In the 400 years of the ‘Atlantic slave trade’, somewhere in the region of 12 to 15 million Africans were enslaved and transported by force to the Americas and the Caribbean. Between one and two million died in the crossing and millions more people in Africa also died because of raids, wars and on the way to the coast for ‘sale’ to European traffickers. Once in the Americas, these enslaved labourers were forced to work in labour camps where the conditions were so harsh that most only lived for about seven years before the accumulation of fatigue, whipping and hunger sent them to an early grave. The attrition rate in a Caribbean plantation was worse than the Battle of the Somme. The UN World Conference Against Racism 2001 recognised this as a crime against humanity.
Trafficking for the African continent represented depopulation of its societies, the destruction of political and social structures, the stifling of economic development and prepared the way for eventual colonial occupation by the European powers.
Profits from British trafficking and the unpaid labour of enslaved workers contributed significantly to the accumulation of capital in England, which financed the Industrial Revolution and, conversely, contributed to the underdevelopment of member states of the Caribbean Community, both through the profits made from sugar and other tropical products as well as the supply of cheap raw materials such as cotton to European and North American manufacturers. These profits went, directly or indirectly, to the manufacturers and other suppliers of the trafficking, to the shipping industry, into the construction of infrastructure such as canals and railways, but above all to the financial services industry. Many of today’s banks and insurance companies can be traced back directly to concerns that had their first growth through their financing of trafficking and enslavement. It would therefore seem reasonable that these modern corporations should refund the unpaid wages from which their predecessors profited so handsomely.
The international trade union and Labour movement has a duty be in the forefront of the Reparations movement because this struggle is about redress for the unpaid labour, including the special oppression of women, who were forced to have children to provide a continued source of enslaved labour. Furthermore, this struggle is also about stopping and repairing the effect of the ongoing super exploitation of Afrikan people worldwide by institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank.
Racism, which the supporters of the trafficking used as a justification for enslavement, has infected British society. The racism of the police, the unemployment figures for young Black people, the endless discrimination and petty humiliations of everyday life, the Windrush scandal: all these factors and more have their origins in the invention of racism to explain the wealth and power that the British ruling class gained from enslavement.
As well as the return of unpaid wages, we seek Reparations for the former enslaved Afrikans and their descendants for the denial of their culture and history; human rights abuses, including but not limited to murder, rape, flogging, branding, denial of freedom of movement, freedom to worship, freedom to own land, and the right to education; and for the severe generational psychological damage to enslaved people and their descendants, long after 1838, caused by their status as enslaved people and perpetuated by associated systemic racism and racial discrimination.
The call for Reparations for enslavement appeals in a broader sense to the “correcting of a wrong”. In the case of the trafficking and enslavement with its persistent legacies, this means implementing measures of compensation at different levels. It embraces a multitude of symbolic and material dimensions, including the call for apology and recognition, but also for collective investments that would address the structural inequalities and racial discrimination Afrikan people still suffer in terms of accessing education, health systems, income, housing and labour markets, to name just a few. Besides financial transfers, claims for Reparations demand support for historical and commemorative activities, the erection of memorials, returning artifacts, days of remembrance and museums that would contribute to decolonising the history of enslavement and its legacies.
A better world is possible.
The LESE TUC Reparations for Afrikan Enslavement Steering Group sets as its aims to:
• Campaign in the trade union movement for Reparations for enslavement.
• Support and publicise the work of the CARICOM Reparations Commission.
• Support those governments, such as Belize, that have lodged claims for Reparations and encourage other governments to follow their example.
• Liaise with other bodies such as the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations and local Reparations groups such as Global Afrikan Congressuk (GACuk).
• Work for the decolonisation of education at all levels.
• Support local campaigns for the removal of statues and similar memorials to traffickers and enslavers.
• Produce printed and digital material to support the above.
• Provide speakers for trade union meetings.
• Support the campaign to overturn the convictions of all those who were convicted for their role in the historic 1823 Demerara rebellion by enslaved workers. This should be extended to all enslaved persons executed or punished for acts of resistance.