African diaspora wants reparations for slavery

SABC News ^ | August 28, 2007 | Thami Dickson

[2ndDivisionVet]

European and American countries that enslaved African people and scattered them in the African Diaspora should pay reparations for their slave crimes. This came out at the historic African Union (AU) conference in the Caribbean Island of Barbados, set to tackle the integration of the African Diaspora and the continent.

Leading scholars, ambassadors and government ministers from Africa and beyond are examining economic relations and the responsibility of the slave masters in undoing the slave trade damage they inflicted on Africa and her Diaspora.

With song and the beating of drums, the African people in the Diaspora of the Caribbean Islands, set a stage for the critical discussions on what the European and American slave masters should do for their crimes of transporting millions of Africans across the Atlantic in the infamous Transatlantic slave trade which ended 200 years ago.

Addressing the conference, South Africa's Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya argued that the Caribbean nations are correct to demand reparations for the slave trade. Skweyiya says the countries who are responsible for slave trade must take responsibility of their actions.

Diaspora Solidarity

The African Union is leading this series of consultative conferences across the world to make a case for the sustainable economic development and integration of Africa and her diaspora. It seeks to promote greater investment and trade flows in the diaspora.

Solidarity and speaking with one voice in multi-lateral platforms is another area of focus. Secretary General of the regional block of Caribbean nations Edwin Carrington says this drive by the AU and the Caribbean will result in a huge reaffirmation of the place of Africans in the world.

Although reparations for the slave trade are a critical part of this drive for greater economic development of the African nations in the diaspora, Carrington says in the final analysis Africans will be judged by what they can do by themselves and for themselves.

The regional processes have been held in New York, London, Brasilia, Johannesburg and now the Caribbean. From the Caribbean they will move to Paris and then Ethiopia. These processes will lead to a ministerial conference in South Africa in November and then culminate to an AU African Diaspora Summit early next year.

[2ndDivisionVet]

My ancestors were held as serfs by European nobility in the Middle Ages. Where are my reparations?

[ken21]

my mother’s 3/4 american indian.

where’s my take?

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Mine died fighting to free the slaves. Where are my reparations?

[Jeff Chandler]

My daughter’s dog is a Chinese Pug. What about reparations for little Dauphnie from the British?

[Logophile]

I have an idea. Let’s offer United States citizenship to all slaves and their descendants who were either brought here or born here. That should be reparations enough.

[Eternal_Bear]

dream on losers!

[warpsmith]

I waste my time having to put up with this cr@p. Where’re my reparations?

[Logophile]

Oh, and let’s free the slaves and make slavery illegal too.

[One_American]

Hey AU, you’ll get nothing and you’ll like it.

[Old Sarge]

Will they go after their own tribal leaders who sold their own people into slavery?

Oh, there’s not enough money there?

I understand...

[neverdem]

Leading scholars, ambassadors and government ministers from Africa and beyond are examining economic relations and the responsibility of the original, black slave masters, who traded the slaves to the white devils, in undoing the slave trade damage they inflicted on Africa and her Diaspora.

There, fixed it.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Haha! I think we did that about 140 years ago, didn’t we? IIRC former slaves were also promised “40 acres and a mule” weren’t they? Well, most of Alaska is Federal land...

[Caipirabob]

African diaspora wants reparations for slavery

Yeah, well, people in hell want ice water. They should read this link and think about it.

U.S. most armed country with 90 guns per 100 people

[clintonh8r]

I have a four word response...

[bubman]

Just gimme, gimme, GGGGGGGGIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEE!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Send the bill to the Arabs.

[BnBlFlag]

To the members of the “African Diaspora” demanding “Reparations”: GLMF! (Good luck my friends)

[goldstategop]

The Africans should paying reparations to themselves. They were the ones, who after all, sold their own people for profit into slavery! Pot meet kettle.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Psycho_Bunny]

yaright

[EGPWS]

I've just had to pay for it all my life.

Where's my take??

[Wings-n-Wind]

Ummmm.....Errrr....

Fat....
Slim...
None...

[Califreak]

[kAcknor]

The U.S. portion of this scam has been paid in full and then some. Paid with 400,000 Northern and 200,000 Southern lives in the War Between The States. Paid in civil unrest of the 1950's and 60's to include burned cities. Paid in voluntary and mandated discrimination that gives minorities favored status in hiring and entry into most public and private jobs and institutions of learning based solely on skin color.

PAID IN FULL.

If they still wish for more, if you ask me, it's time to fight for it.

[I see my hands]

To: African Union Members

Okay on the reparations but first you have to refund the price of the slaves (in today dollars, natch).

[EGPWS]

Diaspora Solidarity

Okay, after all we have our ADD, we may as well add DS to the symptom's list.

[Bringbackthedraft]

Find those slave traders and bring them to me, I’ll see to it that they pay those reparations!

[himno hero]

send the bill to africa...
there are places there which continued slavery into the seventies (1979s)!!

[Jeff Chandler]

Reparations for Chinese Pugs from English Bulldogs?

[ElkGroveDan]

My Neanderthal ancestors were decimated and driven out of Europe. I want reparations.

[ryan71]

I have a four word response...

If it’s what I think it is isn’t, “yourself”, one word?

[AnotherUnixGeek]

European and American countries that enslaved African people and scattered them in the African Diaspora should pay reparations for their slave crimes.

Why? No American alive today has ever owned slaves in the US. No American alive today has ever been a slave in the US.

For the sake of argument, let's assume that it's undisputed that we are all somehow responsible for the deeds of our ancestors. What percentage of Americans had an ancestor who owned slaves? As the son of an immigrant, I know I didn't. Why should I pay a cent? I'd bet most Americans today can correctly claim that none of their ancestors ever owned a slave.

And why should this generation of adult blacks alone be entitled to a reparations payment? What happens when the payment is spent? Won't the grandson of a recipient 50 years from now have an equally valid claim to reparations? Should we assume that anyone descended from a slave is entitled to a reparations payment until the US ceases to exist? Given time, every single American will eventually have ancestors who were slaves (as well as ancestors who were slave holders) - at what point should reparations stop?

[ronnie raygun]

Why don’t they dig up the chiefs of the tribes that sold them into slavery, maybe they can pay thier reparations!

[himno hero]

I think the largest traders were muslims

[AlaskaErik]

European and American countries that enslaved African people and scattered them in the African Diaspora should pay reparations for their slave crimes.

First they need to get a factual perspective on the situation. It was blacks and muslims who did the enslaving.

[Will88]

The most affluent black people on earth are the descendants of slaves in the West.

I once saw a proposal that the average income of the descendants of slaves should be calculated along with the average income of today’s Africans. If the descendants in the West earned less than Africans, they should receive reparations. If they earned more, they should pay a surtax for the excess affluence they enjoy compared to those whose ancestors remained in Africa.

A few years back a black reporter for the Washington Post returned from a trip to Africa. One thing he said was: “Thank God I had an ancestor brought to the United States of America as a slave.”

[EGPWS]

The Africans should paying reparations to themselves. They were the ones, who after all, sold their own people for profit into slavery!

The African's are following the lead of our democratic party appropriately in creating a problem and making someone else pay for it. ; D

[daku]

I say lets do it !

It will quiet this nonsense once and for all.

Of course I’d want adjustments for welfare accepted.

OK, slave decendents as soon as you pay each American taxpayer $297,000 each we’ll call it even

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

African slaves were not taken freely from Africa. They were sold to Europeans.

Bad business decision by African leaders

(a huge portion of the childbearing African population was taken as slaves, thus impeding Africa's development).

[PeteB570]

I’m an American taxpayer held in bondage by the IRS and the US Government.

Where is my reparations?

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

They could go after their corrupt, money-ridden presidents, though.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Mayor says London shares blame for trans-Atlantic slave trade (Red Ken Livingstone) http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/08/23/britain.slavery.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[Wil H]

European and American countries that enslaved African people and scattered them in the African Diaspora should pay reparations for their slave crimes.

So by the same criteria, children bought here illegally by their parents, or born here to illegal alien parents, are responsible for the actions of their parents and should be deported along with their parents since we are establishing that descendants have responsibility for their ancestors' transgressions.

Q.E.D.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Africans, Muslims, Arabs, and Europeans enslaved Africans.

[Graymatter]

If it hadn’t happened that way, none of them would even exist, would they? Maybe they should be paying us.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Fortunate for him; not for his slave ancestor.

[gjbevil]

I’d be glad to pay reparations to all African-Americans living in the U.S. for past slavery as long as we can offset what we owe them by the value of the benefit inured to them of living in this country compared to living in the Hellhole of Africa. Given that, they owe us about a billion or so, at least.

[Chode]

they can kiss my skinny white azz...!!!

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

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[Gay State Conservative]

99.9% of today's Africans would pay *us* for the right to carry a US passport.Perhaps the best solution to all this is to offer any American black who wants it free passage to the capital city of the African nation of their choice.Upon arrival the US citizenship of that person would be revoked.

For each such American who accepts this offer an African will be given the chance to qualify for a Green Card.

Problem solved.

[EGPWS]

African slaves were not taken freely from Africa. They were sold to Europeans.

The point is there are no slaves in real time in the free world.

In the USA alone, the most destitute live better by far than those who crossed the ocean in the 18th and 19th century. Reparations is nothing but a means to convince people that are content with life to give to those who are not content.

Those who have had slaves and willingly promoted such are long dead.