Reparations Today

Representatives from African and Caribbean nations attended a series of meetings in Bridgetown, Barbados, last week, to formulate a strategy to demand reparations.

The ground-breaking meetings included representation from the University of the West Indies (UWI), the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (AU), Barbados’ government, grant-making network Open Society Foundations and the Caribbean Pan African Network, Reuters reported.

At last year’s CANTO Conference, Denis O’Brien, Digicel’s founder and chairman, announced a reparations initiative called The Repair Campaign. The campaign, guided by the 2014 CARICOM 10 Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, seeks to amplify Caribbean voices calling for reparations and get former colonial powers to commit to a long-term reparatory fund for Caribbean countries affected by slavery and colonisation.

From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported by mostly European ships and sold into slavery. Almost half were taken by Portugal to Brazil. The idea of paying reparations or making other amends for slavery has a long history but the movement is gaining momentum worldwide.