TO add some light — and hopefully little heat — to the current discussion on reparation for slavery, I would like to recall an address delivered by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Accra, Ghana, Charles Palmer-Buckle, on Sunday, June 24, 2012 at Jamaica’s National Arena, as we celebrated 500 years of Catholic witness in Jamaica, and Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence. We were awestruck by his introduction, and here I recall the experience described in my column the following week.

I wrote: “Little did we know that he himself would be making history on that stage — by making the first apology we had ever heard from an African leader.

“‘I apologise for the acts of my ancestors for selling your ancestors into slavery,’ he declared. ‘Please join me as we sing…’ At this point, I expected to hear a song like Amazing Grace. But, no! Archbishop Palmer-Buckle invited us to sing Redemption Song: ‘How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look?’ His strong voice rang through the very National Arena where Bob Marley had lain in state 31 years before. We, his emotional congregation, sang with him, ‘But my hand was made strong, by the hand of the Almighty. We forward in this generation, triumphantly. And, as we ended with, ‘Redemption song, songs of freedom — redemption song…’, the healing washed over us and the Archbishop announced, ‘Now we are connected.'”

This certainly does not exonerate the Europeans who bought those captives and enslaved them under the most inhumane conditions. At a National Holocaust Commemoration Event, on January 27, 2015 — yes, this very year — British Prime Minister David Cameron seemed rightfully resolute in preserving the memory of the massacre of six million Jews.

“Britain will have a proper National Memorial to the Holocaust in Central London,” he said. “We will have a world-class learning centre that teaches every generation to fight hatred, prejudice and intolerance in all its forms. We will have an endowment fund so that Holocaust education is secured forever. We will have an immediate project to finish the urgent task of auditing, recording and future-proofing testimony. So the memory of Holocaust survivors and liberators is faithfully preserved for generations to come.”

However, while Mr Cameron said slavery was “abhorrent in all its forms” when he addressed our Houses of Parliament last Wednesday, he noted that I do hope that, as friends, who have gone through so much together since those darkest of times, we can move on from this painful legacy and continue to build for the future. Sorry slavery, no “future-proofing” of your history!

Six million Jews perished in the Holocaust, while historian Milton Meltzer, who researched the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, estimates that over seven million Africans perished. Quoting his book, Slavery: A World History, Wikipedia states: “Around 2.2 million Africans died during these voyages [the Middle Passage] where they were packed into tight, unsanitary spaces on ships for months at a time.”

In addition to those lives lost on the high seas, some to suicide, Meltzer referred to the “seasoning camps” they were assigned to in the Caribbean. This was a brutal ‘boot camp’ for slaves in which an estimated five million perished.

So we have the “old pirates” of Africa, the merchant ships and slave masters of past times. But, in modern-day Jamaica, there is the continued enslavement of garrison dwellers by some of the very MPs who sat listening while Cameron addressed them last Wednesday.

Here is the sad fact: There is enough blame to go around, and reparation should be expected from all who have caused pain and suffering to their fellow man. The offer of a £25-million prison in return for housing deportees is a poor piece of messaging from PM Cameron, especially since it was followed by a £300-million offer for community development projects. But what a great distraction Cameron has provided for our politicians. While we quarrel with him, both sides can continue their garrison strengthening, more interested in frightening votes out of people rather than earning them.

Yes, there are still some credible people in politics; and hard-working, law-abiding Jamaicans are appealing to them to condemn the practices that undermine our very democracy. Once again, this column is calling on Citizens’ Action for Free and Fair Elections to set up a website to show the promises made and those delivered, and help us to know our candidates better. Let us unmask those “old pirates” who continue to “rob I”.

A bubbling Montego Bay

Last week, we were in Montego Bay for the opening of FirstCaribbean International Bank’s ultra-modern branch in Fairview. Chairman Mark St Hill used the occasion to pay tribute to recently retired board director Clovis Metcalfe, who had served the bank with distinction, especially as their managing director until his retirement several years ago.

We met Gloria Henry, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and acting vice-president, operations, for the Montego Bay Free Zone. She referred to my criticism of her utterances re Chinese businessmen, but I was quick to mention that I had read her apology. Then I quoted those famous words of the late great Foggy Burrowes, “The only people who never make mistakes are those who do nothing.” Clearly she is a dynamic president and is playing a significant role in the accelerated development of the Montego Bay Free Zone.

I also met Montego Bay Mayor Glendon Harris, who commented on the galloping business process outsourcing (BPO) business in Jamaica. He said that six months after AT&T set up a call centre in the city, it was rated number one in the world. He noted that job seekers are flocking to Montego Bay, so that his city, that is estimated to have a population of 200,000, is usually about 320,000 on any given day.

World Day for Decent Work

Please join me and members of Jamaica’s women’s sector as we mark the World Day for Decent Work with the Jamaica Household Workers Union (JHWU) this Wednesday, October 7, so declared by the International Labour Organization (ILO). President Shirley Pryce, who recently gained a master’s degree, is asking us to help them promote the ratification by Government of an international tripartite agreement, ILO Convention 189 (C189) on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. We will be at the back entrance of the hotel on 1 Ruthven Road. See you there!

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com