14 Caribbean nations sue Britain, Holland and France for slavery reparations that could cost hundreds of billions of pounds. Britain is being sued with France and the Netherlands by 14 Caribbean countries demanding what could be hundreds of billions of pounds in reparations for slavery. Around 175 years after Britain freed its last slaves in the West Indies, an alliance of Caribbean nations is demanding to be repaid for the awful, lingering legacy of the Atlantic slave trade. Caricom, a group of 12 former British colonies together with the former French colony Haiti and the Dutch-held Suriname, believes the European governments should pay – and the UK in particular. In its lawsuit, Caricom claims slavery condemned the region to a poverty that still afflicts it today. And they are comparing their demand to Germany recompensing Jewish people for the Holocaust and New Zealand compensating Maoris. The awful legacy of these crimes against humanity ought to be repaired for the developmental benefit of our Caribbean societies and all our peoples, said Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of the tiny Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He called it a historic wrong that has to be righted. Verene Shepherd, who is coordinating Jamaica’s demands for reparations, said their slave ancestors got nothing when they were freed.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Jan 2014 19:04:15 +0000
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