- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 08/Aug 20:10

Columbus statue in care of National Trust

THE Christopher Columbus statue was removed from the corner of Duncan Street and Independence Square on August 6, following an announcement by Port of Spain mayor Chinua Alleyne on August 1. Its removal caused a sleepless but celebratory night for Cross Rhodes Freedom Project director Shabaka Kambon. He was present at the site when Grand Chief of the First Natives Sovereign Nation Eric Lewis performed a smoke cleansing ceremony after the statue’s removal. That group also celebrated the removal on August 7. The Port of Spain City Corporation said in a social media post on August 7 that following extensive discussions and technical assessment, the corporation successfully removed the Columbus statue last night from Independence Square. “The exercise commenced at approximately 10 pm on August 6 to minimise traffic disruption in the capital city,” it said. It added that the exercise was planned following an on-site technical assessment and further consultation on August 5. “It was determined that the statue should be removed first, followed by the remaining parts of the monument. The discussions included representatives from several key stakeholder organisations including the Santa Rosa First People's Community, the Warao First People, the Caribbean Freedom Project, the National Trust and the Emancipation Support Committee TT.” It was removed under “the careful guidance” of Heritage architect Rudylynn DeFour-Roberts and was now in the National Trust’s care, the statement said. “As announced by mayor Alleyne on August 1 the statue will be made available to the National Museum and Art Gallery. “This exercise represents phase one of the monument's removal. Further technical assessments will be conducted to determine the best way to safely remove the remaining parts of the monument.” Lewis said they were not at the site to forget the ills against their ancestors but to reconcile and heal those ills by removal of things like the Columbus statue from the environment. He added that Columbus’ story was important because it was a reminder of how easily people could be deceived. He suggested that a statue of indigenous chief Baucunar replace Columbus'. Lewis said the group was pleased at how quickly the statue was removed and had planned to remove it before August 9 if it was not done. “They hit the deadline before us because on August 9, we will be having our smoke ceremony at the Parliament and there is also going to be a nice smoke, cleaning and ancestral ceremony. “With the removal of this, today is a day we can rejoice and be very happy that many groups and people have been fighting with and for us,” he said. He said the late calypsonian and Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) Lutalo “Brother Resistance” Masimba was one of those who fought for this. [caption id="attachment_1171138" align="alignnone" width="1024"] In this August 1 photo, the head of the Christopher Columbus statue in Port of Spain is covered with a handbag. Parts of the statue were smeared with red paint and the hands were removed. It was removed from the square on August 6. - File photo by Jeff K. Mayers[/caption] Kambon said this was fantastic and the group was up all night celebrating. He said the group was still looking forward to seeing the many possibilities that could come out of this historic change. He added that he hoped this would inspire other Caribbean countries particularly the Bahamas. The Cross Rhodes Freedom Project has called on Bahamian authorities to fully pardon Shervandaze “Michael the Archangel” Smith who was convicted of causing damage after taking a sledgehammer to Columbus’ statue at the government house. The group has promised to take legal action if the Bahamian government does not accede to its request.   The post Columbus statue in care of National Trust appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.