Following is a message from His Excellency, Professor George Maxwell Richards, president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, on the occasion of Indian Arrival Day which was celebrated on Wednesday:
"On the occasion of Indian Arrival Day, I send best wishes for a happy holiday to our national community, especially those of East Indian origin. Indian Arrival Day, 2012, finds us in very interesting and at the same time, challenging times, which are certainly not new to us. We need all hands on deck, all minds alert and all hearts willing to take our beloved country forward, in the face of circumstances that have the potential to hold us back.
"We need to examine where we are and ask ourselves if this is where we ought to be. If we are not, how do we get to that place and where is that place? I make no attempt at definition, lest the way be opened, thereby, to contention, but I can say, without fear of contradiction, or, in spite of it, that we are not all that we can be. Indeed, it seems that we are some considerable distance from that state. Moreover, it is difficult to dispute that some of our hard-won gains have been eroded and perhaps we cannot all plead innocence. "What I am saying is not out of sync with the observance of Indian Arrival Day.
The context is appropriate, as we celebrate one of the major cohorts that make up the population of Trinidad and Tobago. In looking back on the path that has been walked by the ancestors of East Indian origin-the sacrifices made and the improvements achieved in the standard of living and quality of life for succeeding generations-one may ask what this means in 2012. What does it mean to be the beneficiary of a better place in the scheme of things? "There is evidence that that better place may be defined, in part, by positions of pre-eminence and prestige and by material wealth, all desirable goals, for all of us, within the ambit of the social structure and human development on the whole. The part that family values and customs have played, in this regard, cannot be set aside and we ignore it at our peril. "The family as a bulwark against the ills of the demeaning conditions in which Indian immigrants found themselves, played a seminal role in the survival and flourishing of Indian norms and cultural expression. "These, in turn, have contributed many positives to our growth as a nation. We may ask whether the security of strong family ties, which stood out as a good example, is under threat, today. Are the traditions of respect, particularly for elders, of thrift and of industry still alive, or are they being eroded by the pull of contemporary existence which sometimes makes no room for these attributes?
"To what extent are these positive characteristics, rooted in family, still available as an important element in the cultural mix that distinguishes us? As I have said before, we are not the only country that can boast of a diverse culture, but we have managed, to a considerable degree, to avoid the harsh manifestations of discord that have plagued plural societies, in different parts of the world. "Acceptance of one another, though, to some extent, a work still in progress, has been crafted, if you will, by curiosity, by checking suspicion, sometimes by defiance, patient understanding, largeness of heart and by the recognition of common human needs and aspirations.
Succeeding generations of different cultural backgrounds, have managed, increasingly, to embrace one another as entitled participants in the development of our country and beneficiaries of our patrimony. It is a path along which we should continue. "It is my hope that the youth among us will not lose sight of or faith in the legacy of our forebears. It is my hope, further, that they will be encouraged to bring to the mix of skills, gifting and energy, developed from the foundations of noble cultural perspectives, the will to help us go forward, with deep appreciation of one another, in fulfilment of the vision of a place that is worthy to be called a nation."
