Commentary: We still have a long way to go!

I came home to be on my native soil as our country celebrated 50 years of independence. But it was a sad occasion for me to witness the divisiveness and hatred that threatened to taint the celebrations to mark such an important milestone in our development.

The bickering over the program of events and the decision by the party whose leader took us to indepedence demonstrated a level of pettiness that I thought had vanished a long time ago.

What I saw was a reminder that for some politicians, partisan interests are more important that the national good.

And while we celebrated with cultural shows, flag waving and fireworks I remained deeply saddened by the absence from it all by the People's National Movement (PNM), whose leader, the late Dr Eric Williams, stood with the leader of the opposition, the late Dr Rudranath Capildeo, 50 years ago to proclaim the birth of our nation, "forged from the love of liberty" and dedicated to the pledge that here "every creed and race" would find an equal place.

What was so wrong that the country's oldest national political party, the one that governed us for nearly 40 of our 50 years of independence, could not stand with the people to say, "Happy Birthday, Trinidad & Tobago"?

That level of divisiveness tells me that the PNM has lost its focus and is no longer a national party, but one dedicated to its tribe alone, loyal only to people who see things through its lens - and everybody else is an outsider. 

That's a tragedy. We are one people regardless of which party we support, how we look and how we worship. We are, first and foremost, citizens of a free society, one family with a common destiny.

Over the years we have demonstrated that we can argue and disagree but in the end we accept the will of the majority; we have seen peaceful political change and we have put down rebellions that threatened our freedom and democracy.

Why then must we - on an occasion worthy of celebration - become so divisive that we cannot even talk with one another? 

Surely that is not the lesson we want to leave with our children who will have the task of caring for this nation when we are gone. If we are one, let us stop the partisan nonsense and live like one.

Poverty, hunger, homelessness affect us all the same. And they have no race, religion of political stamp.

Earlier this year, PNM Leader Keith Rowley told the nation in an Indian Arrival Day message: "While some unprincipled people have over the years found it in their own self-serving interest to create and promote racial divide, Trinidad and Tobago's history illustrates, for the most part, a level of racial togetherness of which we can be proud."

If Rowley sincerely believes that he should have put aside his political differences and celebrated with all of us 50 years of our independence in order to show leadership, which is what the country needs from those who aspire to govern. 

While the PNM's motivating factor for its boycott of independence celebrations may not have been race, its pettiness and juvenile behaviour demonstrated that we still have a long way to go before we can call ourselves mature.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar acknowledged in a speech some time ago that accepting change can sometimes be difficult for those who must hand over power.

"It’s difficult to convince those that have been seated at the dining table for such a long time that they must make room for us, that there must be an equal numbers of places for all to share, that no one is to be excluded because they are of a different colour or because of their religious beliefs, or because they have different lifestyles and preferences, nor because they happen to be a woman...

"Many resist change in the name of equality, preferring instead to preserve the status quo. But we simply will not allow that...invitations are hereby extended to all and sundry to sit at the table," she said.

The ugly political tribalism that disfigured Trinidad and Tobago in the past must never be allowed to return and retard progress; we as a people must understand that there cannot and must never again be a "we and dem".

We are 50. Let us behave like the adult we should be!

Jai Parasram - Mc Bean, Couva - 02 September 2012