September 19 a National Holiday to Commemorate Hurricane Maria

Barbara 17th September, 2019

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President Charles Savarin declared September 19 a national holiday to commemorate Hurricane Maria. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit also declared the day a half-work day, saying his office will close work by 12 noon as “we shall take a break from the political hustlings.” The holiday is to celebrate the resilience of Dominicans and the infrastructural recovery the country has witnessed following the devastation in 2017.

The government said the celebrations will be held at Windsor Park Sports Stadium and there shall be a worship concert tagged “And Can It Be”. The concert will feature notable musicians such as –

Rev. Shirley Caesar
Kirk Carr
Ophelia Marie
Michele Henderson
Colton T.
Edwin Yearwood
Sarah Ikumu

There will also be cultural performances by dance groups and a mass choir rendition.

“I invite each and every Dominican to come to the Windsor Park Stadium on Thursday to embrace the best of what Dominica has to offer in an area of rhyme, verse and song,” PM Skerrit said.

Apart from declaring September 19 as a public holiday, Skerrit also said his administration wants a national holiday to honour Kalinago heroes past and the contribution of the entire territory to national development. He said he relies on Kalinago historians and scholars to come to an agreement about the date to choose for the holiday, saying either July 4 or September 19 is suitable to him.

“I know there has been a debate in the Kalinago Territory among historians and scholars as to which day we should use to recognise the contributions of the Kalinago people,” he says. “July 4^th is the founding of the Territory and then Sept 19^th 1930 was the date of the Carib Uprising when the Kalinago people defended the patrimony of this country and the integrity of the Kalinago people. There has been a debate in the Territory among historians and scholars as to which day we should choose.”

According to the prime minister, the chosen date will be observed as a national holiday for the Kalinago peoples starting next year 2020.