01/05/2024
Social media reports indicate that the government of Portugal has decided not to pay reparations for enslaving africans after their president had opined that they should pay.
Well, to the extent that they do not dispute the fact that they hunted down africans, kidnapped them from their families and communities and enslaved them for centuries, the concerned countries whose people were enslaved as well as the descendants of those who were enslaved should jointly, through the AU and the UN, submit a claim for reparations to all enslavers including Portugal so that it may be known publicly that a claim was made and Portugal refused to pay.
In my view, it would be naive for the victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to expect the enslavers to objectively determine the amount of the reparations and willingly pay. The same goes for the naughty so-called Arabs. All countries which enslaved Africans should pay reparations and the starting point should be to formally hit them with a bill(s).
This matter can’t not be allowed to drag on in perpetuity, thereby emboldening the culprits to hide behind the so-called statute of limitation and other machinations that they are notorious for.
No further delays! Formerly submit claims through the appropriate channels and let them refuse to pay as Portugal is reported to be saying they will not pay. And then the victims can, at their time of choosing, return the favour by nationalising their investments.
After all, we are in times of freezing and stealing other sovereigns’ assets, wily-nilly, incidentally by the same people who enslaved our ancestors - the devils who come to steal, to kill, to destroy and lie about it for centuries.
Remember, what was taken by force cannot be expected to be returned willingly.
