Canal memorial could be on the way

GOVERNMENT is considering erecting a monument as a tribute to the thousands of Barbadians, who helped to build the Panama Canal.Acting Prime Minister Freundel Stuart said that Barbados had been in discussion with the Panamanian Government about the proposal to build a suitable monument to the tens of thousands of Barbadians whose labour helped to build the canal.“Perhaps the moment has come for us to establish a tangible memorial to the thousands of Barbadian migrants on whose shoulders our modern Barbados has risen.“This is an important project which we are determined to see to fruition,” he said.Stuart was delivering the feature address at the inaugural Diaspora Conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, yesterday morning which is attracting returning nationals from New York, Florida, New Jersey, Boston, London, Birmingham, Leicester, Ottawa and Toronto.The Acting Prime Minister said there was a need to recognise the sizeable contribution made by Barbadian migrants to other countries and to hold up their achievements as a model for the new generation of modern Barbadians.“Perhaps, therefore, the concept of a diaspora museum is one whose time has come.”