Khafra Kambon says he was saddened when he received a recently written textbook and saw Valentine’s Day listed among the days celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago, but Emancipation Day was not mentioned.
“I see all kinds of holidays. Even Valentine’s Day is marked and Emancipation Day is not marked. This is in a textbook in our education system today. It is a shame and we as an African people must stop allowing those responsible for these things to continue,” Kambon, director of Regional and Pan-African Affairs at the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago (ESCTT), lamented yesterday.
“We must make ourselves heard and seen – not only as Africans, but as Africans who know who we are, who know our history and who have an understanding of who we are; who know what we deserve in this society because of what we have contributed to society”, he emphasized.
Kambon was speaking during the official opening of the Lidj Yasu Omowale emancipation village 2022 at the Queen’s Park Savannah. Emancipation Day is being observed as a public holiday on Monday.
According to Kambon, African children were losing out today in “greater numbers than anyone else” because the education system did not motivate them. “It leaves out the things that are important to them, the things that will build their psyche, their sense of who they are and give them the pride they want to stand up to be counted as important in this society. And this commemoration is part of what it’s about — giving us that sense of awareness,” Kambon said.
He claimed that Africans in the diaspora and Africans on the African continent have been separated – not only by many miles of sea, but by miseducation. “But that divide is coming to an end, not just in people’s minds, but it’s coming to an end institutionally,” he added.
More emphasis is needed
on emancipation
Kambon pointed out that the African Union Commission was one of the important institutions responsible for putting in place structures to ensure a stronger practical, psychological and symbolic relationship between the continent of Africa, T&T and other parts of the diaspora.
Earlier in his speech, Kambon questioned why governments have not yet, to date, given the kind of emphasis that should be given to a commemoration as important as Emancipation.
“In fact, it has become what it is today, not because of the government, but because of civil society’s awareness of the African experience, becoming aware of who they are; realizing that the history we celebrate is the history that took us from our roots, the history that degraded us as human beings, and this is what makes Emancipation one of the most significant events in human history, because it brought people out of their worst form of degradation ever known to mankind,” Kambon said.
“It is something that we must not allow anyone to tame again. We as people, as a civil society, regardless of who is in government, regardless of their views, we must ensure that this commemoration that so many people have sacrificed to make it what it is today remains one of the main celebrations, a from the biggest. observations of the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.
Joy after two years of waiting
This is the first time in two years that the Emancipation Village and Emancipation Day celebrations are held physically. The events were held virtually in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 virus.
One of the village’s highlights is the “largest African market in the Caribbean,” which features African-inspired art, crafts, jewelry, clothing, body products, and educational materials.
As he declared the Emancipation Village open yesterday, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts said after two long years, it felt “extremely good” to be back at the PSC to celebrate the T&T Pan African Festival – Emancipation Commemoration.
He commended the ESCTT for ensuring that over the past 30 years, Pan-Africanism remained at the forefront and “remains indelibly linked to the history and heritage of T&T”.
Among the highly anticipated events of the village calendar was last night’s David Rudder tribute concert, titled Shikamoo.
This morning, ESCTT will host its 20th annual Transatlantic Business and Development Roundtable in the VIP Room in the Village, in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Investment.
According to ESCTT, the roundtable will provide a networking opportunity for entrepreneurs in T&T to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by today’s global economic environment, with their counterparts from Africa, the US and the Caribbean.
Later today, from 5:30 p.m., the Village will pay tribute to the late Resistance Brother (Lutalo Masimba). Taking center stage will be rap stars Karega Mandela, Omari Ashby (Kindred), Mark Nottingham, Sister Ava and Curious Ringo, among others.
