PM: We can overcome against all odds

Jamaicans are being urged to rise above the challenges and emulate the resilient attitude of leaders who fought for freedom of the country.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, in her Emancipation Day message, said that the country has come a far way and citizens should appreciate the sacrifices made by their ancestors.

"My fellow Jamaicans, it is a remarkable and startling thing to imagine that there were actually persons of our bloodline who were not seen as persons, who were categorised as brute beasts without human dignity; and yet, who in the face of such dehumanisation, clung stubbornly to the notion that freedom was their right," she said.

"If our ancestors could nurture that all-things-are-possible attitude under such heart-rending conditions, then what could there be that we - their heirs - cannot do today?" She continued.

NEVER GIVE UP

The prime minister also urged persons to not give in easily to the odds that they encounter on a daily basis but, instead, they should be persistent.

"What circumstances can exist today, what challenges can we face that could ever overwhelm us or cause us to lose hope?" Simpson Miller asked.

"They struggled valiantly against oppression when it seemed there was no hope. Everything was stacked against them, and it seemed utterly futile to grasp for anything better; but they did, against all odds, and so can we," the prime minister said.

She added: "Our ability to overcome against all odds, our determination and our never-say-die attitude is what defines us as a people. It is who we are, irrespective of our lineage, resilient, capable and determined."

In the meantime, the new civil society movement, Jamaica CAUSE (Churches Action Uniting Society for Emancipation) invites the nation to be more active in its role in sustaining functionally positive individuals and families throughout Jamaica.