“…to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others” (Nelson Mandela).
Today, Sat 1 February, the US observes National Freedom Day, commemorating the date, Feb 1, 1865, when the then President Abraham Lincoln, signed a joint House and Senate resolution that later became the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, outlawing slavery. The Amendment was ratified by the States on December 18, 1865.
It is significant to note that it was a former slave, Major Richard Robert Wright Senior, who is credited with pressing for such a day to be observed. Records show that he was a community leader in Philadelphia and founded the National Freedom Day Association. He was also active in education, the media, business and politics.
“He hoped to see a day that would be dedicated to celebrating freedom for all Americans. The first commemoration of such a day took place on February 1, 1942, although it was not made into law yet. A tradition of laying a wreath at Liberty Bell also began. On June 30, 1948, President Harry Truman signed a bill to proclaim February 1 as the first official National Freedom Day in the United States” (www.timeanddate.com).
Let’s reflect on the importance of freedom for all of us in our interconnected world. While it was President Lincoln who signed the resolution on that auspicious day, let’s not forget the millions of enslaved people of African origin in the US who fought fearlessly and tirelessly for freedom from the horrors of slavery.
This is also the case in our own Caribbean region. Many of our children growing up today don’t know about our history, and about the struggle for freedom by people such as Toussaint L’Ouverture, in Haiti; Nanny of the Maroons, in Jamaica; and countless others. Although the British slave trade officially ended in 1807, it was not until 1 August 1834 that slavery ended in the British Caribbean. Legislation had been passed in 1833. Since “apprenticeship” that followed, was oppressive, freedom for slaves of African origin was only finally achieved in 1838.
I remember my mother telling us that her father/my grandfather, Robert Henry Fitzgerald Manning, was a descendant of a slave woman who was impregnated by her Scottish plantation “master” in Barbados. Human beings are not “chattels”!
Today millions are involved in striving to end modern-day slavery. Let’s ask ourselves: “What are our Governments doing to meet their commitment to eradicate modern-day slavery and achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 by 2030?”
Check out the report in the 2018 Global Slavery Index, entitled: “Measurement, Action, Freedom – An independent assessment of government progress towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7”. See data on the number of people in modern-day slavery, the factors that make people vulnerable, and government responses for 167 countries.
In Sept 2017, the International Labour Organization estimated that, by their definitions, over 40 million people were in some form of slavery. 24.9 million people were in forced labour, of whom 16 million people were exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture; 4.8 million persons were in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million persons were in forced labour imposed by state authorities. 15.4 million people were in forced marriage.
Herbert Hoover, former President of the US (1929-1933), said: “Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity”. The indomitable human spirit will forever lead human beings to strive to protect and promote their dignity. Conditions of servitude are anathema to the free human spirit.
We in TT need to commit to help break the shackles of injustice that keep so many enslaved today e.g. Human trafficking. I remember in my work in the UK to assist victims of human trafficking, I met 2 young women who showed me the tattoos on their thighs. A “pimp” had branded them with his name. TT a destination, transit, and possible source country for adults and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. Who is checking these brothels and “clubs” that have mushroomed all over our country? Let’s work with our authorities, e.g. the Counter Trafficking Unit, to eradicate this plague.
Pope Francis has identified the following as obstacles to freedom: extreme poverty, technological domination, and the reduction of the person to a consumer. Let’s identify the root causes and work to eliminate them.
First Published in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian Newspapers
