Barbados’ transition to republican status presents the ideal opportunity for the country’s leaders to focus on reparations for the economic, social and psychological damage caused by the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
That was the general consensus of panellists in the second in a series of panel discussions held by the National Task Force on Reparations, entitled De Youth Speak: Reparations in the Republic.
“There are many people who have never heard of reparations or don’t understand it, but essentially we have had our resources stolen from us over a period of 500 to 600 years and now it is time to get them back so that we can make progress like everyone else,” said moderator of the recently held panel discussion, Barbados and Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Sustainable Development Ambassador, Gabrielle Gay.
Performer and member of the National Task Force on Reparations, Akeem Chandler-Prescod, agreed.
“All eyes are on Barbados now as we redefine our brand, so it is important that we get involved in the global conversation on reparations, not just for Barbados but the Caribbean as a whole,” he said.
Simon Alleyne, a performer and disaster management specialist, and another panellist, Rodney Grant, who is now the Programme Adviser in Government’s Office of Reparations, said the creative sector has a role to play in spreading the message of reparations throughout the Caribbean.
Programme Advisor in the Office of Reparations and Economic Enfranchisement Mr Rodney Grant.
“CARICOM has a ten-point reparations plan which includes a cultural component. Prime Minister Mia Mottley chairs the CARICOM Reparations Committee and she says we should use regional artists to spread the message. Artists reach people in ways that politicians and other public figures don’t, and once they put out a message and they do it well, it stays there forever and remains relevant, and we have to get to that point,” Alleyne said.
He used the example of a song by Cultural Ambassador Anthony Gabby Carter as one such message that has endured over the years.
“Art imitates life, so artists should use their voice to build awareness on reparations and its importance. Almost 40 years ago, Gabby wrote Jack about the issue of beach access to locals in the wake of tourism-related construction projects, and this song is still highly relevant today, not only here in Barbados but throughout the Caribbean,” Alleyne noted.
Recently, they have been intensified calls for British MP Sir Richard Drax to give back the Drax Hall Plantation in St George to the people of Barbados as compensation for his family’s 200 years of owning and trading slaves on the island.
It is the oldest plantation from the 17th century until now that remains in the hand of the same family who owned the plantation.
In response to a question on whether the politician should give up the property, Grant said: “When people buy houses, vehicles or other property using money from the sale of illegal drugs, the court seizes those assets. Drax’s family bought that plantation from the proceeds of even more nefarious acts, including human trafficking, torture and slavery, so they should be made to give it back.”
Alleyne and Chandler-Prescod agreed that once pressure is placed on people, eventually they give in and do the right thing.
The panellists also looked at some of Barbados’ laws and agreed that there were some dating back to colonial times that were no longer relevant and were aimed at keeping the masses under control.
They noted that the process of changing them would take time and required some patience. (DH)
