March 28, 2007
Dear Mr. President:
Please permit me to congratulate you for the 50th Anniversary of Ghana’s independence from Great Britain which your people celebrated along with your well wishers. Allow me also to congratulate the people of Ghana and indeed Africa for the successful tenure of Kofi Annan as the immediate past Secretary General of the United Nations for two consecutive terms under intense scrutiny.
Recently, Sir you were credited to have advocated that “Genuine remorse should be the way forward to atone for the pain and heinous crimes of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade”. While I believe that you are entitled to your opinion, this position taken by the President of a country that recently commenced the payment of reparations to its citizens maltreated by previous governments of Ghana is misguided to say the least. Although “some Africans played a facilitating role during the trade, it did not begin to absolve the perpetrators of the longest most organized episode of slavery that went on for hundreds of years. Governments, Corporations and individuals of Western powers at the time raided, looted and depopulated Africa by force. They in turn dehumanized and dispossessed the slaves, using them as capital to build enormous wealth for themselves.
When slavery was abolished in the United States during the reconstruction era, in 1865 or thereabout, a bill was introduced by “Radical Republicans” (members of the republican political party) to re-settle the ex-slaves with one mule and 40 acres of land. The United States Senate prevented this bill from being passed into law and the ex-slaves were never resettled and compensated. Instead, a post slavery campaign to exterminate the slaves was in force.
Africa and Africans in the Diaspora are at the lowest cadre of economic life; because they were dispossessed while others are enjoying in perpetuity, the fruits of their labor. The gap between those who robbed Africa and Africans is so huge that they will forever be forced, like Lazarus in the Christian Bible, to feed from the crumbs coming out the mouth of the rich man.
Reparation could only comprise a small part of the debt of hundreds of years of slave labor and restitution for the other crimes against humanity. It should be made, no matter how small a percentage of the actual damages done. Reparation will bring about economic empowerment of Africa and Africans in the Diasporas instead of their being reduced to beggar status.
“Respect and human dignity” will naturally occur once the perpetrators recognize that Africans are also human beings entitled to the fruits of their labor at all times. If one impoverishes another by taking his belongings, the only genuine remorse is to return the property of the victim with heart felt apology.
“As we commemorate 200 years of the Slavery Abolition Act”, said the British Prime Minister, Tony Blaire, I believe that the way forward is to move from rhetoric to concretized amends like reparation payment. We would then begin to take the talk of dedicating “ourselves to show courage and energy to fight injustices” seriously because in the modern world, slavery takes different shape and form. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and others like “debt forgiveness” schemes are patchworks of pretentious correction and not a real solution. Slavery was a deliberate criminal act and illegitimate trade perpetrated at various times in history, by Western powers and some Arabian enclaves against Africa and Africans.
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Africa-America Foundation
Oliver C. Udemba
President