00:00Different journeys, different histories, different cultures, but one Caribbean
00:07space in which we have had to learn to live together. We are the rhythm of the
00:13steel pan and the tasser, of the tambourine and the fiddle. We are pilaw and
00:18doubles and we are blue food and crab and dumpling. We are carnival and heritage.
00:24We are Trinidad, we are Tobago, and together we are Trinidad and Tobago.
00:31Indeed, our republic is strongest when every community, every island, every citizen has
00:40the space to flourish while retaining the identity that makes them who they are.
00:47THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine speaking at the Tobago House of Assembly
00:51Toast to the Nation 2026. Augustine is also of the opinion that the two islands being
00:57united should not mean a loss of identity, and being Tobago-Nian to the bone doesn't
01:03mean less commitment to Trinidad.
01:05But that union should not require either island to lose its identity. So no, we all cannot simply
01:16be referred to as Trinidad and Tobago. Some of us are proudly Tobago-Nian.
01:24And that does not make us any less committed to Trinidad and Tobago. Tobago is here in our history,
01:33in our culture, in our contributions to this republic, and in our continuing commitment to the nation we share.
01:41Augustine also took the time during his speech to rally for Tobago's autonomy and re-emphasize
01:47that greater autonomy for Tobago means an even stronger Trinidad and Tobago.
01:52For Tobago, therefore, our continuing pursuit of greater autonomy is not a rejection of Trinidad and Tobago.
02:01It is born out of the confidence that an autonomous Tobago will result in a stronger Trinidad and Tobago.
02:11It is the belief that empowering one part of the republic does not weaken the whole. It strengthens it.
02:20It is the belief that Tobago, having greater responsibility for Tobago, does not mean walking away from Trinidad.
02:30It means bringing a stronger, more confident, and more productive Tobago to the national partnership.
02:38Dominic Ramroop, TV6 News.
02:41.
