Another arrival

SINCE its inception, the annual observance of Indian Arrival Day has been associated almost exclusively with the coming of indentured East Indian labourers to Trinidad and Tobago in 1845. That, of course, is quite in order since the progress of the Indian community from those humble beginnings and their tremendous contribution to the social, cultural, political and economic development of our country is an outstanding and significant part of our history.

But while we gladly acknowledge the impressive achievements of the Indian community in TT, it seems also necessary, on this national holiday, for us to recognise that ours is a plural society, made up of several different ethnic groups, many of whose forebears arrived originally under desperate circumstances, fleeing famines and political persecution, also imported as indentured labourers and, worst of all, as victims of the notorious slave trade. Indeed, since the aboriginal inhabitants of our islands, the Caribs and Arawaks, are now virtually extinct, ours is a population made up entirely of groups who have arrived, including Indians, Afros, Chinese, Syrians and Europeans.  The basic fact is that we have all arrived at one time or another under different, often terrible, circumstances and we have all, after several generations, become Trinis to the bone, brought together by destiny into one “rainbow” society, sharing one national identity.
 
So if Indian Arrival Day as a national holiday is to have any real meaning for the entire country, then we must also recognise and celebrate the contribution being made by all the different ethnic groups who combine to give our society its distinctive flavour, after having arrived from different and distant parts of the world. It is not our intention to query or criticise the Indian emphasis in the naming of this national holiday; that has already been the subject of a widespread controversy and the country’s parliament has pronounced upon it. To revive that debate would serve no useful purpose; in fact, it may only be more divisive. This newspaper, however, is dedicated to the proposition that as a plural society, we must be all-embracing in our approach to nation building, that cooperation, mutual-respect and appreciation are vital to our aspirations and that the harmony we have achieved is something to cherish in a world riddled with ethnic tension and hostility.

We are pleased to note that in his Indian Arrival Day message, President Maxwell Richards expresses similar sentiments while according to members of the Indian community, the recognition they deserve. He says: “As we celebrate Indian Arrival Day in 2004, we are celebrating not only the great achievements of the past but also a belief in the ever growing success of the community of East Indian origin in Trinidad and Tobago and the knowledge that this success is able to transcend all divisions to build a great nation. “Let every one of us take this occasion to celebrate our national life. Let our youth in particular remember well the lessons inherent in the arrival of our ancestors upon these shores and may they always strive to emulate the legacy of our fore parents from many lands who have exhibited spiritual, mental and physical fortitude in the face of less than perfect conditions.” Having accepted that legacy, another arrival awaits us, the creation of a nation of equity, merit and mutual respect.