Caribbean nations are to demand from their former metropolises economic and moral reparations for slavery, the genocide of their peoples, and the colonial practices to which they were subjected

The Caribbean has not forgotten

By Roberto Castellanos

IN their fight for the vindication of their peoples and the search for justice, the Caribbean nations are to demand from their former metropolises economic and moral reparations for slavery, the genocide of their peoples, and the colonial practices to which they were subjected.

The cornerstone of this demand was affirmed during the 34th Summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which took place in July in Trinidad & Tobago, and which gave the green light to the formation of a regional reparations group, to be supervised by prime ministers and presidents of the region.

The new institution will be responsible for coordinating the national commissions of each state.

The next step is a meeting in St. Vincent & the Grenadines in the first week of September, at which various leaders will have discussions with lawyers and historians to draw up a common strategy. The legacy of slavery includes endemic poverty and the lack of development which characterizes a large part of the region. Any agreement must contemplate a formal apology, but remorse by itself is not sufficient, stated President Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

For this reason, CARICOM has retained the UK law firm Leigh Day & Co, which recently won a claim forcing London to compensate hundreds of Kenyans tortured during their liberation struggle, in the so-called Mau Mau rebellion (1952-1960), with more than $20 million. "Our first step will be to seek a negotiated agreement with the governments of France, Britain and the Netherlands in an attempt to resolve the issue amicably," stated lawyer Martyn Day.

However, David Fitton, British High Commissioner to Jamaica, made clear his government’s position by denying that this ruling set any precedent.

"We don't think the issue of reparations is the right way to address these issues," he said. "It's not the right way to address an historical problem."

Although there is no official data, it is estimated that 12 million Africans were taken by force from their continent and transported to the Western Hemisphere to work as slaves. Moreover, a significant number of them never reached their destination as they died in the crossing due to abysmal hygienic conditions, poor food and crowded into the ships’ holds.

While the Caribbean nations have not as yet presented a concrete monetary amount as compensation, regional media have referred to the compensation granted by the British to owners of Caribbean plantations after the emancipation of slaves in 1834.

Then, London paid colonialists approximately 20 million GBP, currently worth $200 billion.

According to Armand Zunder, president of the Suriname National Reparations Committee, during its occupation of this Caribbean nation, the Netherlands alone obtained a sum amounting to 125 billion euros at the current rate.

Nor is there consensus as to the destination of any sums contributed, but Gonsalves called for the creation of a compensation fund for the economic and social development of the region. (Orbe)

 

August 29, 2013

 

Granma.cu

 

Bahamas Blog International

...reparations for Caribbean slavery and native genocide

Payback for slavery's terror

By Omar Ryan, Guest columnist:



Over the past few weeks, the matter of reparations for Caribbean slavery and native genocide has become very topical, and rightly so, because of the developments in CARICOM and the active media discussions carried out by ourown National Commission on Reparations (NCR).

Despite the NCR's efforts to educate our people about these historical injustices, the sufferings of their ancestors and the contemporary implications of past atrocities, the ignorance, self-denial, even self-hate are still apparent among our people trapped in colonial-style education and historical amnesia.

I was appalled by the view expressed in your Letter of the Day of August 9, 2013 titled 'Stop flogging reparations', in which the writer said advocates for reparations are wasting their time, and even quoted the Bible justifying slavery.

I want us not to forget that the enslavers and colonialists were armed with the Bible while they took away Africans and brought them to the Americas to be treated less than humans. I believe that the voices of the naysayers, the non-interest and apathy with regard to the issue of reparations are mental attitudes resulting from our people not being fully aware of what justice means.

There appears to be a willed ignorance that a great injustice was carried out against their own people.
The fact was that Africans were forcibly taken away from their continent, exploited and enslaved for almost four hundred years, and upon the ending of bondage, the enslavers were paid twenty million pounds for loss of 'property' (enslaved Africans), not land. Hitherto, no compensation has been paid to the victims.

Against slavery

It must be noted that Africans, from the outset, were against the forcible taking away of their people from the continent. One African, King Nzinga Mbemba, wrote to the king of Portugal in a letter dated October 18, 1526 outlining the ramifications of the kidnapping of Africans and his opposition to it.
However, the opposition of the Africans was no match for the military and naval power of the mighty Europeans.

Well over 100 claims for compensation were filed by members of the Church. One such example was the Rev Charles William Davy, who filed six claims for 661 enslaved Africans on properties in Trelawny and who received £12,641 in compensation).

Among the recipients were educators like the Rev Thomas Pierce Williams, principal of Wolmer's, 1813-14, who received £7,054 for 356 enslaved in the parish of Manchester.

They and others amassed wealth that set the catalyst for the economic prosperity we now see countries of especially Western Europe reaping.

It must be known that one Hermann J. Abs, a German Jew, helped to finance the Auschwitz concentration camp where thousands of Jews met their demise. As a Jew, he played a role in the terrible crime against fellow Jews, and it never stopped the Jews from getting reparations from the German State. And it was the offspring of the victims that were compensated, not the victims themselves.

So it must be understood that a crime was committed against Africans and native peoples of the Americas (Caribbean), and no compensation was paid.

Within a world where we hope to move forward as peaceful beings, reparations must be paid to the descendants of the victims who are living with the scars and ills transmitted through generations from slavery.

The NCR urges people to rid themselves of that mental slavery that continues to trap them in a cycle of ignorance, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Such attitudes as displayed in The Gleaner's Letter of the Day and the responses to it remind us that "Aluta continua!"

Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and omaryan@live.com.

August 12, 2013

Jamaica Gleaner

Bahamas Blog International