Mr. Carty was at the time delivering remarks at a launching ceremony for the UNESCO Slave Route Project, at the Open Campus of the University of the West Indies, the Gardens Basseterre.
He said, “As the Jewish people will never, and must never forget the transgressions against them…, so too must we as African people, as Kittitians and Nevisians, never forget the atrocities committed against us.”
In front a fair sized audience, including Governor General Sir Cuthbert Sebastian, Deputy Prime Minister, Sam Condor, and other government officials, including the Minister of Culture, Marcella Liburd and Director of Culture, Creighton Pencheon, Carty said that “As we stand in pride against the backdrop of all that has gone before; (such as) the oppression and degradation, like the Phoenix of Greek mythology, we have risen from the ashes of our own trials and tribulation.”
The Education Minister continued, “…we have built for ourselves a civilization of which our forefathers who yearned for freedom, would be exceedingly proud if they came back and saw what we have accomplished.
One of the key objectives of the UNESCO sponsored slave route project is the erection of a national monument in the commemoration of the black African slaves who were brought here to St. Kitts & Nevis. The monument is also being created as a symbol for the end of the slave trade.
Minister Carty said in his speech that was carried live on local radio that the theme for the project is “Towards the erection of a monument in remembrance of our ancestors and the abolition of slavery and the slave trade”.
Tuesday’s launch was one of the first steps in a program of national consultation to gather the views and opinions of Kittitians and Nevisians here and abroad, in order to help chart the way forward for the initiative.
The project is also designed to develop educational materials on the slave trade and slavery or use by students, teachers, members of the wider public, and visitors to the federation.
The Ministry of Education has therefore established a special committee, comprised of stakeholders from across the spectrum of civil society and consultations are to be organized with teachers, historians, cultural practitioners and others in the national community.
Mr. Carty said that they anticipate a product that will lift the spirits and pride of the people; a product that will bring greater consciousness to the hearts and minds of Kittitians and Nevisians of all ages and everywhere.