PM celebrates Indian Arrival Day, pays tribute to pioneers who helped build T&T

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was busy over the long holiday weekend, joining citizens and various groups across the country to celebrate the 166th anniversary of Indians in Trinidad.

She urged everyone to remember the sacrifices of the pioneers who came here for a better life and to acknowledge their contribution to helping to build Trinidad and Tobago as a free and democratic society.

 "It is a day when liberty and laughter go hand-in-hand - when we can acknowledge that while we have problems to deal with, we are happy and proud because our forefathers not only dealt with more serious problems, but left us a blueprint as to how we should deal with our challenges as a nation and a people," she said at an event at St. Augustine, where she was presented with the SWAHA organisation's SWADESHI award for being the first woman to be Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

She dedicated the award to those who came before her.

"I am getting this award tonight for being the first woman who became Prime Minister of this land, but I must say that it is truly not mine alone.

"I’ve been blessed to have had mentors and role models in my life, many of who were the women unsung heroes of the Indentureship and Slavery system whose lives were lessons of determination, courage, dedication, hope and unfaltering faith.

"They taught me by example that a life enriched by service to others is a rich life indeed.

"It is therefore fitting that I dedicate this award tonight to the thousands of women from the Indentureship period who toiled the fields, and dedicated themselves to their families to ensure that we, their children of today, had the chance to educate ourselves and escape that destiny of poverty.

"To them and to you I say thank you and may we always continue to emulate their greatness of spirit and resolve, dedication and love for our children, our fellow citizens and our country. 

PM Kamla performs aarti for one of her community's elders

Persad-Bissessar also spoke of the the difficulty that Indians faced.

"They toiled in the cane fields and fought in spirit against the Colonial systems of oppression and discrimination, they pledged their lives and their newly found determination and sacred honor to found the principles of this nation as we know it today.

"Their legacy to us today is reflected in the schools that we learnt from, our advanced educational systems, our developed business sector, our economic stability, our strong family and religious values, our deep sense of unity and pride in our country and our commitment to tolerance and harmony as a diversified people."

In a speech on Sunday, she reminded the nation of the value Indians placed on educating their children and said that is why her government is devoted so many resources to education from the earliest stages of a child's life to tertiary education and beyond.

She said all parents must embrace the educational opportunities now available. Education, she said, is not book knowledge and academic pursuits but also the everyday occupations that require other skills.

MP Stacy Roopnarine rides a float during Indian Arrival Day celebrations