ROAD TOWN, BVI: Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands Dr Orlando Smith says government has formed a Territorial Bicentenary Committee to spearhead the territory's yearlong observance of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
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Chief Minister of the BVI,
Dr Orlando Smith |
In his weekly update to the territory, the Chief Minister said the committee will coordinate a variety of activities through which the BVI will join the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in celebrating this important historical milestone.
The Chief Minister said the Territorial Bicentenary Committee has been formed under the auspices of the Department of Education and Culture.
"Activities will include issuing of commemorative stamps with images reflecting the slave trade, selection of a BVI hero, exhibitions, panel discussions, performances, television and radio programmes and a conference on the abolition of the slave trade," the Chief Minister said, while appealing to the public to support the upcoming events.
Dr Smith also acknowledged organisations that have already held commemorative activities, including the St Georges Anglican Church and the Ministry and Department of Education and Culture.
"I want to thank those churches and persons in the religious and wider community who responded to my call for a minute of silence at 12 noon on Sunday, 25 March," he said. The Chief Minister made the appeal as part of a CARICOM initiative to observe a synchronized minute of silence in honour of those who died as a result of slavery, especially in the middle passage and in resistance to the slave trade.
The Chief Minister also highlighted the fact that the new Virgin Islands Constitution will include a human rights chapter that makes it illegal for a person to be subjected to slavery, servitude or forced labour.
"This modern constitution will entitle every person in the Virgin Islands fundamental rights and freedoms to be enjoyed without distinction of any kind," the Chief Minister said.
Following the work of campaigners in the United Kingdom, the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was passed by the UK Parliament on March 25, 1807. Among other things, it imposed a fine for every slave found aboard a British ship with the intention of outlawing the slave trade in the British Empire.
On a related matter, the Chief Minister attended Sunday's presentation of the play, Anansi: The Route to Survival by the BVI High School Drama Society and has congratulated the director and cast for an excellent portrayal of what happened to our ancestors in the middle passage.
The Chief Minister said that he was especially pleased with the students' performance because this shows that students are cognizant of the historical significance of the slave trade.
"The play was timely and pertinent given the 200th anniversary of the act abolishing the trans-Atlantic slave trade and I would like to again commend our students for an outstanding performance," the Chief Minister said.
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