President’s Committee bout National Self Discovery, not Race

WHAT was initially dubbed the President’s Committee on Race Relations, is actually the President’s Committee for National Self Discovery.

It will not deal specifically with racial problems nor will it go “pickey pickey” for them, instead it will assist in forging a national identity and togetherness. The ten-member Committee, chaired by Independent Senator Professor Kenneth Ramchand, was yesterday formally introduced to the media by President George Maxwell Richards at President’s House. The other members are Vice Chairman, attorney and Independent Senator, Dana Seetahal; Dr Carol James, environmentalist; Dr Kirk Meighoo, political analyst; Jaye-Q Baptiste, columnist; Professor Rhoda Reddock, Head of the Centre for Gender and Development Studies, UWI; Dr Walton Looklai, historian and lecturer, UWI; Dr Patricia Mohammed from the Department of Gender Studies, UWI; Ivan Laughlin, land surveyor and human settlement consultant and Dr Claudius Fergus, historian and lecturer, UWI. The members will serve on a “pro bono publico basis” — that is free. They were described as a group of “talented, erudite, caring, committee and public spirited citizens with no overt political affiliation” by the President.
He said the Committee’s mandate will be “to promote knowledge and understanding of one another among the various ethnicities, and to devise strategies for transmitting that knowledge to the national community, in a sustained and systematic way over a period of 12 months in the first instance.”

The Committee was first mentioned by President Richards on May 29, at an Indian Arrival Day dinner at the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS). He had said then he was deeply concerned at the implications of statements from political commentators, that the two larger ethnic groups in Trinidad and Tobago were “more polarised than they have ever been before.” He noted there was the need for a lot of work and a lot of thinking to be done, to get to know one another better. Yesterday President Richards said he was hopeful that “all right minded citizens would like, as I would, to see the establishment of greater unity and harmony among our people.” He said he was of the firm belief that “this is one of the prerequisites for the much vaunted Vision 2020 to take off.” The President further said it was “deeply troubling” that after more than 40 years of Independence, the kind of unity envisaged by the framers of the Constitution had not been achieved. He reminded citizens that they lived in a country where every religion, race and colour existed, and while each group was unique, “equally we are products of the melting pot of cultures and peoples.” Ramchand in his remarks about the Committee said a special attempt would be made to ensure it is  “not manipulable” because for far too long various Committees and Institutions had come under the suspicion of being “manipulable by politicians.” He assured that the Committee would operate like a “think tank”, totally independent with no one person dominating its work, and whatever comes out will be based on consensus among all. He also described the Committee as one against “ignorance” which will not deal specifically with racial problems nor go “pickey, pickey” for them. The Committee which has been meeting regularly within the last month, is expected to meet fortnightly. Although its pogramme of works is not yet finalised, it will organise symposiums, set up linkages with communities and various other activities to achieve its goal.