviewed him last week for a TV programme to be aired on Independence Day. Pa was a Member of Parliament (Democratic Labour Party) from 1961 – 1966. Of the 10 members of the then Opposition, I think only two are alive – Tajmool Hosein, SC, and Pa who is 85 years old. Pa has a wealth of “stories” to tell about life before and after Independence.
During our Independence Day celebrations this year, take a moment to remember in prayer those who laboured for our Independence. In January 1962 Jamaica had decided to withdraw from the West Indies Federation and to seek Independence from Britain – leading Dr Eric Williams to make his now famous statement: “One from 10 leaves zero”. After that, as we say in T&T: “All fall down” and the Federation was dissolved in May 1962. Trinidad also decided to strive for Independence. Jamaica gained its independence on August 6, 1962 and we gained ours on August 31, 1962.
Pa called out for the TV crew some of the names of those who had accompanied Dr Eric Williams and Dr Rudranath Capildeo to Marlborough House in London to see Reginald Maulding, Secretary of State for the Colonies, to decide, inter alia, on the details of a Constitution for T&T:
“There were 17 on our side and 17 on theirs. Members of their Secretariat were also present. We matched them man to man. The intellectual capacity of the men on our side was great indeed. Williams and Capildeo had both won Island Scholarships. They had both attended Oxford University and they both had their PhDs. The team included men like Sir Learie Constantine and (Sir) Ellis Clarke – who had also won an Island Scholarship and who was the author of our Constitution. On our side there were Tajmool Hosein, Ashford Sinanan, Peter Farquahar, Lionel Seukeran, Stephen Maharaj and Rudranath. I was not present.”
I recall as a young girl how excited my siblings and I were as we listened to my parents recount their experiences at the various ceremonies they had attended on Independence Day.
Today, as we prepare to celebrate 48 years of Independence, how many of our schools ensure that the curriculum includes the history of our road to Independence? How many of them engage their students in a study of Dr Eric Williams’ brilliant speech at the Independence Day Youth Rally at the Oval or his Independence Day Address to the nation? Dr Eric Williams’ speech was a road map for us. He set out what democracy should mean to us. He gave our nation an excellent slogan: Discipline, Production, Tolerance. “Indiscipline”, he said, “whether individual or sectional, is a threat to democracy.” How disciplined are we?
Like the African Sankofa bird, we must look back at our history if we are to learn from our experiences and continue to chart our course forward. Compared to many other nations, we are still a fledgling nation. In spite of our many social and other ills, we have much to be thankful for. In many ways we are a blessed people living in a blessed land.
Let’s celebrate our ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. We must thank God for this diversity and for the riches of the land that he has bestowed on us. Let’s commit ourselves to build the common good; to demonstrate by word and deed that we respect ALL life in T&T and to promote integral human development.
I urge each parish to plan appropriate ways of observing RESPECT FOR LIFE WEEK. (RFLW) Let the joy we are now experiencing during our Independence Day celebrations propel us forward to RFLW. Happy Independence Day!
