‘Repatriation’ proposal before CARICOM reparations conference

A proposal for a Jamaica-Ethiopia pilot programme to help Rastafarians, among other Caribbean people, resettle in Africa is to be presented at the Third CARICOM Regional Conference on Reparations in Barbados on Thursday.

As the conference unfolds, advocates are viewing Barbados as the starting point for a new era of physical return to Africa, almost four centuries after the transatlantic slave trade began when their enslaved ancestors were brought here to work on sugar plantations.

The Ethio-Africa Diaspora Union Millennium Council (EADUMC) and its regional partners are presenting a step-by-step framework to make repatriation a reality. Their primary goal is to move the long-held Rastafari vision of returning to Africa from a distant dream to an official, government-backed policy for reparatory justice.

At the heart of the proposal is the Jamaica-Ethiopia Pilot programme. Created in close partnership with the Jamaica Rastafari Development Community, the pilot will serve as a practical model for resettlement.

It is designed to connect the Caribbean diaspora with the established Rastafari community in Shashamane, Ethiopia. The project will also draw resources and support from connected communities in the United States and the United Kingdom to ensure those who choose to relocate have the backing they need to build stable lives.

Organisers argue that the plan is the necessary next step after the foundation laid at the first two CARICOM conferences in 2013 and 2014. They are urging regional leaders to move beyond recognising the need for reparations and begin taking measurable action on CARICOM’s revised ten-point plan on reparations.

The official EADUMC conference submission stated: “Repatriation is the central implementation issue. The third conference can now establish the legal, institutional, financial and community-governance pathway needed to move from recognition to a measurable Jamaica–Ethiopia Pilot.”

To get the pilot under way, advocates have mapped out a 12-month planning phase. This period would focus on the practical challenges of moving. It aims to ensure that anyone volunteering to relocate has secure legal rights, access to land, and a reliable way to make a living. The framework also calls for technology and skills to be shared between the regions, while insisting that any financial support for the move is strictly tracked and responsibly managed.

Caribbean voices are central to the diplomatic push. Paul Ras Simba Rock of the Barbadian Rastafarian community is the official representative for the submission and is expected to advocate for the plan during civil-society meetings and round-table discussions throughout the summit.

As delegates meet in Bridgetown, the EADUMC has made several requests of CARICOM leaders. They are asking the conference to officially accept their submission as the primary blueprint for repatriation. They also want leaders to launch a technical review of the Jamaica-Ethiopia Pilot within 90 days.

They are also calling for a joint working group between CARICOM and the African Union to oversee resettlement, and want Rastafari communities to be given a permanent, voting seat at the table. Ultimately, they want the pilot programme included directly in the region’s upcoming 2027–2031 Action Plan.

The framework’s architects said the process must be safe and ethical. They have demanded strict rules to protect Rastafari cultural rights and ensure communities have a genuine say in how the programme is run, rather than being treated as symbols.

General Secretary Prophet Greg and Intellectual Property Consultant Maxine Stowe guided the entire proposal. Stowe is currently being recommended to take over as Cultural Ambassador to the Reparatory Justice Framework, succeeding Jamaican reggae music icon Bunny Wailer, who died in 2021.

(RR)