President: Is TT a rainbow nation?

President George Maxwell Richards has queried Trinidad and Tobago’s image as a rainbow country, and has warned of applying “irrelevant imports” to our ethnic situation, in his Republic Day message today.

He noted the hardships suffered by our indigenous peoples, and immigrants like African slaves, East Indian indentured labourers, and the Chinese immigrants of 1802. Saying “divide and rule” had historically caused some fear, competition and suspicion to our detriment, he noted that generally in reality people had made accommodations and lived harmoniously especially in non-urban areas. But Richards alerted: “Nevertheless confrontational attitudes based on race and inevitably religion have been rising to the surface, and there is no gain saying that the image of Trinidad and Tobago as a ‘rainbow country’ in which all our people live in harmony is seriously threatened...Moreover from the evidence of acrimony and misunderstanding that is coming forth, we seem not to have taken the trouble to work consciously and seriously at forging a truly cohesive nation. It now seems that we have been flying a flag of unity for the world to see, but we have not been checking beneath the ground on which that flag is planted.”

Richards suggested that now was a good time to ask whether we wanted to maintain a melting of peoples or to preserve our varied cultures intact, although noting that the two positions may not be mutually exclusive. The President then warned: “There is too much evidence of internecine conflict all over the world for us to be complacent about ourselves. We must know that we are not victims of race, skin colour or circumstance and we should guard against adopting solutions to our challenges that are irrelevant imports.” He urged that we make Trinidad and Tobago one of the best countries in the world by using qualities derived from our various ancestors such as discipline, frugality, tenacity, hard work, respect, order and God-given talent. Saying it was our own task to build this country, Richards observed: “We must require of our leaders no more commitment to duty than we are prepared to make ourselves.”