Bella
30-07-2007, 11:00 AM
Emancipate yourselves from cultural acceptance of gangsterism and thuggery. That was the message Al sharpton brought to TT.
Is it a relevant message?
This is the Guardian's editorial on the subject. What do you think?
------------------
On his first visit to Trinidad and Tobago as an adult, Rev Al Sharpton observed that †œwe must not engage in cultural acceptance of thuggery and gangsterism. Social suicide is not the answer to external homicide.ââ‚ ¬ÂÂÂ
It was a compelling statement from the renowned social activist, and it came at a press conference hosted soon after his arrival in the country, in response to questions posed to him about the crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago.
Rev Sharptonââ‚ ‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s words have an exceptional resonance today, coming as they do 173 years after the British proclaimed freedom for the slaves of the Caribbean and 17 years after an attempted coup challenged a hard-won democracy that was on the verge of being taken for granted.
His comments also echo the disturbing accusation on Friday by Deputy Police Commissioner Winston Cooper that three convicts who escaped from Golden Grove Prison two weeks ago are being harboured by the public.
This situation has precedent in cases in Tobago, where sexual predators well known to the community were being protected by silence in the face of questioning, and communities deprived of telephone service fail to identify thieves who strip the communication lines off the telephone poles.
Emancipation celebrations on the first of August are already being foreshadowed by festivities of different kinds. From theatrical productions to academic contemplation, almost two centuries of freedom from slavery are being examined by contemporary thinkers eager to mine the knowledge that the years have to offer and to fully engage the responsibilities that come with that emancipation.
The process of embracing those responsibilities has been significantly lubricated by the nationÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s natural resources, and our management of this asset in the common good led Rev Sharpton to describe this country as †œa light to the world.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã‚ÂÂ
†œYou have been able to not only emerge as an emancipated state but one that has, with your natural resources, directed the way that others that are considered Third World have not.ââ‚ ¬Ã‚ÂÂ
And indeed we have. While the specifics of how our natural resources have been managed remain a matter of vigorous debate among politicians, economic intellectuals and journalists, there is little doubt that this country has done a better than average job of turning its potential into a reality when measured against comparable nations.
But there remains much to be done to rally the nationÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s human resource to the call that its natural resource sounds so clearly to the world.
Emancipation Day is one of those holidays that should be as thoughtful and considered as it is lively and enthusiastic. Seventeen decades after the British formally set loose the chains of forced labour; there is still much that the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago can do to declare themselves truly free.
†œWe have long forgotten the price of freedom. People did not fight for freedom for us to shoot each other in the streets of Brooklyn or in Trinidad...or to sell drugs. We must weigh the costs of what was expected on any side. There is a need to build coalitions and unity,ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã‚Â Sharpton said.
That unity wears a face of suitable variety among the sponsors of Rev Sharptonââ‚ ‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s visit, the UNC Alliance, and the good Rev must have been pleased to see Stephen Cadiz, Basdeo Panday and Jack Warner standing together to welcome him.
But it takes a lot to set aside the cynicism that accompanies that particular grouping in the public mind to see the potential the Sharpton visualises, and the most relevant challenge that Rev Sharpton has set before us during this emancipation celebrations is seeing our country as it is and more compellingly, as it can be.
A Trinidad and Tobago that sets aside politically motivated segregation, embraces spiritual and intellectual growth and matures into the potential that our land has gifted us, will become a light that shines ever more brightly in the world.
Is it a relevant message?
This is the Guardian's editorial on the subject. What do you think?
------------------
On his first visit to Trinidad and Tobago as an adult, Rev Al Sharpton observed that †œwe must not engage in cultural acceptance of thuggery and gangsterism. Social suicide is not the answer to external homicide.ââ‚ ¬ÂÂÂ
It was a compelling statement from the renowned social activist, and it came at a press conference hosted soon after his arrival in the country, in response to questions posed to him about the crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago.
Rev Sharptonââ‚ ‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s words have an exceptional resonance today, coming as they do 173 years after the British proclaimed freedom for the slaves of the Caribbean and 17 years after an attempted coup challenged a hard-won democracy that was on the verge of being taken for granted.
His comments also echo the disturbing accusation on Friday by Deputy Police Commissioner Winston Cooper that three convicts who escaped from Golden Grove Prison two weeks ago are being harboured by the public.
This situation has precedent in cases in Tobago, where sexual predators well known to the community were being protected by silence in the face of questioning, and communities deprived of telephone service fail to identify thieves who strip the communication lines off the telephone poles.
Emancipation celebrations on the first of August are already being foreshadowed by festivities of different kinds. From theatrical productions to academic contemplation, almost two centuries of freedom from slavery are being examined by contemporary thinkers eager to mine the knowledge that the years have to offer and to fully engage the responsibilities that come with that emancipation.
The process of embracing those responsibilities has been significantly lubricated by the nationÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s natural resources, and our management of this asset in the common good led Rev Sharpton to describe this country as †œa light to the world.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã‚ÂÂ
†œYou have been able to not only emerge as an emancipated state but one that has, with your natural resources, directed the way that others that are considered Third World have not.ââ‚ ¬Ã‚ÂÂ
And indeed we have. While the specifics of how our natural resources have been managed remain a matter of vigorous debate among politicians, economic intellectuals and journalists, there is little doubt that this country has done a better than average job of turning its potential into a reality when measured against comparable nations.
But there remains much to be done to rally the nationÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s human resource to the call that its natural resource sounds so clearly to the world.
Emancipation Day is one of those holidays that should be as thoughtful and considered as it is lively and enthusiastic. Seventeen decades after the British formally set loose the chains of forced labour; there is still much that the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago can do to declare themselves truly free.
†œWe have long forgotten the price of freedom. People did not fight for freedom for us to shoot each other in the streets of Brooklyn or in Trinidad...or to sell drugs. We must weigh the costs of what was expected on any side. There is a need to build coalitions and unity,ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã‚Â Sharpton said.
That unity wears a face of suitable variety among the sponsors of Rev Sharptonââ‚ ‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s visit, the UNC Alliance, and the good Rev must have been pleased to see Stephen Cadiz, Basdeo Panday and Jack Warner standing together to welcome him.
But it takes a lot to set aside the cynicism that accompanies that particular grouping in the public mind to see the potential the Sharpton visualises, and the most relevant challenge that Rev Sharpton has set before us during this emancipation celebrations is seeing our country as it is and more compellingly, as it can be.
A Trinidad and Tobago that sets aside politically motivated segregation, embraces spiritual and intellectual growth and matures into the potential that our land has gifted us, will become a light that shines ever more brightly in the world.