Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley issued the following statement to mark the end of Ramadan.
One month ago, in my message to mark the start of Ramadan, I urged Barbadians generally and Muslims in particular, to use the season to remember your duty of “generosity, charity and kinship” in your daily interactions with your fellowman – not just those with whom you have close links.
Today, as you move from reflection to celebration of the holiday of Eid ul-Fitr, I remind you again that your faith charges you with the responsibility of breaking down the barriers between the affluent and the poor as well as between the believer and the sinner.
We cannot realistically expect results when we hope for, or even pray for, a better world, if as individuals we are not prepared to do our part to create that world. We do not have to look very far, either in distance or time, to recognise that so many of the problem our world faces today are rooted in the inequity and inequality that surrounds us.
Across the globe we produce enough food to feed ourselves, yet so many go to sleep hungry. In the developed world critical drugs exist to ease man’s pain, yet so many suffer and die needlessly. Each year, while some nations spend billions on armaments and in the propagation of wars, others plead and beg with little to no success for just enough to meet the basics of life for their people.
There can be no denying that humanity has a long way to go in breaking down those barriers that stand in the way of fairness and equity, love and kindness, generosity and goodwill – the factors that are key to making this a better world.
I trust, therefore, that the message of Eid ul-Fitr will reverberate wherever Muslims gather – and wherever men and woman of kind heart and good intent have an opportunity to make a difference. This, my brothers and sisters, is the essence of what we mean when we speak of active citizens, as our Charter of Barbados urges us all to be.
May your celebrations be joyous and the months ahead blessed! Happy Eid!