BARBADIAN PRIDE has remained intact through the changing scenes of the past 45 years, says Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.
During his address as party leader at the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) Independence Gala and Awards Ceremony on Tuesday night at Ilaro Court, Stuart said the country had and continued to withstand many things, including the last two years of economic recession.
He asked those gathered to renew their covenant to the party and with the future.
“We cannot unmake the past. We have to try and cope with the present, but we can shape the future,” Stuart said.
Terming it a “troubling feature”, Stuart said people had been second-guessing whether the DLP had done the right thing in 1966 by pursuing Independence.
“We took a decision in 1966 [and] we have seen Independence work . . . . We concede there are difficulties now, not of our own creation . . . but as a result of the existence of those problems, we are feeling the effects that we would not otherwise have felt, and that is what marks off the year 2011 from the year 1966,” he said.
Looking at the significance of Independence, Stuart said having one’s own Flag and Anthem was all right, but Independence was only of symbolic value if it was limited to those emblems.
He said Independence becomes meaningful when one is “independent in mind”.
“You can decolonize a country as much as you wish [but] that country will not really become truly and effectively independent if you don’t succeed in decolonizing the minds of the people, giving them confidence in the things that they do, giving them confidence in the things that they produce, giving them respect for their own creation, giving them a sense of their own identity and a belief that they are not inferior to any people anywhere in the world,” Stuart stated, adding that the DLP had placed an emphasis on decolonizing the minds of the people of Barbados.
The night was not only about speeches, though. Patrons mingled with a number of DLP elders and members of the House of Assembly and Senate.
They were also treated to some traditional Bajan delicacies like conkies, fish cakes, pumpkin fritters, sugar cakes, pig tails and snow cones.
Five DLP members were presented with party awards this year: Clyde Chase (Errol Barrow), Patricia Straker (Errol Barrow), Courtney Carrington (David Thompson), Yvonne Foster (Freundel Stuart) and Lincoln Crawford (Founders). (YB)
