#BTEditorial – United Caribbean call for slavery reparations

- by Barbados Today April 1, 2022

The call for Britain to pay reparations to Caribbean countries where they plied their slave trade seems to have gotten louder in recent weeks.

Leaders of The Bahamas, Belize, Jamaica, then Trinidad and Tobago, and our own Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, have all called for the Brits to pay up.

Sparked by a recent visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the Caribbean, Belizeans protested, Bahamians and Jamaicans lined the streets of their countries and demanded reparations.

The Bahamas National Reparations Committee, an independent panel created by the government to study the issuequestion, issued a statement that said, in part: “They and their family of Royals and their government must acknowledge that their diverse economy was built on the backs of our ancestors. They must pay.”

In Jamaica, Rastafarians and Christians alikeensemble voiced their disapprovaldésaccord of a visit from Prince William and his wife, Kate, with no promise of reparations.

The Rastafarian group said part of that reparation mandate should be the writing off of loans and financing for the construction of more schools and public hospitals in the island.

Lewis Brown, treasurertrésorier of the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolence Society told the Jamaica Gleaner: “ We sentnous avons envoyé a letter to Minister [of Culture Olivia] Grange, hoping that she will open up a way so that we can make a presentation to them as a reminderrappel of the country’s reparationindemnité claimsdemandes from slaveryesclavage . The Prince is coming here, and we would like to make a presentation in the form of a letter, reminding them of their responsibility of reparation as their family benefited from enslaving Africans in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.”l'esclavage des Africains dans la Jamaïque et dans les Caraïbes."

Along with reparationsAvec les indemnités reparations, Jamaican Anglican priestprêtre the Rev Sean Major-Campbell called for the Brits to tender an apology.

He said: “They displayed a lack of common decencyils ont manqué de décence élémentaire , emotional intelligence, and sensitivity for the pain and suffering endured by our reveredvénérés ancestors and the manumittedaffranchis who were never even compensated for the centuries of Great Britain’s prosperity at the expense of their lives and dehumanising experiences. The insult to our human dignity, self-worthamour-propre , and autonomy is so palpable that many no longer realise the ongoing effects of the sheer cruelty wrought upon us by the genocide and holocaust of the transatlantic slave tradetraite des esclaves.”

While addressingPendant qu'il s'adressait aux Jamaicans, the Duke of Cambridge expressedexprima “profound sorrow”"profond chagrin" for the “appalling atrocity of slavery”.

“Slavery was abhorrentodieux and it never should have happened. I strongly agreeprofondement d'accord with my father, the Prince of Wales, who said in Barbados last year that the appallingépouvantable atrocity of slavery forever stainstachera pour toujours our history,” Prince William said.

Days later in Trinidad, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley called a spade a spadea appelé un chat un chat . He said while Britain admittedont reconnu /ont admis wrongdoingméfait they must now paypayer .

“Recently, I was very pleasedheureux to hear Prince William say that he acknowledgedreconnaissait / admettait that slavery was wrong and that the British government, the British people have some responsibility in that piece of unforgettable history.

“I was pleased to hear a member of the royal householdmaison in the United Kingdom say that, but tonight I want to say to Prince William, having said that I believe you, but I believe you more if you do what you must now do which is to offer some reparation to the people who were wronged in the way that you have acknowledged. It is not sufficient to say that I acknowledge it but not to seekchercher to help those who are harmedblessés by it.”

This week, while on an official visit in Dubai, our Prime Minister added her voice to the Caribbean conversation. The PM, who has spoken on the issue before, again said that those who have benefitted greatly from the slave trade should provide compensationfournir un dédomagemmentslave trade

“It should not be, eithernon plus , an issue that is driven byconduit par anything other than absolute clarity that there is a development deficit today that is the result of that behaviourcomportement in the past, and that development deficit has to be met with legitimatelydoit être relevé légitimement – both in terms of reparatory justicejustice réparatrice , but as we are also now explaining, climate justice,” she said.

Mottley argued that the former colonisersanciens colonisateurs removed the wealthrichesse from countries such as Barbados and created the industrial revolution in developed nations which, in turn, contributed significantly to the world’s greenhouse gases.

“The issue [reparations] is very much alive still because people – and younger people in particular – feel strongly that whether it is the return of artefactsobjets anciens like the Benin Bronzes [to Nigeria], or whethersi it is in terms of reparations . . .  first [there should be] apologies but secondly also, recognising that the extraction of wealth from our colonies led toa mené à the industrial revolution in these developed countries today.”

prioravant to the Royal visit, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) revealeda révélé an official letter they sent to Europe asking them to pay up. It was not the first such letter sent.

We are pleased that the affected Caribbean countries are continuing to apply pressure to this situation. We applaud them for allowing their voices to be heard, especially at a time when the UK media was in the region following Prince William, the second in line to the British throne. We hope and pray, for the sake ofdans l'interêt de our generation and generations to come, that they do right by our people and allow them to enjoy some of the financial gains their forefathersancêtres toiledlabeur to provide for the white slave masters.

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