tidings
A group of dancers perform during the Kambule procession in Port of Spain on Monday. – Jeff K. Mayers
It wasn’t the usual crowd that would fill the streets on the morning of August 1, but the hundreds who turned out for the return of the Kambula Procession were glad it did.
The event that takes place every year on August 1 was drowned by the Covid19 pandemic. As with most things in TT and around the globe, the Emancipation Day celebrations practically took place over the past two years.
Emancipation Support Committee (ESCTT) executive chairman Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada said this year’s crowd was not the same as previous years.
She attributed this to the number of organized or community groups at this year’s event.
“As I said before, because of the limited resources available to us, at that time, we were not able to provide the normal support to all the different groups and help them get into Port of Spain.
“But we will improve next year,” she said.
Uzoma-Wadada said the individual section was very large, but less noisy and organized groups.
Participants in the first Kambule Procession in two years make their way along Independence Square during Emancipation Day celebrations in Port of Spain on Monday. – Jeff K. Mayers
“But we know we’re coming back in two years and it’s just the beginning again,” she added.
The overall events of the day were wonderful, they left people happy and many were happy for an opportunity for them to express themselves and enjoy themselves, she said.
She added that people feel motivated and energized to continue.
The formal part of the Kambule procession started at around 8:30am on Monday. The procession itself started after 9.30am and saw the crowd move along Brain Lara Promenade, Piccadilly Street, Duke Street, Frederick Street and then Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain. There was also a large presence of the police in this event.
Tourism, Culture and the Arts Minister Randall Mitchell said the numbers were encouraging given the pandemic’s decline.
He said he was privileged and honored to walk in the procession.
“It’s an annual tradition and I think about our ancestors. I think about the struggles they went through while walking. It’s a big part of our historical ancestors, a big part of our tradition within walking.”
Mitchell said that being Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts was indeed a privilege, although many people looked at the benefits and salary, but it was an honor for him to walk in the tradition of his predecessors.
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A drummer performs during the Emancipation procession along Frederick Street, Port of Spain. – AYANNA KINSALE
For Caribbean Freedom project director Shabaka Kambon, when asked if the lower numbers were related to a declining awareness, he said the lower numbers did not indicate that at all.
“After two years of the pandemic, people continue to wear their masks. There is still a lot of concern about crowd access, especially with the elderly wanting to come down to the parade.”
He added that some people were also not sure whether the procession was on or not.
“The size of the crowd here tells us that that awareness is still strong despite the pandemic, despite the lingering fear of diseases and new diseases like monkeypox, but people are still prepared to come out. I think this is a wonderful thing,” he said.
Many of the people dressed in African-inspired clothing tapped gently through the streets to the sound of drums or to music by TT calypsonians such as Ella Andall, the late Lutalo “Brother Resistance” Masimba and the late Sandra “Singing Sandra” DesVignes -Millington.
While many were happy to kick back and enjoy an Emancipation Day on the streets of Port of Spain, as TT has done for many years, one Morvant resident, who wished not to be identified, said something was missing from the day’s celebrations.
He said: “It feels like we’re holding it. We’re just keeping what it should be, but it’s missing a lot.”
