Mayor: Do away with ‘Indian’ Arrival Day
By SASHA HARRINANAN Monday, April 23 2012

PORT-OF-SPAIN Mayor Louis Lee Sing has called on Government to make Indian Arrival Day (May 30) an all-inclusive event by removing the word “Indian” and encouraging the participation of all ethnic groups whose ancestors arrived in TT by boat.

“With the exception of the Caribs, all of our ancestors came here by boat. Whether they came as African slaves, as Indian indentured labourers on the Fatel Razack in 1845 or as Chinese and Syrian labourers...they all reached these shores by boat. So why restrict this public holiday to one group?” Lee Sing asked yesterday.

Citing the genocide of hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsi people by the majority Hutu people in the East African nation of Rwanda in 1994, Lee Sing said TT must work toward true harmony rather than parallel celebrations of different ethnic groups.

“We run the risk of becoming another Rwanda or another Bahrain, if we let existing racial tensions continue. Unity among our people must start with celebrating our common history and heritage, not by highlighting differences in each ethnic or racial group,” Lee Sing said.

The mayor said it was time to return to the original name, Arrival Day, the title given in1994 when the then Government declared May 30 as a public holiday to mark the arrival of the first group of Indian indentured labourers to Trinidad on May 30, 1845. In 1995, the holiday was renamed Indian Arrival Day.

Speaking with Newsday yesterday, Lee Sing said he planned to hold a march on May 30 to highlight the dangers of having separate celebrations for various ethnic groups. “A whole chunk of the population is being excluded by Indian Arrival Day. We owe it to ourselves, to the future unity and ethnic harmony of this country, to change the name to Arrival Day and encourage every group to celebrate their contributions to TT,” Lee Sing declared.

Questioned about the perception that Emancipation Day was geared toward celebrating the end of slavery in TT and therefore also excluded other groups, Lee Sing argued this too should become more inclusive.

“Emancipation Day should not be limited to the African community. While it marks the end of slavery, it should also celebrate the end of indentured labour in this country. While both holidays hold special significance to the Indian and African communities, we have got to find a way to bring our multi-ethnic people together and we should start by renaming some holidays and making others all-inclusive,” Lee Sing stated.

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Who is the lone gunman?

Sat affi kick up

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^ tr1ad came here by plane

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3NE•2NR

Kudos

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S-Chassis Trinbago Facebook Group

Local blog MotorEdge™

Awaits sats' rebuttal

good stuff, i agree.

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so he holding a march/protest/demonstration with a division of the society to encourage unity

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There are way too many public holidays in Trinidad and Tobago. We need to cut them down by about 75%.

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I am an artist, the track is my canvas and the car is my brush - Graham Hill

This.

I've always said we should do away with arrival and emancipation day

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FS: Line 6 Spider IV 15 Guitar Amp!!! CLICK HERE !

if this from a businessman perspective...why not open for business and encourage ppl to shop? look how sundays slowly becoming a shopping day...as it shud be.

and even open later during the week because with the traffic situation ppl going to work before 8am and coming back after 6pm

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only after we get rid of Corpus Christi first

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Habit7, but not just Habit7

to be honest i dont give 2 shits about what these holidays mean or represent because i dont indulge in the activities they have for it, Im just glad its a holiday for me to do my own thing. The could call it "." day for all i care, as long as its a holiday/

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In the field I work in, I am available to my clients anytime between 5:45 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., 7 days a week. I have never heard any of my clients complain about not being able to reach me.

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I am an artist, the track is my canvas and the car is my brush - Graham Hill

agreed.

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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Juvenal(est. 0100-0200 A.D.)

dan....


yuh is ah bootycall orrrr??

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At least you said it.



AllTrac for governor general...

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When in doubt RUM.

allyuh doh be on me eh....

me eh arsking fuh no arrival day thing

but if that is the way to go... change it to shouter day an done? not only baptist could shout on that day

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doctored thread is doctored....

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in a grip

so why my post get delete

damn..... customer service at it's best.... you only sleep 4 hrs and 15 mins?

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regards,
shiv

dey prolly doh like black ppl..

figures.....

I just thanked them for arriving

umm no eh

what the fack is this shyt

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could have sworn this was "done away" with before and was just named arrival day.

I agree with the removal of 'indian'
Why can't we have one day that celebrates everyone's contribution to our nation

Emancipation Day needs to be kept though............not enough emphasis is placed on the triumph of humanity that this day represents

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Peugeot 206SW for sale
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=479201

hadda be 2012 in troot....


Lee Singh making some sense!

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Aut viam inveniam aut faciam

hmm... makes sense!

sadly, the opinion of a non-citizen is irrelevant.

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regards,
shiv