In a stirring address at a packed Frank Collymore Hall, Dame Graça Machel, former First Lady of Mozambique and South Africa, called on Barbados to assert itself as a global leader and champion the African philosophy of Ubuntu.
Speaking at an event commemorating the UN International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, Dame Graça urged Barbados to develop a strong sense of self-awareness and take responsibility on the world stage.
“Barbados, like many other Black nations, must develop a strong sense of self-awareness and assertiveness,” she told the audience gathered for the event titled, Dame Graça Machel in Her Own Words: Reflections on the Road to Freedom. “We are not born to be treated as small people who do not have brains, who do not have dignity. No, we have to really have clarity on how we are going to affirm ourselves.”
The humanitarian emphasised that true freedom extends beyond political independence to understanding and asserting one’s value. “This is the biggest issue which Black people have. We cannot continue to normalise the abnormal,” she stressed. “This is not it; it doesn’t define us. So we need to redefine ourselves.”
Dame Graça is a prominent figure in global humanitarian efforts with a lifetime of work dedicated to education, women’s and children’s rights, and social justice. Born in Mozambique, she became the country’s first minister of education and culture after independence, where she led significant efforts to increase literacy and educational access. She is also the only woman to have served as First Lady of two different countries – Mozambique, through her marriage to President Samora Machel, and South Africa, as the wife of Nelson Mandela.
Her leadership has been acknowledged globally, earning her numerous accolades, including the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley presents Dame Graça Machel with a Neville Legall painting that features the ingenuity of the African enslaved persons of Barbados.
It is this vast experience that she drew upon as she recognised that Barbados has made positive strides towards social development and strengthening freedoms. At the same time, she encouraged Barbadians to continue the journey to development, both for the island’s sake and that of the wider developing world.
“You are a kind of example of what many of us have to come to,” the African stateswoman said. “But then you have the responsibility of recognising that social transformation and the strengthening of different freedoms, including the freedom to be recognised as equal, are crucial.
“You have reached a certain level; keep it up. Be innovative. Do it because you are not only doing it for yourself, you are doing it for all the other countries.”
The former First Lady also introduced the concept of Ubuntu, an African philosophy meaning “I am because you are”, as a gift to those who have lost their sense of interconnectedness. In this context, she referenced Barbados’s leadership in the fight against climate change, particularly Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s handling of the issue. This, Dame Graça said, embodied the philosophy of Ubuntu.
“All of us as a human family, we have to face the climate crisis together and as a win-win for all of us,” she emphasised. “Mia has done a great job on that. She explained in those halls of power the issue of the climate crisis and how the climate crisis should be tackled together.” (RG)
