Phillips urges J’cans to be mindful of the cost of freedom
LEADER of the Opposition Dr Peter Phillips is urging Jamaicans to draw on the experiences and achievements of their forefathers who broke the shackles of slavery, as inspiration to help move the country forward.
“Let us also remind ourselves of the lessons that we have learned in the course of our struggles as a people. Emancipation allowed us to re-fashion our social, cultural and political arrangements and to understand the essential truth that nationhood must be based on fundamental principles of universal freedom, human dignity, and equal rights and justice of all people…let us also draw from their experiences the inspiration we need to complete the mission,” Dr Phillips stated in his 2018 Emancipation Day message yesterday.
He said another major lesson to be learned from the successes that achieved in destroying the system of slavery is the value of collective responsibility and collective action.
Dr Phillips reminded that it was the collective action of the supporters of national hero Sam Sharpe and the solidarity of every enslaved person that enabled them to mobilise and strike down the brutal system of slavery.
“In the face of the challenge the country faces today to maintain the moral foundations of our nationhood and the standards of integrity needed in national leadership, we must remember that the gains made in the past were made by virtue of the collective action of our people in their trade unions, community organisations, civic associations, and political parties,” he urged.
The Opposition leader said Jamaicans will need this same level of cooperation to sustain the effort to build upon the foundations of Emancipation and provide every Jamaican with opportunity, food, shelter, security, health care, education, and all the benefits of modern life.
He said that in reflecting on the significance of Emancipation Day, Jamaicans must be reminded of the cost of freedom and be vigilant in the protection of the gains that have been won by blood, sweat and sacrifice of the nation’s ancestors.
“We are living at a time when across the globe there is a resurgence of ugly doctrines of racism; and oppressive political ideologies are again presenting themselves,” he said.
