Calls were made yesterday by the Manning family and President Anthony Carmona for certain regional assistance initiatives–including preserving Caricom–to be part of the legacy honouring the late former prime minister Patrick Manning.
Voicing one call was Manning's son, Brian, in delivering the eulogy for his father at yesterday's funeral service for Manning at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Port-of-Spain.
Another call, concerning saving Caricom, was made by President Carmona. Both spoke amid a number of tributes paid to Manning during the three-hour service.
Manning, 69, died on July 2 at San Fernando General Hospital. He was warded for a lung infection but was subsequently diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), a rare, aggressive cancer of the blood.
Yesterday's funeral service–and subsequent committal rites at Tacarigua where Manning's casket was buried–delivered the final goodbyes to T&T's fourth and sixth prime minister and the longest-serving MP in Parliament.
His death has been marked by widespread local and regional commendation for his 44 years of service to T&T and the region.
Capital Port-of-Spain, where Manning spent much time, said a personal farewell when his flag-draped casket was borne by soldiers, marching in procession from the Lighthouse, South Quay, to the church on Abercromby Street.
There, a T&T Who's Who of attendees mourned his death, celebrated his life and "wreathed" Manning with tributes. Manning's wife, Hazel, sons David and Brian, his sisters and other family held up well throughout.
Following the PoS programme, the body was taken to Belgrove's Funeral Home and Crematorium. Another procession of Manning's casket took place through Tacarigua to the venue. After the committal ceremony, around 4.45 pm, the casket was placed into a hole in a concreted area at the front of the funeral home compound and a crane lowered a concrete slab over it. Mrs Manning was presented with the flag which had covered the casket.
Moving service
Earlier at the church service, delivering the eulogy, Brian Manning had noted his father's policies to assist the poor. He called for a fund to be set up at T&T's International Finance Centre to finance houses for low income earners regionwide.
He proposed that the fund be called the Patrick Manning Development Fund and that it should be made accessible to all members of Caricom as well as to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba.
Brian Manning added, "He was father to many and touched many lives. I had to share him with T&T and the region...he left a legacy of a life well lived and dedicated to the service of fellow man, a life of love. Thank you dad, I love you."
President Carmona said Manning was committed to contributing to the building of a modern Caribbean civilisation.
"While some were only writing or articulating on what regionalism should be, or engaging in sheer rhetoric on the subject, Patrick Manning was about devising solutions in order to help foster this Caribbean civilisation, testament of this quintessential Caribbean man at work, ensuring the economic well-being of not just Trinidad and Tobago but the entire Caribbean region."
"His attempts were to jumpstart a genuine Caribbean integration movement, and vitiate implementation deficits he encountered because many decisions and communiqu�s of Caricom meetings suffered from a lack of operationalisation.
"It will indeed be a committed gesture to his legacy if the Prime Ministers and Presidents of the region resuscitate the Caricom and Caribbean integration charted by Mr Manning's vision of the Caribbean as being a potent force on the world stage."
Carmona's call followed Jamaica's recent signal that it wants to review its relationship with Caricom.
Carmona noted Manning once said T&T was determined that no member of its Caribbean family be left behind, as the region sought to maximize the benefits of Caricom's Single Market and Economy, to provide a better way of life for all people.
Saying Manning was bold enough to champion the cause of regional integration wherever he went, Carmona added, "Patrick Manning wasn't a Caribbean armchair integrationist. His commitment to the unfinished business of the full integration of the region should be documented for posterity. This should be compulsory reading for future leaders in whose hands we would inevitably pass the baton and who must seek to build on his unfinished work."
Gonsalves' tribute to "bredrin"
St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, chronicling Manning's assistance to regional states and relations with various leaders, noted part of his country is called "Manning Village". He said it was the only place in the region named after Manning and ensued from Manning's assistance to help St Vincent rebuild houses after hurricane devastation.
Caricom Secretary General Irwin La Rocque read a tribute to Manning by Caricom leaders at the 37th Caricom summit which occurred soon after Manning died. "T&T and Caricom has lost a truly dedicated son whose legacy has left an indelible mark on the region."
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who said each Caricom leader had paid genuine tribute to Manning, added, "He was one of our finest sons, a man who made public service honourable and must have heard what John F Kennedy had said 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.' He answered that question, even to his last."