Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 7. november 2012 / Timeline November 7, 2012
Version 3.56. November 2012, 8. November 2012
11/07/2012
Slavery: The Unresolved Question In Jamaica
By Countercurrents.org
Tens of millions of African children, women and men were enslaved
and shipped to the Caribbean and Americas, with millions dying in
holding camps in Africa or during the voyage. Now, should Jamaica
seek compensation or a formal apology from Britain to heal old
wounds? The question is yet to be resolved.
Jamaica has revived a reparations commission to research slavery's
social and economic impact and examine whether the predominantly
black Caribbean island should seek compensation or a formal apology
from Britain to heal old wounds, officials said on November 2,
2012*.
Within about two-years the government commission has to receive
submissions, evaluate research and undertake public consultations
in order to make recommendations for a possible reparations claim,
said chairwoman Verene A. Shepherd, a historian who is director of
the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at Jamaica's
University of the West Indies.
The reconvened commission is made up of about a dozen academics,
lawyers, Rastafarians and students. A previous panel formed in 2009
was disbanded a year later through financial constraints.
Slavery was abolished on August 1, 1834, in the former British
colony.
Shepherd said coming up with a financial estimate for reparations
is critical to coming to terms with the lasting legacy of slavery
in Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean, even if a monetary payout
never pans out.
In 2006, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed deep
sorrow for Britain's role in the slave trade but stopped short of
an apology.
*The New Zealand Herald, “Jamaica revives UK slave trade
reparations probe”, Saturday Nov 3, 2012.
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10844762
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