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.

[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.