What do we owe ourselves?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

If we are asking Britain what it owes us, what do we owe ourselves?

Jamaica’s petition is not simply a demand for money. It asks the Privy Council to determine whether the seizure, transportation and enslavement of Africans were ever lawful, whether they breached international law, and whether the United Kingdom has a legal obligation to provide a reparatory remedy. The Government has made it clear that the petition itself contains no monetary claim.

The pursuit of justice must be supported but I also believe we must be honest about what happens if justice eventually produces a remedy. What will we do with it?

Will it strengthen our schools, create opportunities, improve communities and build institutions that our children can trust? Or will we allow another opportunity to become another political argument, another source of division, and another resource poorly managed?

We cannot spend decades demanding accountability from Britain while becoming comfortable with a lack of accountability at home.

We cannot say that history matters when explaining where our problems came from, but suddenly say history does not matter when deciding what responsibility we have for where Jamaica goes next.

Reparations should not simply be about receiving something. It should be about repairing something. And repair requires responsibility.

Our ancestors did not choose the circumstances into which they were born. We have a choice about the Jamaica we build from what they endured.

So, yes, let us ask Britain what it owes Jamaica. But, while we wait for that answer, let us ask ourselves a harder one: What do we owe the Jamaica we inherited? When our children inherit it from us, will they believe we did enough?

CONCERNED YOUTH