PHILOSOPHICALLY SPEAKING
Reparation
— It is long overdue!
By:
Errol Gibbs
What
is Reparation? Reparation
is first and foremost a moral obligation and then a legal obligation. There is
a marked distinction between an individual and a nation that is forced (by
legal instruments) to provide reparation to a person or nation wronged and an
individual or nation that openly and voluntarily admits to the wrong.
Reparation is making of amends for a wrong
someone has done, by compensating and assisting through a myriad of ways, those
who have been wronged. An admission of guilt must precede a personal or national
apology, which must come from the ‘heart’, and not the ‘head’, and a change of
mind and national action must follow.
In jurisprudence, reparation is ‘just’ compensation for
loss inflicted by criminal acts against a victim or victims. There are
other moral considerations that ought to precede reparation: namely, repenting
for the wrong, pledging not to repeat the offense, striving to reverse the
harmful effects of the wrong and offering some form of closure to the victims
and others affected, compensating (reparation) for the wrong in a proportionate
manner, and establishing measures to mitigate against a reoccurrence of such a
wrong by successive peoples, institutions, and governments.
Reparation is not a new phenomenon. It is
entrenched in the spiritual, moral, social, and legal fabric of nations. It is
a strand in the DNA of the human genome. It is the inalienable civil right of
victims that is recognized by developed nations, human rights organizations,
and global humanitarian and world peace organizations and councils, notably,
the United Nations (UN) and its six principal organs
(http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/).
As recent as February 4, 2013, the Minister
of Justice announced the Government of Canada’s intention to move forward with
the creation of a Victims Bill of Rights (Bill C–32, the Canadian Victims Bill of
Rights). From a Biblical perspective, such legislation parallels the Golden Rule or “ethic” of “reciprocity” which is
an ethical maxim (code of morality) that essentially states: Do
to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31 (New International
Version (NIV)). Which institution did God imbue
with the moral authority to sanction Black African Slavery —with
impunity?
Black African Slavery was an evil
act, contrary to the Christian mandate (Matthew 22:37 – 40 (NKJV)). In the
sixteenth century, God in His infinite wisdom confounded the minds of the Jesuits, the Dominican, and the
Franciscan Monks, causing them to convert the ‘benighted’ beings (denigrating
reference to Black Africans) to Christianity. (Eric Williams (1911 – 1981), Capitalism and Slavery (London
The arguments against reparation
are evasive and baseless when compared to the generational suffering (victims were lynched, murdered, castrated, shot, burned,
drowned, dismembered, or dragged to death in unspeakable acts of terrorism) that
enslaved Black Africans and their descendants have endured for centuries (1500s
– 1900s), with impunity. The world must also be mindful of the millions of
souls that went to a ‘watery grave’ while crossing the Middle Passage, as well
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p277.html).
A
random sampling of some of the divisive issues that attempts to bolster the
arguments against reparations are: (1) the perpetrators and victims are dead,
and today’s taxpayers will have to carry the burden; (2) there are too many
claimants; (3) distribution of money will be problematic among claimants; (4)
there is insufficient documentary evidence of slavery; (5) corrupt governments
will manipulate reparation dollars; (6) descendants cannot be held accountable;
(7) and today’s claimants are too far removed from the Black African Slavery
era.
(http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/lynching).
Why do
some members of society react negatively to the word ‘reparation’ especially when
it is in reference to ‘just’ compensation for Black African Slavery (1500s –
1900s) and the aftermath? Their reaction is underpinned by their reluctance to
be held culpable. Fairness, justice, equity, and empathy precede and motivate
acts of reparation, and when these are present, reparation effectively restores
the broken human trust between oppressors and oppressed.
This writer
postulates that rather than creating evasive arguments ‘against’ reparation, a
more critical moral enquiry should inform the debate, for example: (1) why was
a ‘Post Black African Slavery Marshall Plan’ for the reconstruction of the
lives of post enslaved Black Africans not penned; (2) why Western nations chose
‘Charity” over ‘Reparation’, when the empirical evidence is clear that charity
fosters dependency, and dims the light of self–determination; and (3) why are
descendents of Black African Slavery being denied reparation when other nations (Germany, Japan, Korea, Iraq, Israel, and
Kuwait) and peoples are compensated for historical wrongs? Can it be that the
preponderance of this issue is race based? Are Black Africans and their
descendents less deserving of reparation among God’s created beings? Where are
the great spiritual (religious), and moral leaders of the world?
Reparation — the
arguments for
Black
African Slavery is the greatest atrocity (by any statistical measure) that the
world has witnessed, or failed to witness — an unequivocal
betrayal of human trust. The argument for reparation can withstand both legal
and moral scrutiny — especially when the nations of the former
colonizers, corporations, and institutions owe their present prosperity to, and
are still benefiting from wealth accumulated from the triangular trade
(https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/slavery-freedom-and-the-struggle-for-empire-1750-1763/slavery-and-empire/the-triangular-trade/).
In addition to the voices coming
from Blacks in the Western Diaspora, and continental Africa, the call for
reparation should rise to a higher moral forum as a universal declaration
coming from the voices of some of our great leaders, educators, professors,
researchers, historians, humanitarians, and philanthropists, such as: United
States President Barack Obama; Dr. Joy
Degruy, Researcher and Educator; The Right Honourable Justine Greening, MP; Pope Francis
(born Jorge Mario Bergoglio); UN Secretary General Ban Ki–moon; Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu;
former President Williams (Bill) Clinton; Dr.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; and William (Bill) and Melinda Gates, Business
Magnate and Philanthropists.
Whether by
spiritual, scientific, or empirical observation, generational challenges are
documented in psychological literature; manifested in the form of generational
poverty, health challenges, educational challenges, family violence, inherited
abusive traits, social and economic dependency, drug addiction, teenage
pregnancies, marriage breakdown, and homelessness. This writer puts forward
that Western nations ought to investigate Post Generational Traumatic Syndrome
(PGTS) as an after effect of approximately 400 years of Black African Slavery
(1500s – 1900s) on the decedents of both oppressor and oppressed peoples.
More
importantly, PGTS ought to be at the apex of the reparation debate. A
rudimentary statistical head count of Blacks, as wards of Western nations’
Prison Industrial Complex, will help quantify Black suffering. The Prison
Industrial Complex paints a vivid picture of a people, traumatized by fear,
violence, and gross national neglect throughout the Western Diaspora, for
generations. Is it sufficient for religious leaders to exalt their Prison
Ministries, and all but neglect the higher ‘moral urgency’ for ‘just laws’, and
the application of ‘just laws’ — justly?
Western
nations can begin earnest enquiry regarding the argument for reparation by
researching the works by [Dr.] Eric Williams (1911–1981): Capitalism and Slavery (London: Andre
Deutsch Limited © 1944; From Columbus to
Castro: The History of the Caribbean 1492–1969 (Andre Deutsch limited,
London © 1970; Dr. Joy Degruy's book entitled Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, (http://joydegruy.com/resources-2/post-traumatic-slave-syndrome/);
and David Eltis and David Richardson’s Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave
Trade, New Haven, 2010, (http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/assessment/intro-maps.faces).
These groundbreaking works will better inform both sides in the reparation
debate, because reparation is neither a Black nor White issue, it is a
humanitarian issue of gargantuan proportions —a true
and constructive national and international dialogue is long overdue.
Reparation — A
spiritual and moral necessity
Reparation
is a spiritual and moral necessity. It will bring God’s spiritual healing “to
the land” of Western civilization (2 Chronicles 7:14). It is owed to the
descendents of the Black African Slave Trade. It is mutual value proposition.
It is healthy for healing the racial divide for future generations, thereby
creating a more perfect union. It is healthy for the creation of just societies
and nations, and it will diminish the need for charity. Charitable acts are essential, but they are not an
effective primary solution to the growing
poverty, hunger, and disenfranchisement around the world (http://debatewise.org/debates/2793-colonialism-compensation-for/).
The most important forms of
reparation are the building of political, economic, social, educational,
medical research, and governance infrastructure. Reparation among peoples and
nations can also take the form of a structure of remedies that addresses
specific areas of historical disadvantages with measurable goals and outcomes.
Reparation can also take the form of debt cancellation, and the transfer of
money to various trusts in proportionate amounts. That is, the number of
enslaved persons taken from the African continent, and number of years of free
labour performed as an aggregate of the number of enslaved that disembarked on
the respective plantation colony.
Reparation also implies
some level of integration into a system or systems of organizations so that the
recipients can develop the tools needed to achieve some level of parity with
those who are more advanced in rapid scientific and technological progress. The
Western world must be mindful of the enormous discontent among peoples and nations that is
expressing itself in different ways. A great spiritual starvation is
developing in various parts of our world. There has to be a more informed response to the current
social and economic world imbalance. Money cannot buy moral, social,
educational, or political equity, or sustain inner peace, but money could
definitely translate to the price of justice.
— Errol A. Gibbs, CET, PMP
Project Management
and Business Consultant
Author, Mentor
Tel:
905.875.4956
Email: egibbs1@sympatico.ca
Website:
www.ffhdwritersinc.com
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