The Reparations Issue

Beckles in his presentation placed it in a framework of the issue of globalisation on one hand and created on the other a sketch of the historical structures that facilitated what were undoubtedly crimes against humanity. He argues that it was all about the economic development of the North Atlantic system and its dominance and cultural hegemony. He identifies the following as the structures that facilitated that goal; military colonisation, genocide, destruction of native cultures, appropriation of land, the enslavement of peoples and the exploitation of contract labour.

Globalisation, he defines, as the flattening of the earth to provide access for corporations. While military colonisation and slavery are no longer really part of our reality, the movers of the North Atlantic system had prepared themselves for this.

Beckles argues too, that it was in the Caribbean that they perfected the structures that led to their dominance and the techniques that facilitated crimes against humanity. He emphasises the point that International Law makes it clear that you cannot hide behind national laws, so the fact that the laws recognised chattel slavery is of no consequence now. Examples are provided of the efforts and success by the Jews, the Japanese, South Koreans and the Maoris of New Zealand. On the other hand we need to recognise that the new Haitian nation had been forced to pay enormous sums of money to France that strangled that country from day one. The indigenous peoples and African peoples have been left out of all of this.

We have to ask why? The answer is one of our powerlessness as a people.

Beckless had made the point that black people are the most disorganised politically. How then can we move forward in a situation where the North Atlantic powers are even reluctant to discuss this issue? But issues of social justice, equality, equity and reconciliation within the human family remain outstanding and will always be a barrier to how we move on and relate to those who colonised and enslaved us.

Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian.