Dear Editor,

With the idea of reparation beginning to gain traction in the US, Caricom needs to pay close attention and act with a sense of urgency.

Many US reparation initiatives call for compensatory justice to the descendants of the aggrieved. I would argue that the Caricom Reparations Commission’s (CRC) 10-point plan for reparatory justice does not explicitly and unequivocally call for direct monetary compensation to the descendants of enslaved Africans in the Caribbean. For context, the CRC’s 10-point plan includes:

1) Full formal apology

2)Indigenous peoples development programmes

3)Funding for repatriation to Africa

4)The establishment of cultural institutions and the return of cultural heritage

5)Assistance in remedying the public health crisis

6)Education programmes

7) The enhancement of historical and cultural knowledge exchange

8)Psychological rehabilitation as a result of the transmission of trauma

9)The right to development through the use of technology

10)Debt cancellation and monetary compensation

Practically everything in this 10-point plan is an indirect benefit that would not make a significant or lasting impact on the everyday life of descendants of Caribbean slavery and colonisation. I Implore you to read the 10-point plan in its entirety.

What was the purpose of slavery and colonisation? Simply put, the purpose was for the intentional maldistribution of land, wealth, and resources from the slave/colonised to the slave owner/coloniser. When we look at the CRC’s 10-point plan, it does not adequately and unquestionably address this maldistribution.

Our ancestors were enslaved and colonised to generate wealth for Europe through their forced labour. That wealth continues to be passed down from generation to generation. Meanwhile, the descendants of African slavery pass down poverty from one generation to the next.

Look at the economic disparity between countries in Western Europe (victimisers) and countries of the Caribbean (victims). Virtually all forms of economic stagnation in the Caribbean can be directly linked to the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism.

The root word of reparation is repair. To repair is to fix, amend, or make good. How do you fix, amend, or make good the descendants of African slaves? You either give back what was taken or compensate for it. What was taken from them? Ignoring the psychological, emotional, and spiritual aspects, they were robbed of land, wealth, and resources and subjected to all manner of atrocities, century after century. Anything else is simply putting lipstick on a pig.

I want you to imagine that you weren’t paid wages for an entire year despite working. Similarly, imagine that you dropped dead tomorrow. Would a full formal apology (point 1) from your employer to your children be suitable for you? I’m positive you would want them to be financially compensated for the year’s worth of work you completed.

Likewise, how does educational programmes (point 6) benefit our elders, like my 98-year-old grandmother or those who decide to opt-out of traditional education?

Though I understand the spirit of the CRC’s 10-point plan, it would be nonsensical and irresponsible to not clearly call for financial compensation to every descendant of African slavery in the Caribbean. We need to hold the CRC accountable to push for compensatory justice.

We may only have one opportunity for reparation and we need to make sure we get it right. We owe it to our ancestors and our progeny to be uncompromising in this demand.

Jamie Pearson

Jtpearso@gmail.com