THE legacy of chattel slavery is a lang sad sang but it has some very contemporary relevances ("Legacy of slavery we must still confront", The Herald, January 9, and Letters, January 11).
Scotland is hosting the Commonwealth Games and in the same year is seeking to join that body of sovereign post-Westminster nations with all the benefits and responsibilities that will bring.
One of the challenges Scotland will face from Caribbean governments (Caricom) is their determination to establish the moral, ethical and legal case for the payment of reparations by the former colonial European countries to the nations and people of the Caribbean community, for native genocide, the transatlantic slave trade and a racialised system of chattel slavery. The Caricom Reparations Committee has issued a statement recently delivered by its chairman, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, in which the case for diplomatic reparation is argued. I quote:
"The commission affirmed the argument that Caribbean societies have been built upon transatlantic slave trading and chattel slavery, which have been declared by the United Nations as crimes against humanity. These societies are uniquely placed to advance the global cause of truth, justice, and reconciliation, within the context of reparatory justice for the victims and their descendants." He adds that six broad aspects of the Caribbean condition have been identified that are the direct result of these "crimes", including:
"1) Public health: The African-descended population in the Caribbean has the highest incidence in the world of chronic diseases in the form of hypertension and type 2 diabetes that are the direct result of their nutritional exposure, endemic inhumane physical and emotional brutalisation and other aspects of the stress experience of slavery and post-slavery apartheid.
"2) Education: At the end of the colonial period the British left the African-descended population, and survivors of the native genocide, in a state of general illiteracy. Some 70% were functionally illiterate at the onset of the independence era. Widespread illiteracy continues to plague Caribbean societies.
"3) Cultural institutions: Europeans have invested in the development of institutions such as museums and research centres in order to prepare their citizens for an understanding of their imperial history that defined them as rulers and beneficiaries of slavery. There are no such facilities in the Caribbean where the crimes were committed and the victims left disenfranchised in respect of their institutional and cultural experiences and memory.
"4) Cultural deprivation: The primary cultural effect of slavery was to break and eradicate African commitment to their culture. Africans were deculturalised and today remain impoverished in respect or cultural legitimacy and supportive appropriate institutional arrangements. .
"5) Psychological trauma: For more than 400 years Africans were classified in law as non-human, chattel, property and real estate. They were denied recognition as members of the human family by laws and practices derived from the parliaments and policies of Europe. This history has inflicted massive psychological damage upon African descendants and is evident daily in social life.
"6) Scientific and technological backwardness: For 400 years the policy of Britain and Europe had been that the Caribbean should not participate in any manufacturing or industria process, and should be confined to the production of raw materials. This policy has rendered the Caribbean technologically and scientifically ill-equipped. This matter must be addressed in reparatory dialogue."
A team of lawyers from London has been engaged to help develop the argument "that Caricom should request reparatory dialogue with beneficiary slave-owning European states with a view to formulating a new development agenda for the Caribbean, taking these reparatory objectives into consideration".
Scotland will no doubt hear more on these important human rights issues as it prepares to move forward into self-government; history speaks to the present.
Thom Cross,
18 Needle Green,
Carluke.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article