According to the popular view, emancipation from slavery in Jamaica took place on August 1, 1834, which was 179 years ago today. But there was an apprenticeship period for four years. So "full free" as it was called took place on August 1, 1838, which is 175 years ago today.
What we have in Jamaica is an "Emancipendence" celebration which covers both our emancipation on August 1 and our political independence on August 6. This is similar to the Jews whose Passover is about liberation form slavery and political independence. It seems that some people would like to bring back slavery. Today, the euphemism "human trafficking" is used, but it is nothing more than slavery, albeit in modern times. Many times when the list of missing persons is read on radio or TV some wonder if the missing persons have been enslaved.
This is a greater reason to celebrate the anniversary of our emancipation. Not only should we celebrate, but we should also be taking the steps necessary to protect our emancipation just as we should protect Jamaica's political independence.
Jamaica spent a lot of money last year for our 50th anniversary celebration of political independence. In these hard times we could not replicate that with an equally fantastic celebration of our 175th anniversary of 'full free'. But we should still be mindful of the gains made by our national heroes and others. Read more:
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