UK to get fresh reparations request this September
Jamaica is preparing to take its campaign for slavery reparations directly to King Charles III, with a high-level delegation expected to travel to the United Kingdom on September 6 to formally present a petition seeking legal guidance on the country’s claim against Britain.
The September 6 date was deliberately chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the departure of the infamous Zong slave ship in 1781. More than 140 enslaved Africans were thrown overboard during the voyage so their owners could claim insurance compensation for the loss of what they considered cargo.
Britain has consistently rejected calls to pay slavery reparations. However, any success achieved by a single Caribbean country would strengthen similar claims from other English-speaking Caribbean nations, many of which have long called for Britain to provide reparatory justice for the enduring social and economic consequences of slavery.
Jamaica’s petition will ask King Charles, in his capacity as Jamaica’s head of state, to seek an opinion from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on whether Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade was unlawful and whether the UK has a legal obligation to provide restitution for slavery and its lasting effects.
Legal officials in Jamaica say the country’s case has been strengthened by a recent United Nations resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans to be among the gravest crimes against humanity.
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Of all the other races that been through slavery, why is it only one group constantly asking for compensation? That means everyone else who was enslaved before them should get reparations first.
Yes I support any group who feels the need to ask for reparatory justice. I’m also not mad at your comment, it’s a fair one so I’ll just give you another perspective: many groups that were enslaved or suffered hurt at the hands of other goups already got reparations, or are seeking some form of reparatory justice. You don’t have to take my word for it, you can check the record – a simple google search will do.
So this request by descendants of those who suffered the Transatlantic Slave Trade is not novel, it’s quite normal and fair. Again I’m not mad at your comment because it’s a simple question, and it’s good when we can express ourselves freely and educate each other things.
Vikings and the Romans they’ve got a lot to answer for!
Jamaica is a racist no good of a country, and are no better than UK. To this day the Coral Gardens Massacre has not been addressed in that country. Innocent Rastafarians killed. The government there has not paid them any form of reparations. Yet, they are running, jumping, skipping and hopping to go claim reparations. If i was UK I would tell them, yes you can get reparations but you will have to leave Jamaica or buy back your stay on the island. All of the people who have suffered in slavery are now dead. So what reparations are you looking for?
It is way past time for reparative justice for slaves and their descendants. The Anglophone Caribbean region still suffers from the adverse legacies of the slave trade, slavery, colonialism and associated pathologies.
Moreover, slavery associated with the slave trade is different from other slavery, for it was chattel slavery, ie, slaves were treated as property like a piece of furniture. It was permanent, intergenerational , passing from one generation to the next. Further, other slaves were afforded the opportunity to pay off their debt and return home. The slaves associated with the Atlantic Slave Trade were not afforded this opportunity and privilege.
Instead, they were dehumanized, abused, sexually abused, separated from families, stripped of their culture, language, religion, heritage, history, liberties, rights, freedoms, etc. Additionally, their labour was exploited and expropriated, building the UK, along with other European economies and societies.
Moreover,, the UK’s 1833 Abolition Act provided for appropriating £20,000,000 to compensate slave owners for the lost of their chattel property. The £20, 000,000 was supposedly borrowed, equating to approximately 40% of the UK’s budget at the time; the loan was supposedly paid of in 2015, making it possible that some Black Britons were paying taxes to pay off a loan, which was originated to pay off slave owners of their forebears. However, to date, slave descendants have not even receive a “hapeney.” Have others received reparative justice?
Others have received reparations, viz, Victims of Rosewood Massacre ( US), Japanese Americans, Native Americans, Jews( Holocaust survivors), Mau Mau ( Kenya), etc.
Yet to date, the UK has not offered slave descendants even a simple apology much less a hapeney. Is it that the descendants of slaves are less than others, not worthy of equal treatment? It is way pass time for reparative justice for slave descendants. Reparative justice is more than cash payments; they can include programs ( education, health, housing , infrastructure, etc), grants, loans, debt forgiveness, etc.
These people looking for a check , a pay day. I don’t and didn’t own and abused slaves. I don’t know anyone who own slaves . No one alive today own any slaves. I have not benefited from slavery and worked hard for my money. Why should I pay a debt I didn’t create. It is time to move on. It is water under the bridge. Mistakes happen. The UK has financial problems, so where will it find the billions of pounds to pay. The payout will stop at Jamaica. The crown, parliament needs to hold the line. Just give a simple apology. Ok mate.
@ UK Taxpayer, really. Do you really believe and can honestly that you have not gotten and have huge advantages, special privileges, entitlements just being white. The colonialists conquered and colonized lands, exploit the labour of indigenous people and slaves, realizing dizzying profits from their labour, building the UK and other European countries economies. The colonizers structured a system creating themselves as the upper class with all the power, resources, wealth, control, etc, including control of all levers of government. On the the other hand, blacks were deemed as the under class with the permanent role as servile. Meanwhile, whites were served special privileges and entitlements in education, health, employment, housing, civic participation, etc. Blacks were deliberately kept at the bottom, deprived even of a basic education( it was deliberate engineering plan ignorance; keep them dumb and they can be controlled), noncompetitive work force, etc. Then blamed for their deplorable conditions in which they try to survive. They falsely preach parity and equity until it is time to put or shut up; they shut up. Move on your MS say. It is water under the bridge. Easy to say when you have and are still benefiting from the blood, sweat, and tears of slaves and their descendants. Have you benefitted from and are still benefiting from slavery? Yes, yes, yes, you have, so shut your mouth, your MS.
@Stealth, you ruined a good comment with a local colloquial MS, ie, Master of Science abbreviation. The people of the BVI at this juncture is at the BS ( Bachelor of Science ) level during this campaign. Campaign over, they will transitioned to the MS level. This is real, sane talk ah yu.
Every ancestor of slavery deserves reparations and for the person saying what about the other groups. Jewish people received reparations the Native Americans received reparations the Japanese received reparations so why not the people who helped build all these countries…?