Franklin W. Knight

Monday, March 26 started like any other working day at the United Nations in New York. Yet nature seemed to understand that it was a special day. Lugubrious clouds obscured the rising sun. A nasty, bitterly cold breeze blew steadily off the East River. The national flags lining the western face of the monstrous high-rise buildings on First Avenue stiffened without joy. Black limousines moved funereally by, delivering official delegates. Workers and the public, with varying degrees of urgency, endured stoically the elaborate security measures instituted after that fatal September morning (9/11). Many filed orderly into the cavernous Assembly Hall.

This was the day after what the UN General Assembly had designated in its session of November 28, 2006 as the "International Day for the Commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade." The precise anniversary would have been on Sunday, March 25 so the ceremonies were observed the following day.

At precisely ten o'clock in the morning an invigorating band of South African drummers began their contagious music that immediately arrested everyone's attention. Orchestrated by the Caricom ambassadors, the proceedings met all the protocols of the world's most representative deliberative body. As the music shook the ornate teak panels of the crowded hall, the acting president of the General Assembly surveyed the scene with compelling seriousness, and as the musicians and their music faded, called for a minute of tributary silence. Like magic an impenetrable silence engulfed the huge auditorium. Nobody moved.

The ceremonies began with the ritual reading of statements, usually five minutes long. The opening statement by UN Deputy Secretary General Dr Asha-Rose Migiro lasted seven minutes, followed by Prime Minister Denzil Douglas of St Kitts and Nevis who spoke for 15 minutes on behalf of the Caribbean Community. Then at regular intervals, representatives from the African and Asian group of States, the Eastern European Group of States, the Latin American and Caribbean, South Asian, United Kingdom, and finally the host country, the United States of America took their turn.
All the statements demonstrated the expected sensitivity and polite solemnity. The translators did their usual wonderfully accurate job, although for some strange and unexplained reason there was no Spanish translation for most of the statement read by the representative of the United States.
Then came the keynote address by Professor Rex Nettleford, vice chancellor emeritus of the University of the West Indies.
It was majestic, captivating dynamite. "I come from that part of the Americas - the Caribbean - which is arguably the living laboratory of the dynamism of the encounters between Africa and Europe on foreign soil," he began slowly and solemnly, "and both with the Native American who had inhabited the real estate of the Americas." Then as he fell into a rhythmic iambic pentameter style, Nettleford declared: "For all of us who tenant the Americas are creatures of that awesome process of 'becoming' consequent on the historic encounters between diverse cultures from both sides of the Atlantic in circumstances that, for all their negative manifestations, have forged tolerance out of hate and suspicion, unity within diversity, and peace out of conflict and hostility." For fully 20 minutes no one fidgeted or yawned or looked bored.

The morning session ended at noon and the hundreds of delegates and visitors streamed out into the ample lounge for a leisurely lunch break. The visual options were all attractive. On one side oversized picture windows framed stunning views of Riker's Island, the lazily flowing East River and the 59th Street Bridge. Inside, two huge television sets strategically located at opposite ends offered tantalising choices. One carried the press conference with the keynoter, the prime minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Ambassador Philip Sealy of Trinidad and Tobago, and Ambassador Crispin Gregoire of Dominica. The other relayed the English cricket team playing Kenya in the sylvan setting of St Lucia.

After lunch the audience moved to the Trusteeship Council Chamber for an extended discussion of the designated theme, "The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade - Acknowledging the tragedy, Considering the Legacy." Dr Christopher Hackett, the permanent representative of Barbados to the United Nations welcomed the audience. The moderator, New York journalist and television personality, Gil Noble, introduced the six international panellists representing Jamaica, Kenya, the United Kingdom, Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States. All were from states significantly shaped by the Atlantic slave trade and slavery.

The presentations were short enough to hold the attention of the audience and occasionally challenging enough to elicit close discussion afterwards. The first speaker noted that 1807 was not an exceptionally important date, except for aficionados of British humanitarianism, since the termination of the English and American slave trades merely reduced but did not end the commerce. For him the slave trade was both commerce and immigration, and its history was vital for understanding every aspect of the history of the modern world regardless of location. Above all, he claimed, the role of Haiti should not be marginalised or underestimated.

Other speakers offered variations on the theme. Two supported the justice of reparation while admitting the inherent volatility, divisiveness and complexity of implementing such a scheme. Two talked about curriculum reforms that would emphasise the history of the slave trade and slavery, a move supported by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. One talked about her fascinating research with descendants of slaves along the West African coast who reacted to slavery by constructing village fortifications or by strategic relocation, often paying a heavy permanent price.

Modern slavery left an indelible stain on mankind. It insidiously affected language, society, manners, art, architecture, politics and economy. Slavery constituted a long, painful, and psychically destructive chapter in the history of man's inhumanity. For that reason a special day at the UN was important. More important, the Caricom ambassadors were correct in believing that commemoration should be combined with education. Sometimes the Caribbean does get it right.

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS

Pepper Pot