Prime Minister and Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Philip J. Pierre says the work of emancipation remains unfinished, arguing that true freedom must include economic opportunity, food security and prosperity for Caribbean people.
In his 2026 Emancipation Day message, Pierre said political freedom alone was not enough, stressing that Caribbean people deserved economies that created wealth, rewarded hard work and offered opportunities for future generations.
“Political freedom alone is not enough. Our people deserve economic freedom. They deserve opportunity. They deserve ownership. They deserve prosperity,” he said.
Pierre said the region must build economies where young people see opportunities at home, entrepreneurs can succeed, and farmers, fishers and manufacturers are valued.
He also linked food and energy security to what he described as the “unfinished journey of emancipation”, saying no nation could be truly secure if it could not feed itself or provide affordable, reliable and cleaner energy.
Reflecting on the legacy of slavery, Pierre said Emancipation Day was a reminder that freedom had been won through sacrifice rather than granted voluntarily.
“Freedom was never handed to our ancestors. Freedom was demanded. Freedom was fought for. Freedom was paid for with sacrifice, with courage and with an unbreakable faith,” he said.
Pierre noted that formerly enslaved people entered freedom “without land, without wealth, without compensation, without opportunity”, while those who benefited from their labour were rewarded.
He maintained that the pursuit of reparations was “not about blame, not about revenge”, but about truth and justice for the suffering caused by slavery.
Speaking as both Prime Minister of Saint Lucia and Chairman of CARICOM, Pierre called on Caribbean people to continue building a more just, united and prosperous region.
He urged citizens to honour the sacrifices of their ancestors by creating societies that offered greater opportunity for future generations.
The story is already in the oven . The actors are ready . The props are in order . The islands still breathe the breath of invasion. Here it comes : I DREAM OF AFRICA!
Coming to a screen near you !
First, we should not think that as a people, we have not achieved true emancipation, we have, the rest is up to us! Almost 200 years after slavery why should it still be said we have to achieve this emancipation and that emancipation, nonsense! Will our descendants be saying the same thing 200 years from now, in 2226, people get real!
Secondly, people talk about reparations, if we are serious about reparations, let us begin at home. There are still estates in Saint Lucia owned by the descendants of the original slave owners, these should be seen, or are, rather, crime scenes, rapes, enslavement, cruelty, took place on these estates! Why isn’t the government taking over these estates, especially those in Soufriere, still owned by the same original, white, French origin land owners? There is an estate in Barbados, almost 700 acres, still owned by an English family for more than 250 years where slavery was the norm. In Jamaica, most of the beaches are private, as, according to Walcott, those ‘plantations by the sea’ have just taken over! These are the things we have in our power to correct, in addition of course to demanding reparations, but we can show we are serious by beginning at home. And let us all stop crying and thinking that we still need to emancipate ourselves, from what? If anything, we need to free ourselves from the politicians who encourage a cycle of dependence, cronyism, handouts and subservience, all with the aim of keeping the people in subjection to them. This is what we have to free ourselves of!