Carmona urges youths: Be patriots

At the opening of the event around 1 pm, Carmona urged the numerous youths in attendance to be patriotic, be peacemakers, show compassion to others, and to ignore religious detractors.

He said citizens often did not appreciate “who we are as a people or where we are going” and so he advised youths to make the country a better one through “a philosophy of patriotism”. He said they should love and take ownership of their country so that they would be willing to “give of the ultimate” for their country in times of need.

Carmona noted that, as a United Nations prosecutor, he saw man’s inhumanity to man, and what it could do to a country.

He therefore urged Christians to engage in mediation, as it was especially necessary in this world of hate and strife.

“As disciples of Lord Jesus Christ we must follow that example.

We must ensure that we become creatures of empathy, compassion, selflessness, and service to humanity must be our philosophy,” he said.

“We live in a world where, in fact, we require the intervention of the peacemaker and God Lord Jesus Christ is asking you, through his kind mercy, to be the peacemaker in your homes, in your community, in the nation, and by extension the world at large,” he added.

Carmona stated his personal philosophy was “through God everything is possible”, so he urged all in attendance to remember the power of prayer because, he said, through that power he had seen miracles.

Singing two lines from Bob Marley’s “Get up Stand up,” he told them to stand up for their rights as spiritual children who believe in the power of God.

He urged them not to afraid to state their religious beliefs nor to concede to unbelievers or naysayers.

Instead he said they should not be hypocrites, but truly practice what they preach by dealing with people with love, compassion and truth.