TERRENCE HONORÉ
WHAT IS THE connection between retention of records and the progress of our nation? It's a key consideration given the important roles of history and archives in the development of every country. The question is whether adequate attention is being paid to preparation and preservation of archives in TT.
Archives involve recording and archiving information for future reference. They have value to any nation as they provide evidence of activities which occurred in the past, they tell stories, document incidents, and identify justifications for decisions and actions. They provide an important reference that is of cultural, historical or evidential importance to our present decisions. Our archives are like windows to the past that help us to make decisions in the present.
Dr Eric Williams in his life's work emphasised the importance of documenting the history of our nation. He supported the convening of the Historical Society of TT, an idea which seemed to have been forgotten along the way. His legacy in this regard has been disrespected and the importance of history and archives mostly discarded.
In a recent conversation with a close friend, he was dismissive about the need to keep records, or collect archival information, or protect elements of the past. In his view, like many nationals, it's a waste of time to go back in time…to collect old things when the new things are right before us.
His position reflects the degree of miseducation in our society that has schooled many of us to like only new things, foreign things and to discard the old, yet important things. The absence of this enlightenment in our school curriculum is detrimental to our existence. A nation that fails to preserve its past is a nation that has lost its way without knowing it.
We have followed a line of reasoning that has taken us away for the reality of the importance of knowing the past and teaching it to our children. The core issue is the gap in the curriculum that has left us with a lack of appreciation of our history. Along the way, we lost important connections to our natural heritage. Our nation has evolved with limited reference to our previous stages with all their considerations.
Again, we must remember the deep passion that our leaders like Williams had for our history. His concern created his legacy, as he sought independence from the shackles of colonialism. He spoke volumes about where we are as a people and the direction we should be taking as a nation.
Today what we face is not a new dilemma, it's an issue that has plagued us for many years. We have come this far, but we have left the past behind, and failed to preserve much of the legacies left by those who went before us, leaders who gave us a foundation on which to build our nation. We can't continue to pull down the pillars of our nation's historical architecture and condemn our past to the dust.
But the question is asked: What do we gain if we retain symbols and items from our past? It is simply that we must seek to preserve what we ha
