Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 12/Oct 09:52

PM celebrates Divali homecoming in Siparia

HUNDREDS gathered in Siparia for Divali celebrations hosted by the Siparia Women’s Association (SWA) on October 11. The celebration was held at the Siparia constituency office of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in Penal. Streets were blocked off and traffic was diverted for the event. In an address after a puja, Persad-Bissessar said they were celebrating two milestones – the 28th anniversary of the SWA, and her own 30 years as Member of Parliament for Siparia. She welcomed those present to Siparia, “the place that shaped my values, deepened my faith, and inspired a lifetime of service.” Among those present were members of the UNC government and the diplomatic corps. Siparia, she said, is more than a constituency it is a family bound by compassion, resilience and courage. The theme for the celebration was: “A Journey of Light – From Village Deyas to a Nation’s Flame.” The theme, she said, reminds us that the brightest lights are born in humble hands – the vendors, the farmers, the teachers, the mothers – and that from the smallest deya, an entire nation can be illuminated. Persad-Bissessar said the story of the first Divali continues to light our path today. The story of Lord Rama is recounted in the Ramayan. She said Like Ram and Sita, she too has known exile. Our nation endured years of greed and arrogance, of indifference to the poor, of institutions crumbling in silence. But we did not abandon faith. “For ten long years in opposition, I too walked that path of exile,” she said. “It was not retreat; it was purpose. Those years were our forest, hard, lonely, yet sacred. I went to war for you, not with anger, but with devotion; not for privilege, but for the people; not for power, but for principle. I fought in parliament and in the streets, in the silence of sleepless nights, believing always that our light would return. “Each time they said, ‘Give up,’ I heard your voices: the farmers, the teachers, vendors, mothers holding families together, whispering, ‘Keep fighting, Kamla. The light will return.’ “Like Ram, I fought not for a throne, but for truth. Like Sita, I endured not for comfort, but for love. And like them, I never turned away from my people. You were my Ayodhya in exile, the hearts I carried when the halls of power were closed. Your faith was the oil that kept my deya burning.“ Rama returned to Ayodhya after a 14-year exile and his victory over Ravana. His return was celebrated as the first Divali. The people of Ayodhya lit oil lamps (deyas) to welcome him,. Persad-Bissessar said the April 28 general election victory was TT’s Divali of return, “our homecoming of light.” “When April 28 came, six months ago, you raised your deyas high and called your leader home. That was not my victory; it was ours. Across the nation, I saw the same courage: teachers who taught without extra pay, nurses who stood through storms, officers who protected the innocent, mothers who prayed for safety. “You were our Hanumans, proof that love and loyalty had not died, that the people’s faith would prevail. Together, we built our bridge, stone by stone of trust, sacrifice, and belief. And like Ram’s bridge across the ocean, ours too was made of faith, proving that when a people stand united, even stones can float. She then pledged to go to war for the people of TT. “And tonight, under the glow of a thousand deyas, I give you this vow: “I have gone to war for this country, and I will always go to war for this country. Not with hate, but with the weapons of law, truth, courage, and conscience. “I will go to war against corruption that steals from our children. “I will go to war against crime that stalks our homes. “I will go to war against neglect that mocks our poor and abandons our youth. “Because leadership is not privilege; it is protection.” The Persad-Bissessar government will present its maiden budget on October 13. The post PM celebrates Divali homecoming in Siparia appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.