April 24 2022
Your Royal Highness,
I write to you on a matter that is both sensitive and of great importance to Trinidad and Tobago
and the countries of the Caribbean and of which you are aware, that is, reparation for slavery and the
transatlantic slave trade, the negative impact of which remains to this day in the societies of the region.
While I am cognizant of your acknowledgement of what you referred to as the "appalling
atrocity of slavery" during the ceremony for the transition of Barbados to a Republic in November
2021, there lingers an outstanding debt to the descendants of those who laboured for the enrichment of
the British Empire, the current population of which enjoy the benefits of such labour to this day.
Recognition and acknowledgement of the impact of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade
are laudable and appreciated; however, the aim must be, as the Archbishop of Canterbury declared
recently, "restoration, repair and promoting a better future for all." Recognition and acknowledgement
are woefully inadequate to address the social malignancy, deprivation and loss that are the inheritance
of the peoples of the Caribbean. We have heard that "comparisons are odious," but one cannot help
but note the disparity in outcomes of slavery and the slave trade between the Caribbean and the United
Kingdom. For us in this region, the outcomes have been social and economic and sear to the core our
belief in and understanding of who we are as a people and influence how we continue to be treated by
others.
Indeed, as the United Nations commemorated the International Day of Remembrance of the
Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade on 291h March, I am struck by the continued
impact this atrocious legacy has left on Trinidad and Tobago, the wider Caribbean and the world.
I believe that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland should do more than
recognise the impact of the enslavement of persons from the continent of Africa. The time has come
for a serious discussion on reparation for the effects of enslavement which ended many lives and stole
the future of successive generations. The descendants of those who were enslaved continue to face
enduring social and economic inequality, intolerance, prejudice, racism and discrimination.
I am encouraged by your aclrnowledgement and look forward to serious engagement and
tangible outcomes leading to reparation for the injustice committed so long ago, but the effects of
which Trinidad and Tobago and other countries of this region continue to endure.
I take this opportunity to extend to you, Your Royal Highness, the assurances of my highest
consideration and esteem.
