Former President gives up ‘meat and anything sweet’

FORMER PRESIDENT Arthur NR Robinson has promised to light a candle in observance of a National Week of Prayer and to abstain from “meat and anything sweet” as a symbolic gesture of national cleansing.

He made that pledge at the opening ceremony for the week of prayer at the Raja Yoga Centre, Pointe-a-Pierre Road, San Fernando, on Sunday evening. The prayer week is a collaborative effort of the San Fernando Business Association, (SBA), the Inter-Religious Organisation, (IRO), and the Raja Yoga Centre. During the week, citizens have been asked to pray for the nation and to light either a deya, candle or electric bulb at 6 pm as a gesture of solidarity. Robinson, who was accompanied by his son, David, donated $1,000 to SBA president Daphne Bartlett for a “charitable project of the association’s choosing.” He called on the small gathering, which included Education Minister Hazel Manning and several prominent San Fernando business persons, to recognise that “spiritual foundations and God must be acknowledged by all of us as our Father and Creator.”

Robinson stressed that “nationality” meant that “we are responsible for one another.” “Whatever goes wrong cannot be attributed to one man or group of persons or a certain section of society, but we must accept responsibility for all of us. “It is the duty of all of us, not only the Government or the police, to put what is wrong, right. The scourge of crime and violence, by which we are besieged, we must put these matters right.” He called on the population to “support the efforts” of the Government and business organisations in the fight against the spiralling crime wave. Earlier, Bartlett urged school principals to “take charge of your schools.” She said the Education Minister could not personally manage each school from her St Clair office since this was the responsibility of individual principals. She added that parents must also assume responsibility for their children. Bartlett said 2003 had been a year in which the wealth of the country had not contributed to feelings of peace and security. The prayer launch was attended by Zalayhar Hassanali, San Fernando Deputy Mayor Malika Blair, Father Clive Harvey and members of the IRO.