My fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders, I give God all the praise and glory. It is with tremendous pride that I as Premier and Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage extend congratulations to all residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands on this historic day, as we together recognize and celebrate the first National Heritage Day.
Today, history will truly be made as all persons of us and among us, will join together in a grand celebration of unity as we demonstrate how proud we are as a people and as a country. This October 2014 celebrates not only this historic 1st National Heritage Day, but observes the historic 1st National Heritage Month during which we celebrate our music, our dances, our cuisine, our folklore, our traditional maritime heritage and our historic industries of salt, seafood, sisal and cotton.
As you are already aware, festivals have commenced throughout our islands to commemorate those aspects of our culture that are unique to specific island settlements. From Grand Turk to Salt Cay, to South Caicos our people have embraced this revival of our culture with open arms, and I wish to congratulate the people of Grand Turk and Salt Cay on the past weekend and the people of South Caicos this weekend for the tremendous spirit and pride with which our heritage was displayed.
The passion and enthusiasm of these festivals have not only kindled a similar spirit of national pride in our youth who travelled to these islands to participate in these various activities, but have also warmed the hearts of my generation and our parents as well. I was particularly encouraged after watching performances by the primary school children of Salt Cay, the Iris Stubbs Primary Rip Saw Band in South Caicos and The Blue Hills Breezy Beach House Dancers, that our culture is still very much alive here in our islands. I along with my Government will commit to ensuring that the level of participation by our young children continues to grow, and in so doing ensure not only the preservation of our heritage for our own enjoyment but also enable the evolution of larger and more dynamic cultural festivals that will attract many a visitor to our shores.
It is therefore with great excitement that I look forward to the Sisal and Cotton festival in Middle and North Caicos this coming weekend and the Maritime Festival here in Providenciales on the final weekend. I invite you all to enjoy these as well and at the close of this month we, as Turks and Caicos Islanders, will have had a tremendous amount to be proud of, and for this I thank all who would have participated and contributed in one way or the other.
Today as we embrace our nation, our brothers and our sisters and the richness of our heritage, so too must we continue to embrace all citizens and ethnicities residing amongst us. As we acknowledge the presence of the many cultures which today make up the Turks and Caicos Islands, we welcome all with the caring compassion for which we are known. Americans, Canadians, Europeans, Jamaicans, Haitians, Dominicans and the many other nations within our islands, today I say to you all however, though you will celebrate your origins, I encourage you to join with us to celebrate the present, as this is your home. Join with us in our ways, and uphold our heritage, as the future is ours together.
So to all I say, today is our day! Today is our day! Today is the day when we shall put aside our differences, political, social, ethnic or racial to come together as one and on one accord as we celebrate all things Turks and Caicos.
Today is a proud day, today is a great day and the only day that will be greater in the history of these islands, will be that day when we celebrate together as a people and as an independent nation. We recognize and hail this historic day as yet another step along that great road to nationhood. However, let us first remember that we as a people must always embrace who we are, and our origins, no matter how humble, as these alone can determine where we are going. For if we are to reach that triumphant day of self-determination, then we must begin to embrace ourselves and to love ourselves, to love each other and to love everything that the Turks and Caicos Islands has to offer. It means that we must renew our kinship and once again strengthen family values by being our brother’s keeper, raising respectful children and caring genuinely for our elderly, as these core values will restore a sense of community. Let us take greater pride in our surroundings, as by these actions and with a true spirit of patriotism, we will demonstrate daily that we are Turks and Caicos Islanders, and we are proud of these beautiful by nature islands that we call home.
I am charging us all this day, to begin this journey with pride, let us wave our flags, join our hearts and join our hands, and as we salute the toil and sweat of our fore-fathers and our generations of long ago, let us shout with joy, in one accord and as one people, “we are proud to be Turks and Caicos Islanders.”
I congratulate you my fellow people and I celebrate you. May God bless us all and may He bless these beautiful by Nature Turks and Caicos Islands, now and always.
