3071-The political economy of new slavery

242 Slavery as Piracy
the Caribbean the effects of the slave trade are still felt today. This is not
to argue that all descendants from all forms of the slave trade through
time are entitled to reparations, but the justifications for the boundaries
have to be rigorously consistent for justice to be done.
The claim for reparations for the African slave trade is based on piracy,
the destruction of civilizations, depopulation and the underdevelopment
of African states. Millions were forcibly removed and ‘a pattern of poverty
and underdevelopment directly resulted’ (Gifford, 1993). 14 It was a
crime against humanity for economic reasons. Reparations would be an
economic reinstitution for an economic crime. Much of the wealth of
the United Kingdom, for example, was created from the slave trade. 15
The claim for reparation has been strenuously resisted. In a debate in
the English House of Lords, Lord Chesham resisted attempts to make
Britain pay reparations by arguing that Benin and Niger Delta, where
much of the slavery occurred, are now ‘amongst the densely populated
parts of Africa’. 16 He also cited General Obasanjo, as he was in l991, on
African impoverishment who argued that ‘the major responsibility of
our present impasse must be placed squarely on the shoulders of our
leaders’. 17 However, this argument can also be turned around. Without
excusing corruption and crimes by present and past African leaders, and
the participation of Africans in the slave trade, the slave trade not only
robbed those enslaved of their freedom but impoverished the societies
from which they were taken. Reparations for the slave trade parallel
actions against corrupt leaders for recovery of stolen funds. There are also
those who regard reparations as unacceptable on principle; in Israel, for
example, Menachim Begin held street demonstrations denouncing the
Israeli government for accepting German ‘blood money’. Prime Minister
David Ben Gurion asked Israel to accept German reparations reluctantly
and for weighty reasons such as to obey the
final injunction of the inarticulate six million, whose very murder
was a ringing cry for Israel to rise, to be strong and prosperous, to
safeguard her peace and security, and so prevent such a disaster from
ever again overwhelming the Jewish people.
Schoenfield, 2000
Just as complex is the question of who ought to pay reparations.
Historical evidence clearly shows the states that fostered and supported
the slave trade. Such responsibility extends beyond Western states and
includes the Arab slave trade along the east coast of Africa. Liability also
extends beyond states to commercial entities and to particular families.