Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has immediately advanced Zolia Ellis-Browne’s proposal for a day of recognition for Garifuna and Kalinago in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).
Zoila Ellis Browne is a Garifuna woman who was born in Belize and wants to help her Indigenous heritage grow.
The Garifuna people are a mix of free Africans and native Americans. They came from the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent, which was called “Hairoun” by the native Kalinago (Caribs).
Gonsalves said on Tuesday that the day would be for Garifuna people, not just those who are abroad but for the Garifuna and Kalinago people here in St. Vincent.
“I have absolutely no difficulty with what she (Zolia) has suggested: that March 9th be researched as possibly the day of recognition, and we can ask the historians to do that. We have, for instance, a day of recognition for the Spiritual Baptists and for Indians who came here as Indian indentured servants”, Gonsalves said.
The Prime Minister said these acts of remembrance or recognition are not alien to the government “because we want to have an embrace, a collective ownership.”
