Emancipation, goal of the human race

THE EDITOR: The daughter of the undisputed “Father of our Nation” reminded us of his admonitions to our people: we can have only one mother and we (Trinis to de bone) can have only one motherland - the country of Trinidad and Tobago. Emancipation Day and Indian Arrival Day must not, should not and cannot deny our identity as Trinbagonians and our unquestionable loyalty to Mother TT. The celebration of the historic event of Emancipation must not be seen as merely a local or national celebration. This has to be seen as the beginning of a triumph of humanity, its significance not confined to the liberation of our African ancestors from the inhuman degradation of slavery. It is a giant step that proclaims the value and dignity of all mankind and not merely a platform to preach the shallow reactionary rhetoric of the emotionally disturbed. Specifically our national celebration is in remembrance of one horrible, intolerable evil being overthrown and justice leading the way to the rejection of man’s inhumanity to man.

The narrow historical significance is the freedom of  African slaves but the wider, even more important idea is the value of the human being and the concept of the rights of man; all mankind of every “creed and race,” as we so proudly state in our national anthem, must have an equal place on God’s earth. Merely following the fashion of dress to impress has no true significance in the celebration of emancipation. Being African, Indian or Eskimo is not principally concerned with the clothes one wears. The culture of the world is rapidly evolving and soon in this age of space exploration our world view will expand; the significance of fashion will have little impact on our real life or identity. To reduce one’s concept of “Africaness” to a matter of dress code is really an inanity — clothes do not make the man. We can and should recognise our ancestry in lands far from our own country but never should we even seem to have divided loyalties. We are equally Trinbagonians, and to become embroiled in sterile dispute over a trifle of fashion is really making a mountain of a mole hill.

Ours is, thank God, a democratic, multi ethnic society where we are free to live within the law. There may be some among us who perceive their identity to be a matter of dress and or other cultural traditions; that is their view but we are free to have opposing opinions without the threat of becoming pariahs. Surely there are more important things to consider at our emancipation celebrations than costumes or clothes. Our Prime Minister has in fact brought to the attention of the public, and stressed the international impact of the recognition of Emancipation when he emphasised its global significance: the fact that it relates to all humanity. Indeed the celebration of Emancipation Day significantly has no classifying epithet attached to it, even though we know historically to whom it specifically refers. Today we see that even though it seemed to apply to one sector of the human race it really applies to us all. Mr Manning emphasised a point, according to the newspaper report, that the passion and emotion of some pseudo intellectual garbed in Afro fashion seemed to miss, that Emancipation has set down “new standards for the condition of human existence” and that this enlightened perspective will widen the relevance of the celebrations.

That is to me the universal significance of the celebration of Emancipation — it excludes no one as say “Indian Arrival Day” seems to do. It subliminally exhorts us to, as the bard says, emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, to broaden our intellectual horizons. Emancipation in its general sense is the goal of the entire human race — the slave as well as the slave owner who lost his humanity when he became the willing slave of material profit. Indeed the celebration of Emancipation must inexorably progress to the point where we, the entire human race, must denounce man’s inhumanity to man as the historical records of all mankind reveal. Truly the words of the Prime Minister, those too of Erica Williams-Connel and MP Kenneth Valley are inspirational and enlightening. We can with sober reflection realise that our human differences are largely superficial, that there are more things that unite us rather than divide and there is the universal brotherhood of man. Truly then we shall really understand that no man is free until all are free.

GEORGE DAMIEN
Arima