Prime Minister Godwin Friday called on Vincentians to support one another throughout the year, as he addressed a flag-raising ceremony marking the start of celebrations for the country’s 47th anniversary of independence.
He said at the ceremony on Thursday in Kingstown that the solidarity people showed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 volcanic ashfall demonstrated a strength the country should continue to draw on.
“I have watched how Vincentians smiled behind masks during COVID, and yet we maintained our connections,” he said.
“We come to each other’s aid, packing boxes and delivering supplies when the ash was still falling.”
He also spoke of people who lost everything but chose to rebuild, saying their determination reflected the resilience of the nation.
“Today, as we raise our national flag and officially begin our month of independence celebration, I want us to think about what raising this flag here really means,” Friday said.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines will celebrate its 47th anniversary of independence on Oct. 27, with its first new leader since 2001.
Friday, who was elected to office in November, noted that the green in the national flag represents the country’s vegetation, agriculture and “the enduring vitality of our people”.
He said Vincentians have repeatedly helped one another through difficult moments.
“In the moments when we needed someone most, someone stood up. Someone showed up,” he said. “We did it hand in hand. Each of us doing what we could to help another, and in doing so, helping to build our nation.”
Echoing this year’s independence theme, “Hand in Hand, Uplifting our Nation”, the prime minister said national progress could not be left to any single person, group or generation.
“It can’t be done by one generation, or by one village, or by one party, or by one person, or even by one prime minister,” he said. “It takes all of us.”
He urged Vincentians to carry the spirit of cooperation beyond the independence season, saying, “It is time for us not just to come together at the time of independence, but to do it all year round,” he said.
Friday said that while national crises such as hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and pandemics could test the country, daily life offered regular opportunities for people to build connections.
“We live with each other every single day, so we have to look out for one another,” he said, describing neighbours greeting each other on the street, travelling together in vans, shopping in the same stores, worshipping and working alongside one another.
“We are at our best when we look out for one another and when we build community by community, village by village, institution by institution.”
The prime minister said the work of helping others did not always attract public attention or recognition.
“Uplifting our nation also means uplifting one another, not just in the things that people can see and applaud us for, but in the quiet moments when you know you can assist, and you have to make the choice,” he said.
“Always choose to help,” Friday added. “A helping hand never hurts anyone.”
He challenged business owners to improve the appearance of their premises and communities, suggesting that they paint and tidy their surroundings.
He also called for improvements to government facilities, including police stations.
Friday said those efforts would help show that the country was taking the anniversary seriously and moving forward together.
He urged residents and institutions to “do what we know is right” and to expect the same commitment from their country.
He also directed a message to public servants, saying their work mattered to the entire nation while emphasising the responsibility that came with it.
“The work that you do is valued; the entire nation depends upon you, and we expect nothing but your best, because that is what our people deserve,” he said.
Friday described independence as a hopeful occasion for a country looking toward better times under a new government, adding that change should build on the country’s existing achievements rather than reject them.
“Not discarding what we have met, but building upon it, and so that our country moves forward,” he said.
The performances by young people at the ceremony, he said, underscored the importance of planning for the next generation.
“We owe it to them to do all we can to make our independence count,” Friday said.
He called on Vincentians to continue the work of earlier generations and honour the legacy of those who brought the country to independence.
The goal should be to build a country that its founders and future generations could be proud of, he said.
Friday thanked those who organised the ceremony and closed by urging the country to make the anniversary meaningful. “47 and counting. Let’s make it special,” he said.