Op­po­si­tion Leader Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar wants the pop­u­la­tion to spend Christ­mas pray­ing for those af­fect­ed by crime, vi­o­lence, pover­ty and abuse in T&T. She en­cour­aged every­one to take mean­ing­ful ac­tions to im­prove the lives of those in need.

In her Christ­mas mes­sage, Per­sad-Bisses­sar re­flect­ed on the sea­son’s sig­nif­i­cance, which she said is root­ed in the promise of re­demp­tion and sal­va­tion through Je­sus Christ.

Quot­ing Isa­iah Chap­ter 9, verse 6, she re­mind­ed cit­i­zens of the Mes­si­ah’s role as a source of love, jus­tice and com­pas­sion.

She en­cour­aged the pop­u­la­tion to fol­low the ex­am­ple of Christ and the hope sym­bol­ised by the Wise Men and shep­herds, who pur­sued the light of good­ness and promise. She em­pha­sised that faith and col­lec­tive ef­fort are nec­es­sary to build a pro­gres­sive and eq­ui­table na­tion.

Per­sad-Bisses­sar al­so ad­vised cit­i­zens to pri­ori­tise safe­ty dur­ing the fes­tiv­i­ties, in­clud­ing re­spon­si­ble road use and care­ful su­per­vi­sion of chil­dren. She re­mind­ed par­ents of their re­spon­si­bil­i­ty to pro­vide un­wa­ver­ing love and guid­ance to their chil­dren, whom she de­scribed as bless­ings.

On be­half of the Unit­ed Na­tion­al Con­gress, her fam­i­ly, and her­self, Per­sad-Bisses­sar wished the na­tion a peace­ful, safe, and joy­ful Christ­mas and ex­pressed hope for a year filled with bless­ings and hap­pi­ness.