Should they be compensated?
published: Tuesday | January 14, 2003
THE EDITOR, Sir:
THERE HAVE been several discussions about the United Kingdom compensating the Rastafarian for the slave labour. However, there has not been any talk about the African Chiefs compensating the Rastafarian. By no means am I defending the inhumane things the British did to Jamaicans in slavery, but I think the West African Government should compensate Jamaicans as well.
The vast majority of Africans were captured in West Africa. The slave trade was carried out through an alliance between white slave traders and black African tribal chiefs.
It is estimated that some fifty million people were taken from the continent during the years of the slave trade. I think if one knows the roots of slave trade, one would realise that the Africans were the ones who traded other Africans to the European. Therefore, slave trade is a very complex subject. Blacks should be compensated because other nations have been compensated. However, it is going to be a long time in coming.
I would recommend this book, "To be a Slave", by Julius Lester. ISBN D-590-42460-2. Publisher: Scholastic Inc. 700 Broadway , New York, NY 10003.
