Reparations ‘more than money’

Reparations for the transatlantic slave trade must be understood as far more than a financial settlement, Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM David Commissiong told delegates at the third CARICOM Reparations Conference Friday, instead describing the movement as a 21st Century campaign for the full redemption of African people worldwide.

Reflecting on why 12 years had passed since the last such conference in 2014, Commissiong said the region’s thinking on the issue had simply outgrown its earlier form.

“When we started in 2013, we had a proper concept,” he said, “but over the years, we have evolved that concept and it has become a much more comprehensive concept”, one now reflected in an updated ten-point plan he called “the Manifesto for the Coming Enlightenment”.