Issue #5
April 25th 2003.
The Rose Hall Great House serves as one of Jamaica’s premier tourist attractions. It was formerly the home of Annie Palmer, the white witch of Rose Hall. Dead for over 100 years, her legend still evokes memories of her monstrous reign as the mistress of the Great House... Countless slaves suffered as a result of her ruthlessness. Her evil reign ended with her murder in 1831. Following years of abandonment and neglect after Annie’s death, the Great House was purchased and restored by U.S. entrepreneurs...
Jamaicans Call for Reparations ...by Makeda.
The JaRM calls on the United Nations to honour its commitment to provide funding for the establishment and operation of Reparations committees across the African Diaspora, in particular the Jamaican Reparations Steering Committee.
The JaRM calls on the Jamaican Government to comply with the provision in the WCAR Final Declaration which states the United Nations’ readiness:
“To receive reports from States, non-governmental organizations, and all relevant institutions within the United Nations system on the implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and make recommendations to States for their national plans of action, bearing in mind the resource constraints of the developing countries.” (Para.11a).
The JaRM calls for the adoption by the Jamaican Government of national public policies funded by Reparations, with special emphasis on Education, Health Care, Children and the Aged.
The JaRM calls on the Rastafari Nation in Jamaica to present a detailed proposal and costs supported by research for the Repatriation and Resettlement in Africa of its members who so desire.
The JaRM calls on the Jamaican Government through the Ministry of Finance to provide the Jamaican Reparations Movement Steering Committee with a detailed financial account of the National Debt, as well as proposals for all projects which can be put in place to effect a total national upgrading of all schools, roads, hospitals, inner-city ghetto restoration, re-education programmes, free education to tertiary level for all citizens, pension and unemployment programmes, free medical care and health programmes for mental health care, control and eradication of all diseases including HIV/AIDS, development of new programmes in agriculture and industry, restoration and value of intellectual and cultural property rights.
With respect to the above (11), The JaRM calls on the Government to provide the JaRM with a list of the national debt broken down into countries, so that negotiations can be initiated under the umbrella of Reparations to write off the present debt owed by our country as debt-for-equity swops by the nations identified.
The JaRM calls on Jamaican historians, lawyers, accountants, bankers and investment analysts to lend their skills and services to the compilation of a Jamaican Reparations historical account and financial assessment of debt due for unpaid slave labour.
The JaRM calls for a Jamaican education curriculum related to the interconnection of the effects of the TransAtlantic Slave Trade, slavery and colonialism, the resulting negative social and economic manifestations on all aspects of life in Jamaica, and the need for Reparations nationally, regionally and internationally to correct these negative manifestations.
The JaRM calls for the adoption of culture-specific media programmes to inform, educate and prepare the Jamaican people to use Reparations in ways that will improve the nation.
The JaRM calls for the adoption of mechanisms to counter the interconnection of race and poverty in Jamaica, especially in the context of the continuing issues of globalization.
The JaRM proposes to research and document the identity of all companies, organizations and individuals from whom a debt of Reparations is due for their involvement in the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica, and to present those companies, organizations and individuals with proposals for programmes and projects that can be funded by them to repair and compensate for their involvement in the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica.
The JaRM proposes that failure to co-operate by these companies, organizations and individuals identified as participants in the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica, will result in collective penalties being sought at national and international levels against them.
The JaRM calls on the Jamaican Government to declare a National Slavery Holocaust Commemoration Day to honour our ancestors who suffered and died in three hundred years of forced enslavement, to ensure that their sufferings will not be forgotten or erased by time and other cultural influences.
PLAN OF ACTION
The JaRM endorses the intention of Member of Parliament Mike Henry to bring a Resolution on Reparations in Parliament so that all Members of Parliament can debate the issue and vote by conscience, not Party position.
The JaRM will support this Parliamentary debate by encouraging its members and the public to show support and solidarity by attending Parliament on that day.
The JaRM proposes to send a letter to the Jamaican Council of Churches (1) urging each of their member churches to state its position on Reparations, (2) to establish a programme of education within their member churches to explain and inform on the issue of Reparations, the role of the Church in the enslavement of Africans, and (3) inviting them to work with the JaRM to promote the cause of Reparations and assist in achieving it.
The JaRM proposes to involve the Jamaican media as widely as possible in publicizing the issues of Reparations, and in facilitating widespread public education in Jamaica and Jamaican communities in the African Diaspora.
The JaRM will support the continuous writing of letters to the government and leaders of England, inviting them to act with morality and justice in granting Reparations to Britain’s former colonies in the West Indies, and especially Jamaica.
The JaRM will petition the Jamaican Government to seek accommodation within the Africa Union Constitution to recognize Jamaicans of African descent full nationality rights as Africans, and to permit every Jamaican of African descent the right to enter Africa as an emigrating citizens and become a citizen of an African state without needing a visa or other form of entry permit, as was proposed in the original founding principles of the Organization of African Unity.
The JaRM proposes that a copy of this document be sent to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Nuremberg Tribunal, the International Court at the Hague, the Africa Union, Amnesty International, and all international organizations involved in the cause of Human Rights and Justice.
NEW JAMAICAN Vol.1
