THE PRIME minister of Barbados says a staggering $4.9tn (£3.9tn) is owed to the country in reparations for slavery.
Speaking in London recently, Mia Mottley said the sum was owed to Barbados by slave-owning nations.
The Guardian reported, Ms Mottley said she didn’t expect payments anytime soon but emphasised it was important to raise the issue of reparations and the legacy of slavery.
“We’re not expecting that the reparatory damages will be paid in a year, or two, or five because the extraction of wealth and the damages took place over centuries. But we are demanding that we be seen and that we are heard,” she said.
During her visit to the UK, Ms Mottley also had a meeting with new British foreign minister David Cameron, but said she would not disclose the details of the meeting.
Advocate
Ms Mottley has been advocating for reparations for several years.
In 2022, she delivered a powerful the speech at an address to Ghana during its 65th independence celebrations at the Cape Coast Stadium, in which she called for greater links between the two countries.
She said: “The heads of government of the Caribbean Community have assigned me the responsibility of writing to the heads of government of those European states whose governments were responsible for the extraction of wealth from our countries for centuries and who extracted wealth from your continent and countries too
“There are those who will say and remind us that the war makes it an inconvenient time to have this conversation but may I say, it is never the wrong time to do the right thing.
“And I therefore hope, that we shall have the support of Africa in these difficult and complex conversations that regrettably have led to the extraction of wealth for centuries from our nations in the Americas.”
Last month, the president of Ghana has called for Africa to unite in the fight for reparations for slavery.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, made the comments while speaking at a four-day reparations conference in Accra.
He also urged African countries to work with Caribbean nations calling for reparations for the horrors endured during transatlantic slave trade.
“No amount of money can restore the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade and its consequences. But surely, this is a matter that the world must confront and can no longer ignore,” Mr Akufo-Addo said at the conference with African leaders.
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