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Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo delivers a speech at the opening of the Accra Reparations Conference in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, Nov14, 2023. Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday called for reparations for Africa over the effects of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. Photo:Xinhua

As world media outlets review the major events of the year, most of them ignored the Accra Reparation Conference held in Ghana under the theme "Building a United Front to Advance the Cause of Justice and the Payment of Reparations to Africans." This conference marked the first time that the African Union called on Western countries to reflect on their African slave trade and to compensate the Africans for the harm that was done.

The centuries-old salve trade across the Atlantic is no doubt one of the most serious violations of human rights in history. It was estimated that African population on the continent was cut by 100 million over this lengthy period, not to mention the economic stagnation and social disorder in all the African countries that fell victim to the slave trade. Many historians have defined this darkest chapter as "Holocaust" against the native Africans. However, real apologies from those countries that traded slaves were few and far between. As for reparations for the grave injustice done to the African countries, no slave-trading country has ever faced up to the question or paid the debt it owed to the African people. Justice to Africans has long been elusive.

What is more alarming is that countries trading African slaves never see their behavior as a crime against humanity which they should repent. Comments of netizens from those countries most active in the slave trade reveal such deep-rooted mentality: "They weren't taken; they were sold by their own people," "We all heard enough. Everybody has a history of hurt," "You can't deny that some of them taken out of Africa had the chance to a better life," etc. It might be true that some of them did get the chance to live in the rich world and even get to champion for the black community such as Frederick Douglass who was born into slavery and later became the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights. Unfortunately, these were exceptions to the rule and they were only possible if the slaves survived the privations on their way to the "new world" in the first place. As many as 60 million African captives were estimated to have died both in and outside the Americas, with a large number of them perishing on the treacherous journey across the Atlantic.

Till this day, slave-trading countries tend to play down the suffering of African countries and remain reluctant to take responsibilities. For example, when asked in April this year if he would apologize for the UK's role in slavery and colonization, British Prime Minister Sunak replied with a definitive "no." Though he apologized for the country's "slave trade history," Mark Rutte, former prime minister of the Netherlands, declined to pay reparations to the descendants of the victims of this dark history. None of the slave-trading countries are ready to pay even a penny in reparations, and such words as guilt or crime are rarely, if ever, found in official documents about this part of history in those countries. What's been documented and presented instead is the glory of conquerors and victors rather than the atrocities of slave traders and slave owners.

The conquerors and victors took all they could from Africa. In fact, without the labor from this vast continent, the transition of the European and North American countries from feudalism to capitalism would have been much delayed and their industrial revolution may not have materialized. The prosperity enjoyed by the West today would hardly be possible without the blood and tears of millions of African slaves, and the capital accumulation of the colonialist countries was built largely on the flesh and bones of the enslaved.

Unfortunately for Africa, the slave trade ruined its capacity to develop, resulting in entrenched poverty and hardships that still plague the continent today. Numerous studies indicate that the more prevalent the slave trade was in a particular African country, the more underdeveloped its economy is today. The significant loss of labor is not the only factor that has hindered African countries' productivity. The tactic by the slave traders and colonialists to divide and rule has also spawned conflicts and mistrust among different tribes in Africa, creating grave governance challenges for African countries that still linger today.

African countries have every reason to demand reparations from the colonizers and the slave traders. Paying back what is long overdue is a matter that the West must no longer ignore. The Accra Reparation Conference represents the voice from all the people of African descent. In pursuit of justice, they are no longer bystanders or recipients of charity.

"May humanity never again perpetrate such injustice against humanity." The inscription on the wall of Elmina Castle, one of the biggest slave trade centers on the Golden Coast, reminds us that those who have committed the most atrocious crime against humanity can no longer turn a deaf dear to the chorus calling for justice from African countries. The injustice to the enslaved Africans must be redressed with reparations which are the least the former colonialist countries can do to repent of their sins.

The author is a commentator on international affairs, writing regularly for Xinhua News, CGTN, Global Times, China Daily etc. He can be reached at xinping604@gmail.com

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