Scholars
from the Caribbean recently renewed their call for reparations in
recompense for hundreds of years of native genocide and enslavement
in the region. The calls were made during a recent virtual symposium
to honour the life and work of St. Lucian Nobel Laureate Sir William
Arthur Lewis.

The
symposium was hosted by the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) in
collaboration with the Saint Lucia National Reparations Committee and
the Nobel Laureates Festival Committee of Saint Lucia, on June 15.
The event included prominent scholars, economists and public
officials who paid tribute to Saint Lucian-born economist, Sir
William Arthur Lewis.

Among the scholars were
Professor Mark
Figueroa, Honorary
Research Fellow, The UWI Museum and Archives; Professor
Paget Henry,
Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies, Brown University,
Professor
Aldrie Henry-Lee,
Director SALISES, The UWI Mona and Dr.
Michael Witter, retired
Senior Lecturer in Economics. Contributions were also made by Dr.
Patricia Northover Senior
Fellow, SALISES, The UWI Mona and the feature address was given by
Sir Hilary Beckles Vice Chancellor of the UWI and Chairman of the
CARICOM Reparations Commission.

In
his presentation, Dr. Witter explained that reparations was
essentially repayment for deprivation of rights, services, cultural
assets, and work done under the brutal conditions of slavery which,
he said, was a situation of total human exploitation.

According
to him, reparations is really necessary to address the social damage,
the health problems, the abuse of culture, displacement of indigenous
people and forced migration caused by slavery.

Dr.
Witter called for more inclusivity in Caribbean economies and pointed
out that “one of the challenges that comes out of the reparations
movement is: what are the appropriate forms of labour regimes that
would tap into the Caribbean peoples productivity and provide better
returns for them in a relative sense vis-à-vis
capital
and property?
This he felt was key to promoting inclusiveness.

He
concluded that “there are two tracks we are suggesting -
compensation for past exploitation. That should go to labour as
capital whether it’s social, cultural, or financial. But we need to
also work on the piece of the share of labour - of non-labour income
for labourers in the future because this will be the basis for an
inclusive society.”

In
underscoring the importance of the call for reparations, Prof.
Figueroa said Lewis's abiding passion was with the struggle for
racial justice. He also noted that Lewis’ work centred on the
creation of the sociocultural and economic basis for the creation of
an economy, which had in it’s main focus, the betterment of the
majority of its peoples.

“He
was a Caribbean patriot and in his own words spent all his adult life
in black power movements, but he was reluctant to engage in partisan
advocacy.” Lewis, he said “had a view on the debt that the
British owed the Caribbean and as to what the countries of the
developed world ought to do to assist the most vulnerable. “

Figueroa
concluded that “we must struggle against racism, demand
reparations, and take advantage of financial flows, which it suits us
to attract.” In relation to foreign capital, we need to overcome
the mistakes of the past and ensure that the region advances as the
Asian countries did - having successfully followed several elements
of the Lewis model.

Professor
Henry-Lee in her discussion focused on the role of women in the
reparations movement. According to her, their role is very important
in any discussion about reparations. She said it would not be
possible to attain sustainable development without focusing on women
and children.

Zeroing
in on Lewis’ work she noted that he mentioned women frequently and
quoted him as saying “One of the surest ways of increasing the
national income is therefore to create new sources of employment for
women outside the home… When we take account of all the sources we
have now listed - the farmers, the casuals, the petty traders, women
in the household, andpopulation
growth - it is clear enough that women play a key role in any
economy.”

She
closed with a quote from Lewis, stating that “the rich countries
will find it increasingly uncomfortable, if not also dangerous, to
live as an island of wealth in a sea of poverty and political
turbulence”. I think this captures what we are going through right
now in the US and elsewhere” she said.

Professor
Paget Henry in his presentation, examined Lewis’ work in relation
to what he called four major turns, which he said were shifts in
perspectives from which Lewis examined different aspects of basic
economic problems. The turns he referenced were ‘a labourist’
turn, a ‘Fabian Socialist” turn, a turn to economic growth and a
final turn towards developing a model of the global economy and
international trade. The latter he said, had not received as much
attention as it deserved. Henry concluded that these were ideas worth
revisiting, particularly in the context of what he called this
neoliberal era.

Sir
Hilary Beckles in his closing remarks spoke about COVID-19 and linked
it to the reparations movement. He said the pandemic
has revealed the proliferation and the scope of inner-city poverty,
and it has raised questions such as, how do you police people who
really are in need of empowerment? How do you rule out a public
policy of equality and justice with people who are living in a
reality where to comply and be compliant with public policy is so
horrendously difficult?

He
was also emphatic about Lewis’ view on the subject of reparations
saying, “We
are putting back on the agenda the Lewis proposal that Britain owes a
debt to this region. It deliberately pushed that debt aside using
their superior political diplomacy and power in the international
community. The time has come for reparatory justice.”