Pars Today

Pars Today- Richard Sudan writes, "It is only when the West faces with the heritage of its slavery in the sense of paying reparations that black communities will get free all over the world."

The demand for reparations to compensate slavery and confront the modern heritage of structural racism stemming from it is by no means a new battlefield.

After murdering George Floyd, global protests of "Black Lives Matter" were aggravated and doubled the force of the calls for justice.

Western countries, which have been built through slavery, are represented by governments that are intentionally seeking to delay the issue of paying reparations.

In the United States, for instance, the HR40 bill proposing the study of reparations, probably will never turn into a law as it has been halted for decades.

Britain, the pioneer country in the trade of slaves in the world, has refused to confess its true role in slavery to the extent that it is indescribable. Even at classes, students are taught that Britain was the first country to end slavery in 1807, whereas the first country was Haiti in 1804.

It should be said clearly that industrial and scientific revolution and Britain's development were feasible only due to Africa's slavery and underdevelopment.

The British so-called grandeur and empire depended on exploitation of humans with darker skin.

In spite of the purposeful ignorance and lack of political will in the countries, like the US and Britain, luckily, countries which are bearing the wounds of slavery are getting united to struggle for justice.

Early this month, a bill for an international court- adopting the model of the post-WWII Nurnberg Court- was put to debate at the third session of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent (PFPAD) in Geneva.

The court has attained the payment of reparations with the aim of creating a legal framework and reaching a UN consensus with the strong support of different countries.

The trans-Atlantic slavery was the greatest crime in the contemporary history. The black Holocaust caused scores of millions of Africans to be expelled from their lands and forced them to build countries in the West where they are not yet treated as civilians with equal rights.

Reparations can help confront deeply-rooted economic inequalities and can at least try to alleviate the inter-generational damage caused by slavery.

For sure, there are challenges. But, the agreement for an international court indicates a growing dialogue which will not stop as long as structural inequalities persist.

Unfortunately, the Caribbean countries are under the yoke of financial colonial bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

We know quite well that the conduct of the US police has its roots in the past eras of slavery and the system of the US prisons has got the epithet of "new form of slavery". Black people disproportionately comprise a high number of the American inmates and are often exploited for cheap workforce which is to the favor of the companies profiting from private prisons industry.

We can also see how the blacks in Brazil, who form the highest number of the slaved Africans, face with inhumane behavior.

Moreover, there are further examples which can be highlighted one by one.

Political factions cunningly ignore this issue. Liberals have supported justice for other communities such as the Jewish community, but kept almost silent about blacks.

In the best condition, they have presented anti-racist measures and, at times in order to reform the police, they have participated in rallies with placards in their hands.

The rightist faction, too, has dealt with blacks with humiliation and, in some cases, they argue that slavery has been culturally to the benefit of blacks and Africans.

It is important to stress that slavery is a characteristic of the European development at a price permanently paid by blacks.

The Africans and blacks of African origin say nothing anymore and they call for reparations. If the European countries want to move forward, this is not a financial aid. It is rather a debt which must be paid.

The move of the African and Caribbean countries towards a court model for receiving reparations is a good idea. This is exactly what Malcolm X was thinking of before his death. Fortunately, the communities asking for reparations are being organized and there is an ever-increasing unity on this issue.

 So far, the church has been obligated to pay 100 million pounds to start reforming the past mistakes.

Justice-seeking and independent communities all over the world should support these calls.

This piece is excerpted from an article penned by Richard Sudan, under the title: Black people globally are demanding reparations It was published in  .www.newarab.com

RM/MG