THA CHIEF SECRETARY Farley Augustine has renewed his appeal for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East.
He was addressing worshippers at Eid ul Fitr celebrations at the Masjid al Tawbah mosque, Hampden Road, Lowlands, Tobago, on March 31.
The conflict, known as the Gaza war, has been fought between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups since October 2023.
Augustine lamented that after more than a year, the war was ongoing.
“We are here yet another year and last year, while we were here, we were just beginning to look at the conflict that is happening in Gaza,” he told devotees.
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Augustine said during the year, he had the “fortunate privilege” of discussing the issue with Israeli Ambassador Itar Bardov.
“I can tell you I was quite honest in my conversation with him in telling him how I feel and how this country feels about what’s happening in that region.
“Because given our experience as a country, we cannot support anything but peace in all regions in the world. And so we continue to stand resolute with our brothers and sisters in Gaza in saying that there must be peace in the region and an end to the conflict that is happening there at present.”
Zeroing in on the observance, Augustine said Trinidad and Tobago is an excellent example of religious tolerance.
He said he visited the mosque twice during the holy month of Ramadan.
“What struck me as quite instructive is that on one occasion I sat with the Imam and I was there discussing the Bible and he was there discussing the Qur'an and we were comparing beliefs, comparing teachings and it was happening all peacefully, without anger and with respect to each other’s belief.
“That, to me, is one of the great things as a country we can offer the rest of the world.
“We may have flaws as a country and we do struggle with an inordinately high crime rate, especially when it comes to violent crimes.
“But as a contrast to that, the way our faiths can faithfully coexist with each other, is certainly something we can export to the rest of the world.”
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Augustine congratulated Muslims and other faiths for maintaining camaraderie despite their differences and, “ensuring that we join forces, whether it’s over a match of cricket or whether it’s via the faith-based council so that we can join forces and demonstrate what essentially Tobago stands for and that is peace.”
He also lauded Muslims for their discipline and sacrifice.
“The discipline that you have and exhibited this month is something that we would like to see every single month so we could permeate the rest of the society and ensure that we have peace throughout.”
Augustine believes the Muslim community in Tobago is growing.
“Every time I come here I remark that I keep seeing new faces. I keep seeing younger people involved. I keep seeing menfolk involved and a strong sense of brotherhood and we want to congratulate you on that, congratulate you on the fact that you continue to make provision for our young people and make provision for our community at large.”
Kameel Ali, president of the Tobago Muslim community, acknowledged the various religious leaders who delivered greetings at the event.
He told the gathering they must not take religious unity for granted.
“While we are standing here, sitting here together, so many people of different cultures, different backgrounds, different ethnicity, different races and different religions, we sit here united as one. “And this is something that we should never take for granted because while we are here there are people around this world cannot enjoy what we are enjoying right here and a lot of the time we overlook these things.”
Head of the TTPS's Tobago Division, ACP Oswain Subero, praised the work that the Muslim community has been doing with young men on the island.
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“To the Police Service, the Muslim community is a valued one. In my short stay here, I have seen what the community has been doing, especially for young men,” he said.
“In TT, we have an issue with young men and we appreciate every single group that takes time out to address the issues with young men and to actually face it as a reality. So I want to say thank you for that.”
Subero, who admitted he rarely speaks in public, observed that during the period of Ramadan “there was this sense of peace over the space.
“So we want to make every month a month of Ramadan in Tobago, that we dedicate our prayers to the nation of Tobago and peace.
“To me, growing up as a child, Muslim meant peace and I expect peace from the Muslim people and learnt from that.”
Minority Leader Kelvon Morris; Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Burris; former PNM senator Laurence Hislop and Innovative Democratic Alliance political leader Dr Denise Tsoiafatt Angus also spoke.
