Things that Matter: International Days to mark Slavery and Elimination of Racism
I was pleased with the emphasis given here at home to World Water Day (last Wednesday, March 22), but I was surprised – no, amazed – that several other International Days last week were ignored:
March 21 was International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and started the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination. March 21 was also World Poetry Day [UNESCO] – of particularly relevance since the recent passing of our Caribbean literary hero and Nobel Laureate, Sir Derek Walcott. And March 25 (celebrated as Lady Day in the Church) was both International Day of Forests, and International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
International Days, weeks and months are valuable in drawing attention to issues of huge importance to us all, in trying to make the world a better place. I would have thought that these four specially designated themes held special importance for us in Barbados, as well as World Water Day - and particularly the issues of racism, racial discrimination and victims of slavery whose victimisation has been passed down, in the biblical phrase “unto the third and fourth generation”, and the problem of modern day slavery.
First, World Poetry Day. Many of us were taught nursery rhymes like “Jack and Jill went up the hill, to catch a pail of water; Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after.” These simple rhymes taught us many things – the magical vision of a dramatic event told in a few words, as well as the magical sound of clever, simple words and rhymes. (As well, of course, as the egalitarian early training that all children must do useful chores!) And then in school we learnt by heart the English poets, and if we were lucky a few Collybeasts, by Frank Collymore. Sadly, many, many people leave school with negative thoughts about bad teaching and incomprehensible poems, and never discover the joys of Eliot, Belloc or Betjeman, or our own Sir Derek Walcott or Edward Kamau Brathwaite.
What about International Day of Forests? This recently designated day is designed to promote conservation of forests for their biodiversity and important role in slowing climate change, in the face of the 32 million acres of forest lost each year. It’s distinct from Arbor Day, which is celebrated on different days around the world, but on September 22nd in Barbados, the anniversary of Hurricane Janet in 1955, which destroyed so many trees. I paid homage to my own magnificent mahogany trees - one of the original imports of the 1780s, two other ancient ones, and the three survivors of the five I planted 38 years ago; Hurricane Tomas took down two!
The International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination should have tremendous resonance for us in Barbados, as well as for most people around the world. And yet we ignored it. While we have a reputation for good governance and racial harmony, that harmony is a different construct for many people. It’s a fact that while the Barbados Premier, Sir Grantley Adams was the agreed Prime Minister for the West Indies Federation, it was also unanimously agreed that Barbados could not be the site of the Federal Capital, because of the “decorously” divided society, operating in distinct social groupings of white and pass-for-white of different social strata, the brown of similar strata, and the black working class. The greater diversity (though hardly greater harmony!) of Trinidad’s population made it the port of choice.
Across the world hate, prejudice and discrimination are rampant and often seem to be spiralling out of control, fuelled perhaps by so-called “populist” politicians for their own selfish advantage. From Myanmar to the Middle East, from Rwanda to Somalia – tribes, sects and countries or parts of countries, whose people often appear indistinguishable by others, wage war for reasons of tradition, religion, hue, political tribalism, perceived hurts or turf. Let us, in our Paradise at 13/59, set the world an example.
It’s widely acknowledged that much has changed in Barbados, and social integration is far greater since Independence, especially among the younger generation, but there’s still a way to go. Absence of white and Asian members of these minority populations from certain occupations and social events can be striking; politics is a glaring example. Sadly, the brilliant report of the Commission on Racial Harmony, chaired by Sir Keith Hunte, has never been published or publicly discussed. I believe it could be a valuable agent for bringing our polite but plural societies much closer together. But we must ALL want to live in closer harmony, to reach out beyond narrow circles, to meet, to be kind and be-friend; and treat our neighbour as our brother.
Finally, slavery. The horrors of slavery have left a legacy that is taking, as I said above, three and four generations to be discarded. And I don’t mean three or four generations since emancipation, but three or four generations since the removal of the economic shackles that held the majority of our people in economic bondage for the whole of the dark century from 1838 to 1937, the Riots, the Deane Commission and the Moyne Commission.
The International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade was on March 25th (Lady Day – a happy juxtaposition, given the brutal subservience of women in so many places around the world). It offers the opportunity to honour and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the brutal slavery system. The International Day also aims to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice in the world today, and the 2017 theme focuses on specific consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, namely the ways in which enslaved Africans and their descendants influenced and continue to shape societies around the world, including technology and culture
In making remarks at the General Assembly the Secretary General said: “The legacy of slavery resounds down the ages. The world has yet to overcome racism. Many countries still suffer from economic patterns and decisions set in motion long ago. Many families still feel keenly the trauma imposed on their forebears. We must continue to recognise the persistent pain of this legacy even in the present moment.
Moreover, we know that while some forms of slavery may have been abolished, others have emerged to blight our world, including human trafficking and forced and bonded labour. Heeding the lessons of yesterday means fighting these ills today.”
And those last words are poignant, because while many look back to the past, as if slavery was over, there seems to be far too little concern or focus, either nationally or globally, on modern day slavery. I gather from the web that estimates of the number of slaves today range from around 21 million to 46 million, and that it’s a multibillion-dollar industry generating up to $35 billion annually. India reportedly has the most slaves of any country, at roughly 18 million, with China second with some three million slaves, followed by Pakistan (2.1 million), Bangladesh (1.5 million), and Uzbekistan (1.2 million). But slavery also exists in western nations – including the Anglophone Caribbean, with forced work of various kinds, such as forced prostitution.
Slavery seems as endemic in many societies the world over as prejudice, war, corporate, personal and political corruption and crime. But hope springs eternal … Let’s all take to heart the concluding words of the Secretary General: “At this time of rising divisiveness, let us unite against hatred. And let us build a world of freedom and dignity for all.” Let’s start in our patch and share kindness, charity, love and generosity regardless of colour, shade, class or creed.
(Professor Fraser is Past Dean of Medical Sciences, UWI and Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology. Website: profhenryfraser.com)