No let up in reparations campaign

A boost has been given to the long and bitter campaign by the aggrieved peoples of the Caribbean, North America and Africa in particular, to achieve justice in the form of reparations for the crimes of colonial policy and practice, genocide of indigenous peoples, the enslavement and inhuman trafficking of Africans and the rapacious exploitation of the countries and peoples of the western hemisphere especially.

Last December, the government of the Netherlands, one of the biggest slave-trading European states and still a colonial power in the Caribbean, formally apologized to Suriname for its role in these crimes.

Then last week came the announcement by the Church of England, the Anglican Church, that it is to establish a fund in an attempt to atone for its role in the enslavement of African people, the illegal trade in human flesh and for profiting from these crimes and others relating to colonial rule and plunder.

Both are very significant developments though response to them from the descendants of the victims has been varied. Some advocates of reparations have expressed scepticism and there have even been flat rejection, claiming that the overdue apologies and the establishment of “funds”, without expressly conceding to the reparations claim, should not be accepted.

It is simply “not enough” is the charge by these advocates.

On the other hand, the Caribbean Reparations Movement, a joint enterprise by Caribbean governments, while holding fast to its demand for a formal acceptance of the reparations claim, still attached some significance to the belated conciliatory actions. The Movement is under no illusion that the announcements by the Dutch government and the Church of England are by any stretch of the imagination, any panacea, but also points to them as forward movements, “a new stage in our reparations campaign”. This, in my view is a sensible way to look at the matter. Not a single European government, institution or benefiting family has formally owned up to the crimes of colonial plunder and slavery.

But it is not a one-stop solution, the matter is complex and if we are to achieve success it is not just our fortitude but our tactics as well, our strategic vision and above all our unity around the goals which will carry us through. We have to learn to apply sustained pressure on all fronts, it is not a sprint, rather a protracted marathon.

While we must be intransigent in our fundamental demands, flexibility in tactics and shrewd and intelligent leadership are necessary.

It is easy to get disillusioned, and this is precisely what the European governments and those who benefited from slavery are hoping will happen. Impatience on our side and incorrect tactics can lead to not just differences in approach but even to splits among us. If we are not careful we could find ourselves in a situation where some among us even consider former colleagues as perhaps worse than the perpetrators themselves.

We cannot allow this to happen. There will be, and must be differences in approaches, hardliners accusing others of betrayal and conservative and weak-hearted elements wiling to accept compromises far short of what should be our bottom line. What is of fundamental importance is for us to be able to identify our common bottom line, so we are clear what is acceptable.

All this indicates that there must be fundamental unity of purpose and agreement on our goals. It is for this reason that there needs to be much public education, discussion and debate on the issues. Those issues must seep right into the bones of our societies and even when we disagree, at least we must all become clear as to what reparations really entails.
It cannot be a top-down approach, nor can the matter be left up to a few academics, intellectuals and politicians. We have all been affected by colonial plunder, slavery and the effects of the plantation economy, many after effects of which still linger today.

The sceptics among us will seek to pooh-pooh the reparations claim, insisting that it will never succeed.

On the other hand there will be those eager to quantify the claim in monetary terms – “we want we grandfather backpay”.

But it is not just our grandfather back pay, our grandmothers, youth and children also paid heavy prices for slavery. Money alone cannot compensate.

Reparations must also aim at reordering our society to right the wrongs of slave and colonial society, the most grievous ones are those affecting our minds up until today.

We cannot afford to leave reparations up to grand occasions and pronouncements. Serious resources and efforts must be put in it, especially in the education of our young ones so we all understand the issues. Yes we have made a start, but the foundation is not firmly laid.

That must be our priority if we are to sustain our efforts.

Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.