REPARATIONS FOR SLAVERY Krystoff Kissoon

The ideology of reparations for the descendants of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and African slavery at large has been heavily debated since the beginning of the 21st century. While many believe that reparations are illogical as well as economically unfeasible in a globalised society that has completely transformed since the era of slavery, many activists have made proposals concerning the case for reparations. The first aspect to be considered is the reasons behind the demand for reparations in the first place. While most arguments put forward by supporters are backboned by the barbarism, inhumanity and monstrosity of the Transatlantic Trade in enslaved Africans, the contributions of these people and their labour, regardless of being forced, has set down the foundation deep in our history for the current economic prosperity of Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas. Through the success of the Caribbean sugar industry which was revolutionised in the 1650s and facilitated the expansion and large scale importation of African slave labour, a great amount of wealth was generated for its European and American investors which played a crucial role in the high standard of living achieved by the now developed countries. The US Department of Commerce has determined that in modern US dollars calculated for inflation and interest, slavery generated trillions of dollars for the US economy. Furthermore, the prosperity of this industry and of others such as cocoa and tobacco in the Caribbean as well as cotton in the Americas has solely been the result of the economic success of enslaved African labour. This in turn allowed for a development of these regions which continued to take place even after the Abolition of the Slave Trade, as the newly freed Africans prolonged the lives of these industries, especially the dying King Sugar, as well as simultaneously diversifying the mono-agricultural economy. For such contributions, descendants of these African slave labourers should be compensated for the long hours of hard but successful toiling in the fields. However, the darker side of reason must not be ignored as this makes the strongest plea for recompense. As earlier stated, this system of enslavement was a monstrous crime against humanity and an exercise in genocide unmatched in the history of the western world as well as a legacy of barbarism and continuing injustice (whose) wounds of this era are deep, crimes against humanity are clear, and the necessity for apology and reparations are undeniable as stated by Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the 61st session of the United Nations. These statements encapsulate the sadistic nature of African enslavement and the dire need for recompense. The mortality of enslaved Africans was prevalent in the three stages of the trade, from the interior of West Africa to the horrendously notorious Middle Passage voyage to the plantations in the Caribbean and ranges between 1 and 2 million. Such a high mortality rate was achieved through the unrelenting periods of overwork, unnecessarily harsh and cruel punishments and the deplorable living and working conditions that festered the spread of fatal diseases such as Dysentery and Tuberculosis. Accordingly, there was a severe impact on West Africa as its human and mineral resources were plundered by its European oppressors, resulting in the decline of its economy as well as the deterioration of family life, social values and cultural norms as

the economically active population was massively kidnapped and killed. In the Caribbean and the Americas, although their economies prospered greatly from the exploitation of African slave labour, social disgraces such as Racism and Racial Discrimination were created as the society thrived on divisions based on race, colour, origin and ethnicity. Gonsalves further stated in his address that racial discrimination became itself the justification for a brutal, exploitative and dehumanising system of production that was perfected during the transatlantic slave trade and ingrained over the course of colonial domination. Such crimes against humanity that are still affecting these countries and the world at large in our modern day may never be completely forgiven by the descendants of its victims, but a lot can still be done in an effort to recompense them for the inhumane suffering they endured and are continuing to endure on much smaller scale. There are a variety of ways in which reparations can be practically and effectively realised on a national and international level and these have been supported by many activists who have made proposals to establish these reparations. The first of these has been in the form of monetary compensation. The idea stems from the fact that African persons were degraded and de-personified to an export commodity that could be purchased and sold, termed chattel in the Caribbean. Harper's Magazine has created an estimate that the total of financial reparations due is over 100 trillion dollars, based on 222,505,049 hours of forced labour between 1619 and 1865, with a compounded interest of 6%. The problem here is that the governments in power in the 17th and 18th centuries who should be borne the full cost of slavery reparations are not still in power now. A compromise has been made whereby the current U.S. government would only pay a fraction of that cost, over 40 trillion dollars, since it has only been in existence since 1789. On a national level, reparations for slave descendants can also be realised by the U.S in the form of free education, free medical, free legal and free financial aid for 50 years with no taxes levied as put forward by Howshua Amariel at the first National Reparations Convention. U.S President Barack Obama supports this thesis to an extent but does not restrict this to the local black population. He believes that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed. The same can be said for those European nations who played an active role in the enslavement of African people. Professor Sir Hilary Beckles of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, during a special lecture at the University Centre said that colonisers such as those in Britain owe the people of the Caribbean billions of pounds in reparation for the crimes committed against Africans in Africa on one side, and Caribbean people on the other. Reparations in the form of direct payments have been interwoven with those in the form of financial aid to impoverished African and Caribbean countries. This is more practical and feasible since African slavery in these countries has played a crucial role in their current state of affairs and financial payments would aid in the development of these countries as well as relief from their ongoing suffering since slavery. This has been supported by many Caribbean politicians including the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer who told the UN General Assemblys annual debate that segregation and violence against people of African descent had impaired their capacity for advancement as nations, communities and individuals and new commitments should be made to the economic development of the nations that have suffered from this human tragedy. Ralph Gonsalves further argued that The East African

famine and its attendant refugee and security problems require urgent attention and massive response, and We are not a civilized global society if we cannot address and banish the extreme poverty and starvation faced by the people of this region. Similarly, the situation faced by the citizens of our sister state of Haiti remains precarious. Now is the time for the international community to redouble, rather than reduce, the support and assistance given to the government and people of Haiti. This is an important outlet for reparations to be made since the social and economic instability existent in Haiti has solely been the result of Slavery, and as such, they deserve recompense especially now in their greatest time of need. Furthermore, to ensure that the allocated funds are properly and fully utilised for the development of these people, a legislative assembly can be set up in these regions comprising representatives from each compensating country in order to monitor how funds are spent. Besides financial reparations, recompense can also take the form of mitigating the problems caused by slavery for Africans around the world. The most important of these is Racism against Africans which can be effectively tackled through a large-scale celebration or commemoration of African culture as a means of reducing ignorance and discrimination and thus increasing tolerance for African people and culture. Therefore, the United Nations International Year for People of African Descent is, in itself, a form of reparation. In the U.S, an African history month has been established by which African culture dominates mainstream media and education as a means of highlighting its importance and decreasing discrimination. This should also be implemented in the Caribbean, especially in culturally diverse societies such as Surinam and Trinidad & Tobago where racism is prevalent. At a one-day UN high level meeting in New York, Barbados Minister of Culture, Stephen Lashley expressed that resources intended to support social programmes designed to counter the attacks on the self-worth of people of African descent should be included in these reparations. "Such programmes are being implemented in Barbadian schools and communities, and they investigate, identify and counter those messages and images that negate the value of the knowledge and culture of people of African descent by building awareness of the fundamental contribution of African peoples to world civilisation," he explained. The minister also called for significant resources to be allocated to fund national, regional and international multiethnic research centres to develop new conceptual tools for understanding the complex nature of racial discrimination and thereby developing strategies for its eradication. Gonsalves also told the UN that we must celebrate the rich and diverse African culture, in all of its glorious manifestations. Another reparation that is based on African culture is the implementation of a national Slavery Remembrance Day in all the affected countries of the Caribbean and the Americas. This will play a double role in commemorating African culture as well as providing an outlet for African persons to honour their enslaved ancestors who endured suffering unlike any other and made invaluable contributions to society. In this way, they are given the opportunity to emotionally, spiritually and psychologically cope with the trauma of slavery that has been passed down from generation to generation. In the literal sense of the statement, there should be an erection of monuments in the capital city of each country where the observers can make offerings of the totems of African culture in a deeply spiritual ritual that is rooted in traditional African religious beliefs.

The final form of reparation to be considered is most simply, an apology from those countries involved in the enslavement of West Africans. Sir Hilary Beckles emphasized this in his lecture at the Cave Hill centre by giving examples of countries that have demanded and achieved apologies including the people of India for a massacre of peasants by the British military during the 19th century and the Jews for the Holocaust during the Second World. In the U.S, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, a law school graduate, initiated a one-woman campaign making a historic demand for restitution and apologies from modern companies that played a direct role in enslaving Africans, the first of which was Aetna Inc. who insured the lives of slaves with slave owners being the beneficiaries. Reparations through apology can also be manifested on a much larger scale, whereby a massive monument depicting African freedom from slavery and representing African culture can be constructed and erected on the West African coast sited at what was once an European slave port. This would be an allusion to the infamous Statue of Liberty which was presented to the U.S by the Soviet Union as an apology and a peace offering to alleviate the tension of the Cold War between them. In this way, African people and culture can be respected and their honour restored, facilitating a great decrease in racial discrimination as peace is forged between them and their past oppressors. Yet the argument of reparations for African slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is ongoing. Many support the case for reparations since it is fact that Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas economically benefited from the successful use of African agricultural labour and their current wealth has been rooted in this system. Furthermore, the sheer cruelty and inhumanity of the Trade naturally demands recompense for the severe social and economic effects it had on Africa. Many proposals have been made toward practical reparations ranging from direct payments and financial aid for countries impoverished by slavery to public apologies and the commemoration of African culture through national remembrance days, an African history month and even a massive, racism-revolutionary monument.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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