For the rule of law and cricket, Trinidad thanks you, Britain!
Words cannot express how grateful I am as a young person when I look around the various institutional frameworks in my own nation that have been developed according to the principles of our once colonial leaders. The extent of our gratitude can be measured when we look at the successes of our Caribbean states and realise that they have been the result of following and using the processes brought to us by the British. our democratic systems might not be perfect, but we’ve established the true ‘will of the people’ thanks to the Westminster system instilled in our national identity. When we look at the success of public service, our protective services and judiciary, they all work to patterns the British passed on to us, having fought so hard to achieve for themselves. often when a Caribbean state runs into problems, it’s due to us straying away from the system that has defined, sustained and developed our Commonwealth chain of nations. sometimes, some Caribbeans go off at a tangent and want revenge on our former colonial leaders. But the benefits we enjoy in the Caribbean today are as a result of the support and love of those colonial leaders. Many Caribbeans make a big argument about the effects of slavery, which I don’t contest. But we shouldn’t forget that the abolition movement, too, was assisted by William Wilberforce and the Clapham sect. As a young Caribbean, I’m grateful for the values we’ve learned from the British, which define our society. our greatest pastime and sport in the West Indies, cricket, came from England. Britain has positively shaped the world we live in, and a world without British values wouldn’t be so well. As the United Kingdom becomes involved in a debate over its postBrexit future, I advise every British and UK citizen to remember that Britain has led international development and built the world we live in. she has faced greater challenges, as she did when she protected the world in World War II. she will overcome these challenges and prevail. so I say thank you, Britain, you built a world for us.
NICHOLAS MORRIS, Youth Prime Minister, Trinidad.