He delivered greetings on behalf of the High Commission and the government and people of Trinidad and Tobago at the 2011 Indo Caribbean Music, Culture and Community Awards Gala.
The event is in its fifth year and the organiser, Toronto broadcaster Richard Aziz, invited Buxo as a special guest.
It was one of the first public functions that Buxo attended since taking up his position in Ottawa earlier this year.
"It is always a pleasure to be among nationals - because it creates the atmosphere of being at home. The weather outside tells us that we are in Canada. However, the warmth inside this room reminds me that home is never far away," he told his audience.
He thanked the organisers for their foresight in recognising service to the community, noting that it is a significant gesture since "too often we forget to say thanks - to those who go out of their way to do something to enhance our communities."
He added, "Your decision to host this annual event says that you recognise the value of community service and community awareness. Thank you for that!
"Few nations of the world can boast of the harmony we have in Trinidad and Tobago despite our multiple ethnic and religious backgrounds. And that is what we have exported to this wonderful country …with you ALL as our cultural ambassadors."
Buxo noted that the awards function was a celebration of "those among us who refused to let our culture die and in so doing not only preserved something precious but created an understanding and awareness within the community of who we are and what values we cherish."
He added, "When you left Trinidad or Tobago you probably didn’t know what to expect in your new adopted country...But like your forefathers who first brought India West, your culture was too important to remain within the narrow boundaries of the ethnic community.
"So you offered it with pride to Canada and its various peoples … and that too is what we are celebrating tonight.
"In a way it is a tribute to Canada as well - that all of us can live and work in a modern, first world nation, with its unique culture - and maintain that which is distinctly ours.
"Here we can be trinis - and Caribbean people if we wish and celebrate all that makes us who we are - without fear of discrimination or rejection by the host culture.
"Perhaps that is why we feel so close to Canada because it is that same spirit of oneness that has made Trinidad and Tobago the great nation that it is."
Buxo traced the historical journey of servitude of the people of Trinidad and Tobago from slavery to indentureship noting that each group worked hard to build the nation and in so doing created the multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation that is Trinidad and Tobago today.
"We come from a nation where mosques, temples and churches exist side-by-side; where every group and every religion can celebrate its customs and traditions without fear of discrimination. Everyone is equal. Few nations can boast of that achievement.
"That’s something for which each one of us must be eternally grateful, especially when we look around us and see the examples of ethnic strife and religious intolerance that cause societies to be divided and destroyed.
"Culture is the very lifeblood of a people and when you lose all attachments to it and become assimilated into another you rob future generations of opportunities to experience that which makes us special.
"What is worse is that you deprive the host community of appreciating your cultural uniqueness.
"Canada has allowed you to keep your culture alive - so that future generations will not only appreciate Trinidad and Tobago’s rich traditions but also participate in it. That is why we are here for this event.
"Tonight you celebrate only a part of what we have contributed culturally to the West, and more particularly Canada.
"It is a celebration of the Indo Caribbean experience that goes back many generations to the post slavery period when Indians were transplanted into our country to help keep the plantation economy prosperous.
"Our forefathers kept their traditions, religions, languages and other aspects of their eastern culture alive despite derision and rejection from an elite class that refused to appreciate or recognise the value of cultural relativism.
"Thanks to their resilience, their dedication to their beliefs and their passion for what made them distinct, we are here today celebrating in a foreign land that which they persevered with great sacrifice," Buxo stated.
"The new generation of trinis who are born here will remain trinis and enjoy roti and doubles, sing bhajans and kaseedas, go to their temples and mosques and speak the ancestral languages while at the same time maintaining their Canadian-ness.
"It is always rewarding as a diplomatic representing the government and people of Trinidad and Tobago to be in the company of nationals who represent what our nation cherishes most – harmony in diversity.
"We trinis are creative and talented.
"We gave the world the steelpan, calypso and Carnival. And we have preserved and refined our eastern cultural traditions, often mixing some of the east and west in blend of what can only be described as distinctly trini.
"I am sure you remember icons like Sundar Popo who was a pioneer of the art form that we know today as chutney.
"Through our trini culture...we communicate to the world a mosaic of a nation that embraces all and celebrates cultural diversity.
"We have learned to tear down barriers and to live as God meant it to be – as sisters and brothers, regardless of where we came from or how we worship.
"We have injected that tradition in what is our home away from home. And that brings joy to all of us and it tells me that our culture is in good hands.
The High Commissioner extended "warmest greetings to all" from Foreign Minister Surujrattan Rambachan. He also delivered a personal message from Dr Rambachan to one of the persons who received an award.
"He has asked me to extend heartiest congratulations to his friend Sandra Dean Maharaj who is being honoured here tonight," Bux said.
"In his own words,
'Sandra is a great Ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago who has added immense value to Canadian educational standards and has been at the forefront of transforming schools in many arts of the world. Her work has been admired across the continents.
'Sandra joined me and other students and was at the forefront in 1968 when we at UWI fought a battle with the UWI authorities to celebrate Divali on the campus. She remains a committed Hindu with an expansive vision of the equality of all beings in the eyes of God.'
'It is this deep spirituality that has fostered her passion to be of service and to regard all of her work as worshipful offering to God. May she continue to strive.”
Buxo congratulated everyone – the organisers, the persons who received awards, the artistes who will entertained guests.
"On behalf of the Government of Trinidad & Tobago, our High Commission in Ottawa and the Consulate here in Toronto, I thank you again for your kind invitation to this event…
"And for the opportunity to join you in recognising the accomplishments and achievements of those whose have made better communities for us and for future generations."
No comments:
Post a Comment