SPEECH ON TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS FLAG AND COAT OF ARMS (REGULATION) BILL 2016

Good morning Mr. Speaker, Honorable colleagues, all Turks and Caicos Islanders and the entire resident population in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Mr. Speaker I stand here in general support of this Bill for regulating the use of our National Flag and Coat of Arms. As the nation's foremost symbols, the Turks and Caicos Islands flag and Coat of Arms should be used with respect and dignity at all times. Mr. Speaker, the National Flag and Coat of Arms, is the TCI’s most visible symbol of statehood; it reflects the ideas, beliefs and values of our Nation. Even with the Union Jack on it, for now, this Flag is all we got.

All members in this honourable House of Assembly came here today to discuss and hopefully agree to pass this most important bill. However, Mr. Speaker, the passing of this Bill means nothing unless, it means the triumph of a real democracy, and, in the long run, of an economic system under which each man who has embraced the TCI and made TCI their home shall be guaranteed equal opportunity to achieve the best that there is in them, for all that this country has to offer.

Mr. Speaker, the passing of this Bill alone will not instill national pride and respect that the TCI Flag and Coat of Arms deserves or require. To achieve this national pride it will take time and a serious effort from a serious government but I do believe it is attainable. As a Government we must take concrete steps to ensure that every Government facility has a flag erected. In fact Mr. Speaker, Section 7 subsection 2 of the bill states that “the National Flag may be flown” at government buildings including schools, hospital, vehicles etc. If the PDM had brought this bill Mr. Speaker, the statement would not say “may” but that the National Flag “Shall” be flown at All government buildings, especially at All schools in the country, public and private. Mr. Speaker that is how serious the PDM, the people's party is about national pride. Mr. Speaker, I will be moving a motion to have that wording change during the committee stage, before this bill is passed.

Mr. Speaker we must also ensure that persons are trained and retrained regarding the various protocols guiding the use of the flag and coat of arms. In fact Mr. Speaker, this should be included within our history and/or social studies courses to ensure that every child that passes through our education system understands the importance of our flag and coat of arms. Integrating this in our curriculum, from the primary school level, will help to foster the respect and pride in the future of our nation.

Mr. Speaker, the Bill speaks to respect and restrictions of the use of the Flag and Coat of Arms, which will require some policing and enforcement. However, Mr. Speaker, like many other Bills that has come before the HOA, the Government has not indicated or made any financial provisions for ensuring compliance with this Bill. If this is not address Mr. Speaker, this Bill will suffer the same fate as many other Bills that have passed in this House. The Immigration and TCI Status ordinances are the most recent examples of this government’s failure to properly bring a bill into implementation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw your attention to section 14 of this Bill which speaks to the National Song “Oh We Salute this Land of Ours” written by Dr. Conrad Howell. Mr. Speaker, I have had the displeasure of observing persons during the singing or playing of this National Song. Persons are moving, talking, walking, chewing etc., in fact some of these very same persons are leaders in our society who seem to either do not care that the national song is being played or they simply do not know any better. I have also noticed that some person’s hands are on their sides, others have their right hands cross over their left chest while others just do not know what to do with their hands. The point I am making Mr. Speaker, is if we do not effectively train all students, all government officials on the proper protocol when the national song is song or for using the national flag and coat of arms, than it will be used incorrectly and not with the level of respect and dignity that such national symbol deserves. Mr. Speaker this again highlights another legislative failure of this government where important bills are passed without any sight of the proposed regulations that will be used to administer the bills. I would like the Premeir to explain in his wrapping of this debate to say why aren't the draft regulations available and when can one expect to see it.

Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the beginning of my speech I am in favour of the passing of this Bill, however, Mr. Speaker the aim of the Government should not be to simply try to have a track record of the Government with the most Bills that have been brought before this House and that have been subsequently enacted. The aim should be to ensure that when these Bills are drafted that due consideration is given to their implementation and enforcement.

Mr. Speaker I would not be a true patriot to our nation or a loyal follower of the vision that our National Hero the Right Excellent JAGS McCartney who was also a founder and first leader of the party which shares the ideology that I prescribe to. If I did not make mention of the last National Hero’s Day Memorial Ceremony. The flag and coat of arms are symbols of our pride of country and as leaders we must lead by example so the next generation will follow and it will be imbedded in our system. Therefore, Mr. Speaker I was upset to see that out of the entire PNP Government only the Premier was present. This is an indictment on him and his ministers that such an important event was beneath them or somehow less important than whatever else there were doing on that day, which was a public holiday. And Mr. Speaker they will get mad because I highlighted their absence and they will undoubtedly say they have national pride, but I can assure you, the people of the Turks and Caicos and you yourself Mr. Speaker did not see their pride on display at the last National Hero’s Day Memorial Ceremony.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker let me put our Country on notice, next year’s National Hero’s Day under a PDM led government, every minister, every member of cabinet, every head of government departments, All schools and uniform officers will be mandated to turn out to official functions or parades. Mr. Speaker, the Ceremony will also be broadcasted live on all local radio stations. Mr. Speaker make no mistake; this is not a campaign promise it is a true demonstration of our commitment to JAGS’s dream of a unified nation, One Turks and Caicos Islands!

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NATIONAL HEROES DAY 2016 GREETINGS Delivered By Hon Sharlene Cartwright Robinson, Leader of the Opposition May 30, 2016

"CITIZENS CALLED ON TO BE AGENTS OF CHANGE"

As I greet you this year, I wish to thank the members of the Committee who have given me this opportunity to stand before you and to offer brief greetings. I consider this a privilege each time I am invited to share and I extend to you a blessed morning to all of you present and those listening via RTC.

Each year we meet here in this manner and for the expressed purpose of celebrating the life and legacy of our first Chief Minister and only named National Hero the Right Excellent Hon James Alexander George Smith McCartney and each year since coming to elected Office I stand at this podium proud to be standing on the shoulders of the great man as the serving leader of the political party that he founded.

But as I stand, I stand after reading everything I have collected or written about him so that I could offer a fresh lesson from his life: a lesson that will speak from beyond the grave.

In 2013 I said to us all that we tend to"... forget that he was just a citizen as we are just citizens. He was not a superhero with super powers. He was chosen in a time when people were prepared to fight, to rally around a cause and to stand up for the rights of others even when it didn't really affect them. That was a period when ordinary citizens became extraordinary, not from spinach like Popeye nor from the yellow rays of the earth's sun like Super Man. They had no tricks, no super powers just armed with a vision and a passion. Like Gatorade's slogan, they operated from "the wind from within". They could have sat down and ignored the issues until it affected them directly but they knew that they could do more and there are others among us who knows that we can and should be doing more.

Our Hero did not wait for external sources to move him. He responded in love for country understanding that citizens have a responsibility to country but also a power that could change what they did not like and this was not achieved by sitting and complaining.

Today our hero will be disappointed for many reasons but chief among them is the divisiveness that we continue to allow to consume us but I believe even above that he would be most disappointment about the fact that we have become professional complainers who refuse to use our powers to change what we do not like. The truth is our hero taught that we are the agents of change: the people are and will always be the change that they wish to see.

We see several powerful lessons from our Hero's life: we should not allow station in life or where we are from to stop us from responding to the fire in our belly; he did everything in selflessness for other's upliftment and not his own personal fame; he refused to be govern in ignorance and ensured that he educated on the issues from the Junkanoo Club; he was all inclusive and involved all persons who wanted to be involved even those whom society turned their noses down at; he kept focused on the bigger picture. People was his greatest weapon, not just people but an informed people armed with a single vision for a better Turks and Caicos.

As I look at this year's theme, The power of oneness" so many thoughts came rushing through my mind because we hear a constant cry for unity and we blame the lack of unity or apparent divisiveness for the state of our nation and the fact that we as a people should have been further than we are today. Truth be told unity is crucial but the constant talk of the apparent divisiveness only provides a crutch for too many who refuse to understand the power of citizenship and the responsibility of a citizen.

Our national hero taught us several lessons and the first is that citizens are called to act selflessly for this country. It is not just a JAGS or his freedom fighters call but it is a call for each of us. I find that when we tout this commonly overused phrase that we will not get anywhere until we come together, we give too many persons a crutch to not do their part. I also believe that when we wait for the coming together we are looking for huge numbers but truth be told our Hero had only a few good men and a women who had the right heart, the heart mind and a passion that made them mighty. Truth be told we do not need an army and I fear that if we wait too long for the full unification of a nation, we will wait in vain and our country will continue to move on without us and will not wait for us.

An example of the power of oneness

A few years ago, the story of the Tower of Babel hit me like a ton of breaks when I read it as I did so many times before, the words spoken by God when he came down the Bible said to see the work of the people. The Tower of Babel built by a few men 130 yrs after the flood was said to be about 5433 cubic or 1.5 miles or 8150ft. By comparison, today's tallest building, in Dubai, is 2722ft or 0.5miles high with 163 floors. The Burj Khalifa stands at 828 meters (2,716.5 feet) tall, soaring over Dubai. It's three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower and nearly twice as tall as the Empire State Building. Laid end to end, it pieces stretch over a quarter of the way around the world. Which means the tower of Babel could have been 3-4 times taller than today's tallest building. When God saw the building, his words were ""Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech."

Unity of the masses is great but truthfully it may never happen the way we are calling for it but if we truly studied the life and times of JAGS McCartney, it was the oneness of a few good men and women on the political and social affairs of this country and that is where we must agree and where I believe that we do. We all want to live in a progressive nation where there is freedom, equality and justice for all. We need to stop and realise that there is unity among us on the right issues and we must stop empowering those who fight against this. Truth be told this is the unity that matters and when we are decide to build on what we unite on then, like the people who built the tower of Babel, nothing will be impossible to achieve. There is much more that unites us than divides us and when we realise that, nothing will be impossible to achieve.

Conclusion

"The downfall of the attempts of governments and leaders to unite mankind is found in this- in the wrong message that we should see everyone as the same. This is the root of the failure of harmony. Because the truth is, we should not all see everyone as the same! We are not the same! We are made of different colours and we have different cultures. We are all different! But the key to this door is to look at these differences, respect these differences, learn from and about these differences, and grow in and with these differences. We are all different. We are not the same. But that's beautiful. And that's okay.In the quest for unity and peace, we cannot blind ourselves and expect to be all the same. Because in this, we all have an underlying belief that everyone should be the same as us at some point. We are not on a journey to become the same or to be the same. But we are on a journey to see that in all of our differences, that is what makes us beautiful as a human race, and if we are ever to grow, we ought to learn and always learn some more." ― C. JoyBell C.
I encourage us all to get together with who we can and pull them together with other likeminded. The power for change you wish to see; the power live our hero's dream is in your hand and we must always remember that team work will always make the dream work.

Can I upset history a bit further? The period that JAGS lived in was not as a period of great unity which is why he always spoke of and had to even fight his own battles with people of different minds and motives. Truth is everyone did not agree with JAGS...in fact some thought he was too soft spoken, too soft, too unaccomplished and just criminal.

But I say to you that greatness can come from a single parent home, from a little known boy or girl, from a once failed politician, and yes from a group of citizens who dare to stand up and stand out for what matters.

What does greatness look like? What does a real patriot or citizen look like? It looks like commitment, love; it does not lift itself up and put others down, it understands that you must endure scathing attacks and name calling and downright lies for a greater cause, it understands that these Islands are worth fighting for and yes seriously dying for.

We need greater unity among us but what we need for this movement is for citizens to rise up and use the power that they have to take this movement forward. What TCI needs is a few good men and women. I encourage us all to get rid of the crutch and get busy saving this country through the power of citizenship. JAGS did not let a hole in his heart, where he was from, his failure to win in his first bid for election, the fact that he was not accomplished as others were nor the fact that he had no money or lack of social standing to hinder him. He fought through the nay sayers who fought his dream to stop him. He did not have the unity that we think he did, everyone did not understand him and no doubt he felt weary and I am sure those feelings is what prompted him to say in a speech he delivered May 1979 speaking about the need for unity and the effect of divisiveness and I close with his words:

"If nothing else binds us it is the fact that we are Turks and Caicos Islanders and have a common interest, because we have distinct qualities: so if the need for political union is agreed by us, then the will to create is born and where there is a will, there is a way. Where there is disunity on the political activities of a nation, that nation is left at the mercy of powerful, foreign interests. Because truth be told is while the people are fighting one another, the real enemies, the controllers from the outside are picking up the pieces, so therefore we the people are losing the nation and being push backward," (May 1979). The words of a patriot; the words of a great leader; the words of our first Chief Minister and only named national hero: the words of the Right Excellent Hon JAGS McCartney.

There is so much to discover and be taught of this great man, let us really seek after it and I believe that when we do, we will understand that we are all called to greatness and this greatness is an individual calling to be the greatest citizen that you can be.

May His soul continue to rest in peace. Rest on Chief! And may God continue to bless these Beautiful by Nature Turks and Caicos Islands.

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