Discussions on Reparations and History
April 6, 2023
A Guardian series looks at how slavery changed the history of the newspaper, Britain and its colonies, following an investigation into the role the newspaper’s founders had in transatlantic slavery.
Discussions about slavery and reparations are critical for addressing violations that persist in the present, writes Nesrine Malik.
Indeed, reparations are not just about payment, but “about engaging in good faith with the descendants of enslaved people and addressing inequalities – to make a better future possible,” writes Olivette Otele.
Historian David Olusoga writes about the “illusion at the centre of British history that conceals the role of slavery in building the nation.” He emphasizes that “the links that tie the Guardian founders to enslaved people in South America, the United States and the Caribbean are a more accurate reflection of Britain’s long, and messy, complicity in the slave economy.”
The Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian, also promised to invest more than £10m in reparations, with a portion specifically dedicated to descendant communities linked to the Guardian’s 19th-century founders.
Jamaican anti-racism activist Barbara Blake-Hannah argues for the UK to grant an alternative form of reparations for the enslavement of people in Jamaica: “the total relief of all Jamaica’s debt to the UK, plus the lifting of UK visa restrictions for Jamaican descendants of enslaved people, with unlimited access to the “empire’s” educational and economic opportunities, which were built on the labour of my enslaved ancestors.” (Guardian)
And in Global Voices, Janine Mendes-Franco asks whether enhanced advocacy for reparative justice, the ascent of King Charles to the throne, the efforts of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, and the new pressure from the Guardian and the UN could “finally herald in a new era for formerly colonised states?”
Climate Justice and Energy
The UN’s adoption, last week, of a resolution calling for an ICJ ruling on countries’ legal obligations regarding climate change “demonstrates the soft power of developing states when they act collectively in international fora,” writes Sir Ronald Sanders. (See last week’s post.)
Puerto Rico has been beset by natural disasters in recent years, that have decimated homes, crippled the power grid and gutted infrastructure. The island’s “school system is both uniquely vulnerable to natural disasters that are becoming more common … and unusually ill-equipped to help children recover from the learning setbacks that come with them,” reports the Guardian.
Derval Barzey, founder of The Climate Conscious Podcast, reflects on the evolution of CW4CJ’s from forum to movement, and asks “What would the Caribbean look like if the needs of our women and girls are addressed?” (Caribbean National Weekly)
Former head of Guyana’sEnvironmental Protection Agency, Vincent Adams said the regulator has ‘uncaringly’ betrayed the people whose lives it should be protecting, as it has moved to exempt a hazardous gas plant to generate electricity from a detailed impact study. (Kaieteur News)
The wall the Dominican Republic is building along its border with Haiti “crisscrosses a thick mangrove forest and threatens the ecosystem by depriving it of water, environmental groups warn,” reports France24. (Americas Migration Brief)
Economics and Finance
The tourism sector is a net drain on foreign exchange in many Caribbean countries, argues Marla Dukharan, especially in Barbados and the Bahamas, where there are foreign exchange controls which incentivize earners of USD to hold their revenue overseas, and only bring onshore that which they need to convert to pay local bills.
Migration
The International Organization for Migration found improved labour trends and decreased instances of informal work and underpayment among Venezuelan nationals in Trinidad and Tobago, in its newly released 2022 Displacement Tracking Matrix Report.
Belize announced new entry requirements for people from Haiti and Jamaica, in response to the increasing number of visitors who are using Belize as a transit country to reach the United States, reports the Caribbean Broadcasting Company.
Public Security
Ministers at the most recent Regional Security System meeting focused on the importation of illegal firearms in the Caribbean. (Loop News)
Several U.S. lawmakers have asked for a federal investigation into the illicit trafficking of firearms from the United States into the Caribbean. (Miami Herald)
Culture
Five Caribbean writers — from Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas — have been shortlisted for the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. (Loop News)
A Bob Marley biopic being produced by Paramount Pictures has been a boon for Jamaica’s Trench Town — Jamaica Observer.
Opportunities
Apply — The Caribbean Climate Justice Journalism Fellowship — Climate Tracker and Open Society Foundations
Apply — Senior Campaigner on Offshore Oil and Gas —Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Apply — Program Officer, Racial Justice — Open Society Foundations
Events
17 April — "Advancing Human Rights: Is Strategic Litigation Necessary?" — Panel Discussion — The Caribbean Centre for Human Rights and the UWI Faculty of Law — Register