Reparation process must begin in Guyana – Ret’d Rear Admiral Best
─ UG’s sixth discussion on Law and Society hosted
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, July 31, 2018
As Guyanese prepare to observe 180 years of Emancipation, the issue of reparations for ancestors of enslaved Africans continues to be a topical issue across the region.
This subject was discussed last evening at the University of Guyana’s sixth conversation on Law and Society. The event was held under the theme “the challenges of and to reparations for people of African Decent in the 21st Century.”
Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Gary Best, in his discussion, declared that the reparation process must begin in Guyana and opined that the state should provide partial reparations.
“There were three specific occasions in our history of our ancestors to support this; first we were kidnapped and transferred to this part of the world for our lands, secondly we indigenised the lands for over 200 years and at the end of the period of indigenisation those lands were not given to us, thirdly at the point of independence only our Amerindian brothers received reparatory justice, partially through the Amerindian Act, where lands were provided for them,” he said.
According to the retired Rear Admiral, it was the enslaved Africans who “humanised the coastline and provided a haven for our Indians, Chinese and Portuguese to come.”
Supporting his colleague, Chairman of the Guyana Reparation Committee, Eric Phillips noted that reparation is the moral, ethical, social, religious, economic, political and financial crises of the modern time. He called on people of African descent to unify so that the issue of reparations can be addressed.
Meanwhile, Professor Verene Shepherd, Director for the Centre for Reparation Research at the University of West Indies (UWI) in her discussion noted that an “all-hands-on-deck” is required if the fight for reparation is to be won. Professor Shepherd also added that any group whose ancestors suffered any form of colonial oppression should make this their fight also.
She specifically called on the women to be advocates for reparatory justice since the burden of enslavement fell disproportionately on female ancestors. Professor Shepherd said the issue refuses to go away and more attention has been focused on the Caribbean.
“The concept of reparation is a part of the theory of justice known as restorative justice and this concept of justice emphasises repairing the harm caused or revealed by criminal action. A part of identifying and taking steps to repair harm is to unequivocally acknowledge that wrong was done and to make amends,” Professor Shepherd explained.
The discussions are intended to increase awareness and start conversations on various issues, deemed relevant to today’s society.
Ranetta La Fleur
Image: Jameel Mohamed