By Liam Miller
In his second treatise of government, John Locke’s profound statement, “Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes degenerate and declares himself to quit the principles of human nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injury done to some person or other, and some other man receives damage by his transgression,” sets a solid philosophical foundation for the case for reparatory justice for The Bahamas.
Yet, what is reparatory justice? According to the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), reparatory justice is defined as “A process of repairing, healing and restoring a people injured because of their group identity and in violation of their fundamental human rights by governments, corporations, institutions, and families. Those groups that have been injured have the right to obtain help from the government, corporations, institutions, or families responsible for the injuries that they need to repair and heal themselves. In addition to being a demand for justice, it is a principle of international human rights law.” Within the Lockean framework, reparatory justice refers to a transgressor making amendments for the wrong enacted upon the transgressed.
However, the transgressor never adequately addressed these wrongs. Following the end of the Second World War, the United Kingdom (UK) and other imperial powers were forced to grant many of its former colonies self-government and later independence due to massive financial constraints. However, The Bahamas and the wider Commonwealth Caribbean were left to fend for themselves economically. Unlike the Colombo Plan, an economic initiative geared towards advancing the economic and social development of South and Southeast Asian countries, there was no equivalent plan for the Caribbean. Trinidadian prime minister Dr Eric Williams summarized the situation of the Caribbean best by stating, “The West Indies are in the position of an orange. The British have sucked it dry, and their sole concern today is that they should not slip and get damaged on the peel.”
Many British institutions directly and indirectly benefited from the Transatlantic Slave Trade and chattel slavery in former British colonies. Some of these institutions were the Bank of England, Barclays Bank, the Church of England, Oxbridge institutions (University of Cambridge and University of Oxford), and even the British Royal Family profited from these inhumane practices. Several prime ministers, ranging from Sir Tony Blair to David Cameron (whose family participated in chattel slavery) and Rishi Sunak, the first non-white person to hold office, have refused to apologize for the UK’s role in slavery directly. Our head of state, His Majesty King Charles III, and other members of the British Royal Family have only referred to slavery as an atrocity but have not yet directly and formally apologized.
The call for reparatory justice in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean is not solitary. It is echoed by many organizations that have continued to keep the movement alive in national and regional consciousness. Notable among these organizations are The Bahamas National Reparations Committee (BNRC), the CARICOM Reparations Commission, the Centre for Reparation Research (UWI), and the Repair Campaign. Their collective efforts underscore the urgent need for reparatory justice, making it a matter of immediate importance.
Reparatory justice is not a singular concept but a multidimensional one. Beyond just financial compensation, reparatory justice encompasses diplomatic, historical, legal, and spiritual aspects. Economically, The Bahamas, like other former British colonies, had industry restrictions imposed on them, which gave Britain a competitive advantage and prevented equitable trade. Industry restrictions and minimal investment in critical development sectors (i.e., education and healthcare) led to intentional underdevelopment. Furthermore, chattel slavery was an unpaid or, at the very least, severely underpaid labor force. Though there is no exact figure of how much reparation debt is owed to The Bahamas, Time Magazine reported via consultants from the Brattle Group that the global reparations debt is estimated to be $101.4 trillion.
Diplomatically, given that The Bahamas and other former British Caribbean colonies are Small Island Developing States (SIDS), they are most adversely impacted by climate-related disasters and external economic shocks. The moral imperative for reparatory justice through aid assistance for these countries struggling to adopt climate adaptation and mitigation strategies is clear and urgent. It is not just a matter of advocacy, but a moral duty that cannot be ignored.
Historically, previous atrocities, such as the Holocaust committed by Nazi Germany, the Japanese-American internment camps created by the United States government, and the Kenyans who the British brutalized during the Mau Mau rebellion, set a historical precedent for the provision of reparations. Following the defeat of the Nazis, the subsequent German governments have striven to make amends with the victims and descendants of the Holocaust via financial restitution, the return of stolen artifacts and property. On the victims of the Japanese-American internment camps, the US government enacted a public apology and a payment of $52,000 (in 2023 dollars) to each survivor and their descendants. Following decades of campaigning, the UK government finally agreed to pay reparations totaling over $25 million to more than 5,000 Kenyan survivors of torture.
Legal justifications for reparatory justice are also enshrined in international law. Established under the purview of the United Nations, the legislative framework, “Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law,” states that victims of gross human violations entitled to effective judicial remedies. After committing these violations, state and non-state actors would be legally mandated by national and international law to provide reparations to the harmed victims. Of note is that the legal framework mentions that there is no statute of limitations on the violations committed by the perpetrators.
Spiritually, reparatory justice is about repairing broken relations between people. The trauma of chattel slavery has perpetuated mental scars within the Afro-Bahamian community, such as the perception of “whiteness” as a superior class, which continues to manifest today through colorism and condemnation of African hairstyles. This indoctrination of white supremacy, alongside chattel slavery and colonialism, has also influenced Bahamians to look down on other Caribbean populations, especially Haitians, perpetuating regional tribalism. Reparatory justice offers a path toward equitable healing and a collective acknowledgement of history.
Unlike countries like the United States, where the population is heterogeneous, and the case for reparations is made due to evident racial disparities, The Bahamas has a homogenous population, with 90 percent identifying as Afro-Bahamian. Here, chattel slavery and colonialism benefited the local white population and also stagnated collective development. Therefore, the distribution of reparatory justice in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean would differ from how it would be distributed in the United States.
An example of reparatory justice within the modern Bahamian and broader Caribbean context could be the creation of a “Repair and Resilience Fund” fully funded by former colonial powers and institutions to promote climate resilience and sustainable development in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean. The functions of the Repair and Resilience Fund can be aligned with the CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice. Collaborating with stakeholders such as the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) could provide distribution channels of financial assistance from this fund to CARICOM member states.
This fund could also support national and regional universities such as the University of The Bahamas and the University of the West Indies. Additional discussions could include creating specialized “reparatory” visas for Bahamians and other Caribbean nationals to work in the UK or attend university for a specified period. Through the Repair and Resilience Fund, efforts can be made to implement a form of universal basic income (UBI) for Caribbean populations.
Achieving reparatory justice is not solely the responsibility of the “oppressor”; the oppressed must also be active reformers. As Bob Marley once said, we must, “Emancipate ourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds.” Eliminating colonialism is both a material and spiritual practice, involving education about Bahamian, Caribbean, and broader African history, as well as addressing colorism, the racialization of cannabis usage, and biases against “black hair.”
Efforts can also be made to establish a Reparations Unit akin to the Office of Reparations and Economic Enfranchisement in Barbados under the purview of the office of the prime minister.
Suppose one seeks an example of a nation taking responsibility. In that case, we can look to King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, who has apologized for his country’s role in the slave trade. Similarly, the descendants of former UK prime minister William Gladstone have taken a positive step forward by issuing a formal apology and agreeing to pay reparations towards funding a university in Guyana. King Charles III also permitted research to be done on the British Royal Family’s role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and chattel slavery. Very recently, Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, apologized for the Church of England’s role in chattel slavery in Jamaica. Though these developments are positive, the goal of dispersing reparatory justice has yet to be fully achieved.
As 1 John 1:9 states: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” While we cannot travel back in time to correct the wrongs of our ancestors or save them from the wrongs inflicted upon them, reparatory justice offers a path forward. It is a necessary step towards healing, reconciliation, and acknowledging the faithful and whole history that has shaped our present and will continue to shape our future.
Unfinished business: From Chattel Slavery to reparatory justice in The Bahamas: Part 1
