July 18 (Reuters) - The European Union (EU) said on Tuesday that Europeâs slave-trading past inflicted âuntold sufferingâ on millions of people and hinted at the need for reparations for what it described as a âcrime against humanityâ.
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.
Leaders of EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) met in Brussels this week for a two-day summit.
As the event started on Monday, Ralph Gonsalves, premier of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the current holder of CELACâs presidency, said he wanted the summitâs final statement to include language on the âhistorical legacies of native genocide and enslavement of African bodiesâ and âreparatory justiceâ,
But some European governments were wary of proposed language on reparations, diplomats said.
EU and CELAC agreed on one paragraph that acknowledged and âprofoundlyâ regretted the âuntold suffering inflicted on millions of men, women and children as a result of the transatlantic slave tradeâ.
It said slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were âappalling tragedies ⊠not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitudeâ. Slavery was a âcrime against humanityâ, it said.
In the statement, adopted by leaders of both sides, the CELAC referred to a 10-point reparation plan by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which, among other measures, urges European countries to formally apologise for slavery.
The plan demands a repatriation programme that would allow people to relocate to African nations if they want to and support from European nations to tackle public health and economic crises. It also calls for debt cancellation.
The CARICOM reparations commission âsees the persistent racial victimisation of the descendants of slavery and genocide as the root cause of their suffering todayâ, the plan said.
Earlier this month, Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologised for the Netherlandsâ historic involvement in slavery and in April King Charles gave his support to research that would examine the British monarchyâs links to slavery.
In Portugal, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said his country should apologise for its role in the transatlantic slave trade but critics said apologies were not enough and practical measures were essential to address the past.
As a Slavic person, I want my reparations for the slavery my ancestors had to endure up to the ~11th century. Or we can all just say âfuck itâ and stop pretending like people who never owned slaves owe something to people who never were slaves.
How about we punish the people who actually still own slaves instead?
The people are long dead but the states and institutions that benefitted from slavery still exist. Like for example the Netherlands, my country, benefited greatly from the slave trade and it started the Dutch Golden Age. The enormous wealth it brought back to the Netherlands made what the country is today. Even the riches of the Dutch royal family is build with spoils from the colonial past. Itâs only fair that the Dutch state would use some of those riches to help the former colonies grow their economy where lots of descendants of slaves are living in enormous poverty. And these people are only four to five generations away from ancestors who were born into slavery, it wasnât that long ago.
Well, many countries, or their direct descendants, that benefited from Slavic slaves are alive as well.
Then form a movement and demand reparations from those countries. Just because your ancestors didnât get justice doesnât mean others shouldnât.
How about we punish the people who actually still own slaves instead?
This.
I wish ppl would focus on whatâs actually happening now, then on what happened centuries ago.
Mind you, Iâm not downplaying what happened, just putting the discussion in a broader and more direct context.
According to this site( ILO) there are approximately 50 million slaves. This might be a low estimate.
Edited.
Yeah pay reparations with one hand and sponsor the CCP with another, so it all balances out in the end.
France charged Haiti reparations for ending slavery.
They should be first in line, with hand-chopping Belgium right behind them.
