July 18 (Reuters) - The European Union (EU) said on Tuesday that Europe’s slave-trading past inflicted “untold suffering” on millions of people and hinted at the need for reparations for what it described as a “crime against humanity”.
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 CELAC’s presidency, said he wanted the summit’s final statement to include language on the “historical legacies of native genocide and enslavement of African bodies” and “reparatory justice”,
But some European governments were wary of proposed language on reparations, diplomats said.
EU and CELAC agreed on one paragraph that acknowledged and “profoundly” regretted the “untold suffering inflicted on millions of men, women and children as a result of the transatlantic slave trade”.
It said slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were “appalling tragedies … not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude”. Slavery was a “crime against humanity”, 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 “sees the persistent racial victimisation of the descendants of slavery and genocide as the root cause of their suffering today”, the plan said.
Earlier this month, Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologised for the Netherlands’ historic involvement in slavery and in April King Charles gave his support to research that would examine the British monarchy’s 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.
I mean, reparations for Slavic folks sounds reasonable too? As does reparations for anyone who suffered slavery or genocide at the hands of another, currently-extent nation.
See, my point is, I never was a slave. My parents weren’t as well, not even my grandparents. I have very vague memory of one great-grandparent, but she wasn’t a slave as well. No one from my family in my living memory was a slave. 11th century is soooo far away that it doesn’t make sense. And while black people slavery is not as far as Slavic slavery, it’s still way too far.
If someone wants to do the empty gesture of apologizing, be my guest - while I disagree, it doesn’t cost me my tax money.
“Fun” fact: I now live in a city which was the center for castrating Slavic slaves before being sold!
I think the confusion here stems from the fact that with historical slavery like the transatlantic slave trade, both slaves and slave owners are long dead. So the only parts of that slavery that still affect living people are the longer-lasting cultural effects, such as racial inequality.
Personally, I think we should probably be addressing those cultural effects, and that seems to generally be what these “reparations” are about? But I do agree that modern slavery is something that really needs to be addressed as well, and living slaves absolutely deserve reparations from their slavers.
And stunted generational wealth that happens when your ancestors can’t acquire their own wealth.
I’m white and still waiting for my generational wealth to magically appear out of thin air.
I wanted to make a snarky comment…
But instead, I subbed to your awesome subs!
Right, so your ancestors failed to accrue that. The point being that enslaved people weren’t given the opportunity to try and fail. They were slaves, end of story.
My grandfather was a political prisoner under Communism, my parents were refugees from eastern Europe.
They had no opportunity to accrue generational wealth either.
And yet, still moreso than a slave.
My brother in Christ, my grandparents’ property was seized and my parents came to where we are now with enough money to eat for about a week.
Tell me all about the opportunities they had. Don’t pull a muscle at your oppression Olympics though
A slave’s entire being is seized, pal. Your parents had the opportunity to leave, more than slaves generally have.
Sounds like they were unlucky. Same as my ancestors. Mine were unlucky because of Soviet occupation. And I’ve had as much generational wealth as descendants of slaves.
So is your suggestion that the society you live in should hold itself to the standards of the place that wronged your ancestors and make no attempt to fix historic wrongs it committed? Given the opportunity to receive reparations from Russia, you’d refuse because people born or arrived there since your family left had no part in what happened? What am I saying, of course you would because I’m sure you couldn’t be a hypocrite.