Page 233 - A People Called Afrika

The New Afrikan Union

Portugal, etc.) as well as Arab nations, should pay repa-
rations. The question however will be, what should those
reparations entail? While much can be said about the top-
ic of reparations, we will deal with just a few. First and fore-
most, acknowledging the atrocity and the enormity of it as
experienced by those involved in it is necessary and should
be captured in an official apology. Commentators have ob-
served how the Maoris received an apology from the British
Queen in 1995. In 2008 the Australian Prime Minister Kev-
in Rudd apologized in parliament to all Aborigines for laws
and policies that “inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss”.

It appears when it comes to Afrikans our lives, bodies and his-
tory do not matter to them. Racism will find various rationaliza-
tions (or excuses) to deny that enslavement of Afrikans merits
an apology and reparations. Yet, we cannot erase the collective
historical memory and experiences of enslavement and oppres-
sion that was wrought on Afrikans and the people of Afrikan
descent and still continues with the covert and overt forms of ra-
cial discrimination that they still experience in the 21st century.
Even as the debate continues as to whether Afrika should or will
receive reparations for the days of slavery and colonialism and
what will be the nature of said reparations, we will point out a
few things from our own perspective on this issue. Let us con-
sider former British Prime Minister David Cameron’s insulting
dismissal of trans-Atlantic slavery and his opinion that Afrikans
and people of Afrikan descent should “move on from this pain-
ful legacy, and continue to build for the future,” as a pointer.

What he said was distasteful, but carried some truths that we
will pull out in order to paint a picture of what we believe
Afrika and Afrikans should do. Having watched a few videos

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