The apologies of European ex-metropolises to their former colonies should lead to a dialogue on the action to repair the damage caused by the colonizers, said a renowned historian from Barbados.
The expert referred to the subject in an article published on the official website of the bloc related to the demand for justice for the historical crimes of genocide and slavery in the Caribbean region.
‘Europe has a debt to our people and now is the time to pay it,’ said the expert, who is also vice rector of the University of the West Indies.
The urgent need to repair the damage of slavery in the territories dominated before by colonial rule was reiterated by Hilary McDonald Beckles, president of the Reparations Committee of the Caribbean Community.
The issue came to light after recent statements of apology and repentance voiced by some European states and British companies for their role in the transatlantic slave trade and over 200 years of slavery.
‘While we reject the so-called repentance statements as inappropriate and insulting, we accept those of official apologies as calls for dialogue regarding remedial action,’ Beckles said.
However, she urged the former colonizing and slave states of Europe to address the urgent need to address the lasting damage of slavery in the former colonies.
The CARICOM Reparations Commission has been seeking compensation since 1993 for so-called native genocide and African slavery by the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. (https://www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=57435&SEO=caricom-insists-on-debt-of-european-former-colonizers)
