Harris hopes to see a woman honored as ‘national hero’
From the press unit in the Office of the Prime Minister
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – On Saturday, Sept. 16, citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis will pause to reflect and pay homage to the sterling contributions made by the nation’s five national heroes at the annual National Heroes Day Observance ceremony at the historic National Heroes Park.
That ceremony will honour the lives and sacrifices of the Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw; the Right Excellent Sir Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell; the Right Excellent Sir Joseph Nathaniel France; the Right Excellent Sir Simeon Daniel; and the federation’s only living national hero, the Right Excellent and the Right Honourable Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds.
However, St. Kitts and Nevis’ prime minister, the Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, believes the presence of a woman is missing from the list of national heroes.
“We have done well to find [people] who have given outstanding service and yet the list is not yet complete because all of them happen to be males,” he said during a tour of the National Heroes Park on Friday. “We must find, as we begin to look to the future, women – or at least one – [who] would have made outstanding contributions to our development, who at some point we could also bestow the honour of national hero.”
The prime minister further noted that it might be time to look even further back to the time of slavery for individuals who may be worthy of the honour of a national hero.
“When we look at what has happened elsewhere, some [people] have found former slaves and named them for their contributions as national heroes,” he said. “Again, we have to get our historians to do good work in service of the country and to determine whether there are any such deserving to be among the pantheon of national heroes.”
In commenting on the construction of a National Heroes Park, Harris said the establishment of a central location where citizens, residents and visitors alike can come to pay homage to the contributions of the nation’s five national heroes forms part of his government’s commitment to creating a more inclusive St. Kitts and Nevis.
