Financial

We are for reparation. However, the type of reparation is to be debated. This is a continuing

issue that Jamaica has been grappling with since the point of independence in most

commonwealth Caribbean countries. From the point of colonialism in the1400 whereby both

the Spanish and English contributed to the genocide of the Taino’s, until present day and age.

This led to the need for a new supply of labour for their new monetary scheme-cultivation of

sugar/sugar plantation. Slavery was an atrocious crime against man. For the sake of brevity,

the conceptualization of the idea that humans can be bought and sold was the beginning of

our turmoil. Subsequently Africans were taken from their homes, families and friends to

board an unknown ship. The journey to the new world was a tiresome and gross mistreatment

because they were barely fed, chained and packed together like sardines and suffer the

emotional trauma of watching harm come to their fellow people and suicides that took place.

Once in the new world, they were bought by different plantation owners, branded and taken

to work on their planation were years of emotional, physical and psychological harm befell

the African race. The British government as a whole has acknowledged the severity of

slavery and the effect it has had on the black people has a whole and the indigenous people

before them. In 1833 the British abolished slavery and stipulated under the act was the slave

compensation package. You might expect this sum of money to go the freed slaves for

injustices suffered, it however went to the slave owners has compensation for the then owned

slaves. Many British elites today have received money from this compensatory package and

also the growing of British economy that was granted off the backs of slaves. Even to this

day no real mention or change has been made in terms of reparation to the enslaved people of

the New World. The issue is that reparation in theory seems like a great idea but upon closer

examination the government would encounter difficulties because it would take some time to

trace some historical lines and for that some individuals would not be compensated. In 2014
Hillary Beckles, Vice Chancellor of University of the West Indies, and chair of the Caribbean

Reparations Commission made an address to the British parliament on a visit, that they have

a case to answer in terms of reparatory justice. However, in 2015 then-prime minister David

Cameroon stated it is time to “move on from this painful legacy and continue to build for the

future”. Thus bringing us back to our original statement that Britain isn’t too moved by the

many issues that occurred as a result of slavery but instead that we should merely get over it.

Others have suggested that instead of physical payment to the families of the formerly

enslaved, Britain can instead invest in our economy, aid in clearing our debt and removing

more barriers to trade.