Chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission, Dorbrene O’marde has re-iterated calls for Emancipation Day to be declared a Public Holiday.
O’marde said this is to highlight the significance of the occasion as being one of the most important days to Antigua and Barbuda – equal to its Independence Day.
“It is one of the most important days on our calendar. Emancipation Day is the day on which we fought our way out of enslavement, out of bondage. Our request to our parliamentary makers is that more attention be given to the importance of emancipation in our lives”, he explained.
He told Observer that the commission has put forward its desires to government and will continue to do so.
In making a case for the recognition of Emancipation Day, he remarked, “One wonders if we really need carnival Tuesday as a holiday as opposed to an Emancipation Day holiday”.
Omarde wants the establishment of an official committee, which would include various unions and employees, carnival mask makers, historians and youth, to examine the day’s significance in detail.
The commission has been spearheading a weeklong week of activities to mark the todays’ observation.
Among the activities was an African Dress Day last week which O-marde says was supported by local vendors at the market and others in the public and private sector.
The highlight of the week was the Watch Night programme which was held virtually on Saturday night.