IN A MAJOR SHOW of unity, Barbadians yesterday set aside whatever concerns they may have about the national Budget and predictions of tough times ahead as they marked the 44th anniversary of political Independence.
They turned out in hundreds at the Garrison Savannah to cheer and wave national flags during the traditional Independence Day Parade of military and civilian groups.
Later, hundreds more lined sections of Bay Street, St Michael, to watch the parade wind its way from the Garrison to Independence Square.
Some were dressed formally, but many wore T-shirts in the blue and gold colours of the Barbados flag.
The 80-minute-long Garrison parade was witnessed by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, members of his Cabinet, other parliamentarians, foreign diplomats and more than 1 500 other people.
More than 700 members of uniformed groups, including the Girl Guides, Seventh Day Adventist Pathfinders, the Landship, the Barbados Defence Force, the Barbados Prison Service and the Barbados Coast Guard, took part in the Independence Day show.
Slow and quick marches were the order of the day. The mounted troop of the Royal Barbados Police Force drew a lot of applause with its performances, but started on a bad note with a rider falling.
The Barbados Landship had a small unit on parade, just 12 members, but, like the Barbados Legion contingent, which numbered about 33, drew a lot of cheers from the crowd.
Highlights of the show included a 21-gun salute to the nation; reciting of the National Pledge by young lance corporals Ajani Taitt and Krystal Yearwood; and Governor General Sir Clifford Husband’s taking of the salute.
Sir Clifford, accompanied by the Prime Minister, acting Commissioner of Police Bertie Hinds and BDF chief-of-staff Colonel Alvin Quintyne, also inspected the parade.
Prime Minister Stuart later took the salute at Government Headquarters on Bay Street.
The Independence Day Parade took place against the backdrop of a national Budget that increased bus fare, the Value Added Tax and the excise duty on gasolene, and offered concessions to the business sector.
It also followed a call from Stuart for Barbadians to consider rearranging their priorities and taking a long, hard look at preferences and tastes in view of the tough economic times.(TY)
