TOBAGO House of Assembly (THA) Minority Leader Kelvon Morris believes the island is in need of prayer and calls on Tobagonians to rekindle the "Tobago-ness" within society.
Speaking at Monday’s Office of the Minority Leader call to prayer and thanksgiving service at the Scarborough Esplanade, Morris said the island had shifted a long way from God.
He claimed there had been significant erosions from the moral and spiritual fabric of Tobago and the country by extension.
He said the derogatory and the defamatory comments spewed between people on social media, the heinous crimes committed against women and children, the increasing incidents of bullying and violence in schools as well as the various allegations of corruption were evidences of the country's moral deterioration.
These, he said paints a very troubling picture that there is much work to be done.
“When we look at what is taking place in the country and on the island today, crime and criminality seems to be running rampage across our island. And the plague of death – unrelenting – (is) inflicting pain and trauma without limits and devoid of a human heart and conscience.”
He said, throughout his walks across Tobago, he recognised that people were becoming increasingly wary of Government’s ability to attend to their needs and fix their problems. He said those feelings gave rise to a growing sense of hopelessness and frustration.
He said people were called to be humble enough to seek God's guidance in all that is done while, at the same time, remaining obedient enough to listen to His command and His directions.
“Often times, when God exalts us into positions of leadership, we tend to do the opposite because, for some reason, we tend to get caught. We tend to believe that whatever success – whatever achievement – it is of our very own and we forget the man in whom this was made possible.
"We forget what we were supposed to do in that very moment, and we forget why we were chosen. But in that very moment as well, there are numerous examples to show that the same way God promotes, he can also demote.”
With that, he called on Tobagonians to rekindle the "Tobago-ness" within the society.
“The time has come for us to really work with the village to take back the child. We must, at this time, ensure that this Tobago-ness that I speak of, is that innate and deep sense of pride and sense of place founded in our faith in God, and reinforced through our moral and spiritual values of humility, respect, honesty, kindness and care, dignity and hard work.”
He said, additionally, some work must be done with the young people.
“We must rewire, re-inspire and reinforce in our youths, a life beyond an early morning job and empower our disadvantaged mothers and at-risk fathers (to have) a life better than social welfare.
"Today, I am challenging each one of us: let us make Tobago our pride of place where accountability and transparency, both at the individual and collective l
