BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, August 4, 2010 (Press Release) - Premier of Nevis, Hon Joseph Parry, said on Emancipation Day that traditions Caribbean people carried over from Africa where parents looked after their children and children later looked after their parents go a long way in the preservation of a people’s dignity.
Addressing worshippers on Sunday, August 1 at the House of Deliverance New Testament Church of God in Tabernacle where a special service was held to honour the Federation’s newest centenarian, Lillian Adosia Hill, Premier Parry singled out for praise Lucretia Sergeant who is better known as Baby J and a granddaughter of the centenarian for having dedicated herself to take fulltime care of her grandmother.
“We are people who are of West African roots and we have a tradition of parents taking care of children and children taking care of parents when they are old,” said Premier Parry. “It seems to me that nowadays our young people are not well informed about our traditions and people are getting more and more in the habit of sending people to the homes.”
While such homes take very good physical care of the old, he said that they can never give them the care that a child or a grandchild can give and he called on people not to become so modern that they have to follow the Western world.
“We are African people, we are black people and we need to continue to believe so,” stressed Parry. “My advice is that we should take example from Baby J and take care of our parents when they get old. We do not have to take care of them in the backroom. Let them sit in the drawing room. Let them sit by the kitchen table, let them have meals and when there is conversation, let them be part of the conversation. I do believe this is a lesson we have learnt from Baby J this morning.”
Lillian Hill who hails from Cotton Ground Village, the same village as Premier Parry, celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday July 31. However the service to honour her was held on Sunday and the occasion was witnessed by the Governor General, His Excellency Sir Dr. Cuthbert Sebastian, and the area Parliamentary Representative the Hon Dr Timothy Harris.
Others who attended the church service included the Deputy Prime Minister Hon Sam Condor, Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China on Taiwan His Excellency Rong Chuan Wu, His Excellency Ambassador Walford Gumbs who also holds the position of Ombudsman of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, and Supervisor of Social Services Anne Wigley.
The Premier told the congregation that was led by Pastor Edward Phipps that “Lillian did not call the Premier of Nevis to St. Kitts. Lillian called Walcott Parry to St. Kitts. Lillian does not know who is Joseph Parry. Lillian knows who is Walcott Parry because we are from the same village on Nevis. She knows my great grandparents, my grandparents and my parents.”
He wished everyone a happy Emancipation Day and told them that it means so much for the people of Nevis who celebrate Emancipation Day with Culturama. During Culturama people of Nevis usually have a number of activities celebrating their traditions of culture, the way they behaved, the way they talked, and the way they were brought up.
Accompanying Premier Joseph Parry to St. Kitts was Rev Dr. Sydney Sadio a Methodist Minister in the USA, who is originally from Cotton Ground. Dr Sadio explained that he had come to the Federation to participate in 60th Anniversary celebrations of the Charlestown Secondary School and decided to remain behind to attend Hill’s centenary celebration.
Others included former cricketer, Livingston Lawrence a grandson of Lillian Hill who has played cricket in Zimbabwe, a retired Chief Health Inspector Oliver Lawrence originally from Cotton Ground and who was Premier Parry’s classmate, and Premier Parry’s Press Secretary Deli Caines Bussue.
