The European Union should urgently address and reverse the lasting impacts of European colonialism and support a reparations programme to rectify continuing injustices, according to a draft resolution to be presented to the European parliament’s development committee.
Noting that the EU has made “no concerted efforts to recognise, address and rectify the lasting effects of European colonialism on social and international inequities”, the draft resolution calls for the creation of a permanent EU forum on restorative justice.
The presentation marks the first formal attempt to push reparations for slavery and colonialism on the EU agenda. These preliminary discussions among MEPs are a response to increasing demands for developed nations to make amends for slavery. Last month the African Union agreed to join Caribbean nations to form a “united front” aimed at persuading European nations to pay for “historical mass crimes”.
Sorry, but fuck that. I don’t see why I’m supposed to pay for crimes my great-grandparents committed.
Let’s say your great-great grandfather stole bricks from a victim to build a factory that you now own and that provides a nice living. Because of that the victim was not able to build a factory and their descendants are poor.
Let’s say this crime is very well documented.
Did you do the crime? No. Are you reaping the benefits of the crime? Yes.
Should you give that factory to the descendants? Should you be required to help the poor descendants? Would it be a nice gesture to help the poor descendants?
Nobody is asking for the factory. People are asking for a bit of help because it’s clear that you are still reaping the benefits of a crime that was perpetrated by an ancestor and the victims descendants are still feeling the repercussions of that crime.
@ahornsirup thought experiment: should other people in other countries have to pay for crimes your great-grandparents commited?
This is never going to go through as legislation, though.
Should? Obviously not. But that doesn’t change that these demands are coming way, way too late. The perpetrators are (mostly) dead. I had no more say in it than any of the people still feeling the repercussions of colonialism.
@ahornsirup definitely. In some cases the perpetrators continued to extract throughout their lives. (And beyond, in Haiti: the former slaves had to pay reparations to France for freeing themselves for generations).
But, reparations are not about punishment of perpetrators.
Reparations are normally about stopping the people who are currently having to pay for the past, from paying for it.
This is done by redistributing some of the profit from those who are currently profiting from the past.
That all sounds nice in theory, but in practice it’s distinction without difference.
@ahornsirup how do you figure that?
We have reparations in New Zealand, it’s not about punishment it’s about fairness.
Because it isn’t fair. No matter what the intent is, the reparations are taken from people who bear no responsibility for the crimes committed in the past by their ancestors. As a German this is looking like the Greek or Polish demands for WW2 reparations with a different coat of paint. Sorry, but it’s just too late.
So you’d argue to keep those people in an unfair situation because it’s unfair to try to minimize the unfair conditions you’re benefiting from?
To the people that benefit from an unfair world, balancing the playing field somehow becomes just as unfair in their mind. A mindset that ensures the underlying problems in the world don’t get meaningfully addressed.
@ahornsirup thank you for explaining your position, I appreciate it. I think a substantial part of Europe ferl the same way you do.
If this is about fairness I still don’t see why you think it’s fair that others suffer because of the crimes of your ancestors while you benefit.
Interestingly, Germany is undertaking a reparations programme about the Herero and Nama whom it genocided at the beginning of the 20th century (but I say “about” because controversially, Germany is not involving either of those groups themselves).