INSISTING that the fight for reparations is a great cause that “cannot be won by doubtful men and women”, former St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves says he has no intention of retreating quietly from public life as he prepares to take on a more active role in the Caribbean’s push for reparatory justice.

Now approaching his 80th birthday, Gonsalves also signalled that he does not intend to encourage his Unity Labour Party (ULP) to select him for another general election, even as he vowed to remain active in the public space through writing, advocacy and regional political engagement.

Addressing a Jamaica Observer Press Club last Wednesday, Gonsalves described reparation as a defining cause for the Caribbean, while reflecting on how his decades in public life have prepared him for a different kind of leadership role.

“Men and women make history, but only to the extent that the circumstances of history permit them so to make. We do not make history in circumstances chosen by ourselves but by conditions which are inherited from the past and those which have arisen from the extant circumstances,” declared Gonsalves.

The former prime minister, who led St Vincent and the Grenadines for more than two decades, was recently appointed senior adviser to the Repair Campaign, a regional initiative supporting the work of the Caribbean Committee’s Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC) in advancing reparatory justice for the Caribbean.

Launched in 2022 by Irish businessman Denis O’Brien, Repair Campaign focuses on public advocacy, research and international engagement surrounding the legacy of slavery, indigenous genocide, and colonial exploitation in the Caribbean.

Gonsalves said he views the movement as much broader than governments alone, arguing that universities, campaign groups, academics, civil society organisations, and regional leaders must all play interconnected roles if reparation efforts are to succeed.

Part of that role, he suggested, will involve using the relationships and experience built over decades in regional politics to strengthen collaboration between advocacy groups, governments, and international institutions.

“The way in which I could, for instance, talk to former colleagues and say, ‘This is the issue to talk to the CRC’ and so forth, being involved, some other persons may not have that facility to do that. And in addition to that, my own skills as a professional, as a social scientist, as a lawyer, somebody who has been involved in government, I will have technical skills to bring to bear [on] a number of different aspects of the reparation movement,” he said.

The conversation took on a personal aspect as Gonsalves reflected on his political future and life outside front-line electoral politics.

Asked whether he planned to lead his party into another general election, Gonsalves indicated that he is preparing for transition, although he stressed that the final decision rests with the party itself.

Pressed further on whether he would contest another election if the ULP pleaded with him to do so, Gonsalves said, “Well, I’m a party man, but I would not encourage the party to do that.”

Still, Gonsalves made it clear that stepping back from electoral leadership would not mean withdrawing from public life altogether.

“Fate, history, and circumstance have accorded me this current role in the legislature. The Government (New Democratic Party) would have liked it if I would just fade away but the good Lord doesn’t intend for me to do that,” declared Gonsalves who is the only person on the Opposition benches in the St Vincent and the Genadines Parliament after the ULP won only one of the 15 constituencies in the general election last November.

He said he continues to juggle advocacy work with writing projects, media appearances and family life.

“I have a book on Caribbean political leadership. The final draft is about 480 pages. We have a party radio station on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 10:00 [am] to 1:00 [pm]. I do three hours. I talk for about two hours, two hours and a quarter,” said the veteran politician who also spoke warmly about spending time with his young granddaughter.

“I have a beautiful young lady in my life. She is 15 months old, my granddaughter. I take her walking in the morning, walking in the evening. She loves to be with her papa. If I come to Jamaica, I have to bring her with me because she wouldn’t want me to leave her home,” he said.

But even while discussing age, succession, and legacy, Gonsalves repeatedly returned to the reparations movement which he described as unfinished work demanding persistence and certainty from Caribbean leaders.

“In August I am going to be 80 years old. As you notice, I have all my marbles, the brain is ticking over well,” he joked before invoking a line from Jamaican National Hero Norman Manley.

“West Indian integration, regional integration, is a great cause, and great causes have never been won by doubtful men and women. The same thing with reparations; it is a great cause, and this cannot be won by doubtful men and women,” Gonsalves said.