The Caribbean countries of Trinidad and Tobago held their first ever Pride Parade.
According to LoopTT, the parade was a high point in a month’s worth of events held by the Trinidad and Tobago Pride Arts Festival. More than a hundred people, decked out in a rainbow of colors, walked down Tragarete Road in Port of Spain and walked all the way to Rust Street, St, St Clair.
“The visibility we share here, today, is going to shine a light on the issues that LGBTI people face, that so many people want to stifle and keep us in the closet and don’t want to deal with to find the kind of solutions we are looking for,” Kennedy Maharaj, chief administrative officer of the Silver Lining Foundation, a Trinidadian advocacy group, told Newsday.
“We have finally reached a point in our country where we can have an open LGBT pride event that speaks to how far we have come as a country, as a society and more so, as a people,” Maharaj added. “That is what we value as success here, the fact that we can be out an open and have this kind of event, that is what we are banking on.”
In addition, Committee Leader Rudy Hanamji spoke to LoopTT about the event:
“It’s a moment of sheer joy and appreciation for all the people who came together to make this possible. I feel inspired and happy, and proud that we were able to defy the odds and make this a reality.”
“I’m happy as well to know that young people and not-so-young people are feeling equally inspired by this an that they’re feeling better about being a member of the LGBTQIA community. We have achieved our objectives and we move forward in strength, onto next year,” he said.
Back in April, a high court within the Caribbean islands ruled that the buggery law (criminalizing anal sex and essentially homosexuality) was unconstitutional. Many LGBTQ citizens, on the islands or outside of them, celebrated. This parade is now the most recent celebration.
