KINGSTON, Jamaica, Jamaicans are encouraged to play their part in positively transforming the nation for future generations.
The plea was made by Culture Minister Olivia Grange, who says people should seek to play a collective role in building Jamaica into a modern paradise by, among other things, looking out for each other.
“I am asking you all to be committed… to making Jamaica the land we love and a place for our children to guarantee their future. Be committed to your country, to fight for the betterment of your country and children.”
She spoke earlier this week at the Sam Sharpe Flames of Freedom Ceremony in the western parish of St. James.
The ceremony was among the events, including a concert marking the 191st anniversary of the 1831 Slave Rebellion led by National Hero, the Right Excellent Samuel Sharpe, on the Kensington Estate.
Grange noted that Jamaicans should be seized of the importance of “standing for something” that will chart a path to freedom and a better future, as Sam Sharpe did by his involvement in the quest to abolish slavery across the island.
“Gathered here at the site of memory, we come with gratitude and a sense of pride to the place where it all started – Tulloch Castle. It is the place where the proverbial final nail was hammered in the coffin of slavery by the Right Excellent Samuel Sharpe and his band of warriors,” she indicated.
Grange pointed out that “today we are free… because of Sam Sharpe and many others”, adding that “we are free to protect our brothers and sisters.”
and then 