KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC -Cupboard has accepted a submission for Might 20 to be commemorated yearly as a Nationwide Day of Remembrance for the 150 ladies who misplaced their lives in a fireplace on the Eventide Residence in St. Andrew, on Might 20, 1980.
The submission was made by Minister of Native Authorities and Neighborhood Growth Desmond Mckenzie.
In his 2025/26 Sectoral Debate presentation within the Home of Representatives on Wednesday, McKenzie famous that the incident, which occurred 45 years in the past, is the deadliest fireplace within the nation’s historical past.
Though a Nationwide Day of Mourning was declared shortly after the Eventide fireplace, and the stays of the victims had been interred in a grave at Nationwide Heroes’ Park, there has by no means been an official day to mark the incident.
“I took to Cupboard a submission, and the Cupboard has accepted that submission. And as soon as the consent is granted by His Excellency (the Governor-Basic)… yearly… on the twentieth of Might, we’ll commemorate the lives of those that perished on the Eventide Residence,” McKenzie outlined.
The Minister said that the Native Authorities Ministry will take the accountability of paying tribute to the hearth victims.
“I’m not going to attend till subsequent Might for it to occur. As soon as we’ve got declared it, we’ll take the required steps to start out the ball rolling. The nation ought to always remember what came about.”
McKenzie identified that the day of commemoration is not going to be a public vacation however quite a memorial observance.
“The identical manner we’ve got wreath-laying on days of birthdays, it is going to be an analogous occasion with the Ministry of Native Authorities, and we’ll coordinate with the Ministry of Tradition, Gender, Leisure and Sport,” he defined.
