Kangaloo: Let's heal from slavery

PRESIDENT Christine Kangaloo said individuals in TT must do their part to heal this society from the scars slavery, even as otherwise redress is sought from former colonial powers, in her 2025 African Emancipation Day message issued on July 31.

She said the occasion provided an opportunity for reflection on the history of African enslavement plus those legacies which live on in our lives today.

"The enslavement of African people remains one of humanity’s gravest and most shameful injustices. For over four centuries, millions of men, women and children were forcibly taken from their homes, stripped of their identities, and transported, in the vilest of conditions, into lives of servitude and oppression.

"This system was brutal and dehumanising."

Kangaloo said there could be no greater testament to the power of the human spirit that, even in chains, the enslaved had never fully surrendered.

"Through various acts of resistance and outright revolt, enslaved Africans not only survived their horrific ordeal, but asserted their dignity and humanity."

Their courage, plus pressure from abolitionists and shifting economic realities, resulted in the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, ushering in the dismantling of slave systems in the West Indies.

"But while the structural chains of slavery were broken, the social, political and economic repercussions of that heinous institution remain with us to this day and continue to affect the descendants of enslaved people and the continent from which they were taken.

"Among some the more pressing responses to these horrendous repercussions has been the call for reparatory justice."

She welcomed the Emancipation Support Committee's (ESC's) 2025 theme, Shaping Sustainable Futures Through Reparatory Justice.

"Reparatory justice acknowledges the long-term effects of slavery and colonialism, and seeks appropriate redress," Kangaloo said.

"It is not limited to financial compensation, but includes institutional reform, investment in education and development, cultural and historical restoration and public recognition of past injustices."

She said reparation aims to repair historical harm and address its consequences.

Kangaloo urged, "While the primary responsibility for addressing reparatory justice might be said to fall on the governments of former colonial powers and other societal institutions, we, too, are called, as individuals, to reflect more deeply on the enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism.

"We are challenged to confront the injustices and inequalities that persist in our society and to examine on our own roles in either perpetuating or challenging these wrongs."

She said the need for more work on emancipation was shown by the fact of TT still grappling with the current repercussions of the class and other divisions from centuries of slavery plus people's diminished view of TT's ability to cut certain ties to former colonial masters.

"As we mark African Emancipation Day 2025, let our remembrance of the struggles and sacrifices of the enslaved be matched by a steadfast commitment to building the future they envisioned." Kangaloo urged all to reaffirm their resolve to upholding and protecting the dignity, freedom and humanity for which they fought.

"Let us reject the attitudes and behaviours which undermine their hard-won freedoms and which stand in opposition to all they endured to overcome.

"Let us move forward fully committed to building a society in which the promise of full emancipation is fully realised."