Time for reflection - Leaders urge nation to keep hope alive

The usual pomp and pageantry were display at King's House yesterday as the nation's leaders gathered for the annual Independence Day ceremony.

With the picturesque West Lawns providing the perfect backdrop, Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Robert Pickersgill - representing Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller - used the occasion to kick-start the Independence celebrations.

Allen said the annual celebrations provide a chance for reflection, renewal and recommitment.

He described last year as "interesting", adding that there were many high and lows.

Despite this, the governor general said Jamaicans have the ability to change their nation and the world.

Golding, in his message, said the raising of the Jamaican flag in 1962 was symbolic of the hopes and expectations of a people.

He said the dream of independence is refreshed and renewed every time a Jamaican child is born.

"Building on that independence and the hopes that it generated is more than a dream; it is the task to which history has called us," Golding said.

Assess the past

In her message, read by Pickersgill, Simpson Miller said yesterday's celebrations provided a platform from which "we must truthfully assess the past, as we determine the approach we must take in our nation's journey".

"Independence is not to be seen as a single event. It is part of the unending task of building a nation that exemplifies tolerance, decency, respect and unity," Pickersgill said. It requires commitment, grit, energy and vigour."

Jamaica won its independence from Britain on August 6, 1962.