Rowley celebrates resilience of Shouter Baptists

In a statement issued by his office yesterday, Rowley said our nation recognises and celebrates, each year on this day, the triumph of the faithful to openly and freely practice their religion.

“We remember the oppression, struggle and humiliation of a group of people whose only ‘crime’ was a desire to praise God in their own way, as was afforded to other segments in the country,” Rowley said.

“Today the practitioners of the religion, described as indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago, may sing, pray, read the Bible, clap and shout without fear of punishment.

“Each act of violence against you, each arrest, each incarceration meant to break your spirit only fuelled your determination to have the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance repealed.

“Today as a nation, we too face many hurdles. We continue to adjust to a new economic reality. As a Government we continue to do all in our power to reduce the crime and murder rate and we share your concern about the level of inhumanity which we are witnessing in our communities.” Rowley said our situation, at times, may seem reminiscent of other violent periods in our country’s history but called on citizens to live by the example of the Spiritual Shouter Baptists and “all those who walked the path of hardship, brutality and injustice in our nation’s history.” He said in their journey to freedom is the constant refrain of strength and hope, of never giving up and of never buckling under the pressure.

“On this special day, together with our Spiritual Baptist sisters and brothers, we clap and raise our hands in celebration, we lift our voices in praise and we dance because although the memories are painful, our sisters and brothers were never broken and the taste of freedom is always sweet.”