On March 25th, the world observes the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, a day designated by the United Nations to honor and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the brutal slavery system.
The Day serves as an essential reminder of the inhumane system that forcibly displaced millions of Africans and subjected them to unimaginable suffering in the Americas.
President of the Iyanola Council for the Advancement of Rastafari, Aaron Alexander, reissues the Council’s call for reparations for descendents of the transatlantic slave trade, particularly countries which were used as profit havens.
“We of the Iyanola Council for the Advancement of Rastafari call upon all people of African descent, Pan-African people and everyone who is conscious of the plight of Africa to do some reflection as to where we are coming from as a people and the trauma that we’ve been through imposed upon us by a wicked and an evil European system of slavery and transatlantic slave trade,” he said.
Pan-African demands for reparations encompass the call for redress and compensation for the historical injustices of slavery, colonialism, and their ongoing legacies, seeking to right past wrongs and promote justice and equity for people of African descent.
Alexander notes that as the descendants of enslaved peoples, Caribbean people must demand justice. “We have been the victims, therefore we have the moral high ground to seek for compensation or what we call reparations from the European countries who involve in the transatlantic slave trade,” he said.
Alexander encourages local and regional leaders to stand up to the United States as he says the country is bullying island nations of the Caribbean. Recent declarations by the US Administration to issue sanctions against countries with medical assistance from Cuba has put regional leaders on notice. The ICAR President says leaders need to stand together against the United States.
“Caribbean leaders must assert themselves and have a firm conviction to tell America that we shall not be moved and we shall stand firm with our support for our sister Caribbean country of Cuba. All Caribbean leaders of CARICOM indeed should take that collective stance against the tyranny of America and the bullying of America,” he said.
This observance coincides with the start of the United Nations-declared Second International Decade for People of African Descent (2025–2034), which provides a renewed opportunity to confront the ongoing consequences of colonisation and enslavement by European nations.
