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  by pltm
• Aug 06, 2018
• 13

(PLTM) - Minister for Education and Culture, Hon. Myron Walwyn has called for an end of discrimination based on nationality. The Minister, while speaking at the Emancipation Service that was held at the Sunday Morning Well on August 5, criticized persons who use place of birth for divisive purposes.

The Minister, who is no stranger to this form of prejudice, said that he pondered on the matter as he reflected on what emancipation means.

“It [emancipation] is a lot more than just talking, it is a lot more than just saying fancy words. It’s about living together as one. It’s about accepting your brother and your sister regardless of where he or she comes from, because we all landed on these islands coming out of Africa.”

“There is no difference between me and any of you. Some of us just happened to land on one island, some land elsewhere, but we came from the same greatness and people,” the Minister added.

In tying the discussion to emancipation, Hon. Walwyn said that residents need to shed the way of thinking that binds them.

“I reflect every year on what emancipation means to me. It means many different things to many different people. The physical chains are gone, but there are some reconsiderations that we must make with ourselves as a people.”

The Minister for Culture also identified areas that residents should try to improve, and said that adopting a spirit of unity should be the place to start.

“When we talk about emancipation, we must be happy for our brothers and our sisters. Let the times go when we try to pull each other down. When we can never say a good word about each other. Where rather than celebrating the success of our brother, we use that to say that we are not doing as well and so we pull him down.“

“We must all rise together...look for solutions and not for problems, look for ways to enhance something and not always find fault. This is all part of emancipation; and these are the things that I reflect upon and I hope that I can encourage you to do the very same thing,” he added.

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