logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
15m 7s

Why are some Caribbean nations demanding...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Across the Caribbean, governments are demanding that former colonial powers, like the U.K., France and The Netherlands, pay reparations for their involvement in slavery.

Anselm Gibbs, a BBC reporter in Trinidad and Tobago, explains what forms reparations can take and describes the specific demands that Caribbean nations have put forward.

We also hear from Akeem Chandler-Prescod, a member of the Barbados National Task Force on Reparations and his country’s Poet of The Year. He describes how the legacy of slavery still impacts people in Barbados centuries later and how the racial justice movement in the United States has inspired many Bajans to join the reparations movement.

Many European governments have refused to pay reparations. However, some individual families with historic links to slavery have decided to make payments. Laura Trevelyan, a former BBC reporter, explains why her family donated £100,000 ($120,000) to establish a community fund for economic development on the impoverished island of Grenada.

Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: William Lee Adams, Chelsea Coates and Benita Barden Editor: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Up next
Today
Is the war in Gaza over?
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire, arranged by US President Trump. Under the agreement Hamas will release all Israeli hostages, alive and dead, and Israel will release Palestinian prisoners in exchange. Israeli forces are expected to partially withdraw from Gaza, and hu ... Show More
11m 20s
Yesterday
How yaba swept across East Asia
The Golden Triangle, a border region of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos is the world’s most active production zone for synthetic drugs like methamphetamine. Synthetic drugs are made from chemicals, instead of plants. But yaba - which has been around for decades and is a mix of caffein ... Show More
8m 56s
Oct 8
China’s renewable energy takeover
Renewables are now the world’s leading source of electricity and China has boosted its solar and wind capacity more than the rest of the world combined. But it’s also one of the world’s biggest polluters and is thought to be behind 30% of global emissions. So what's behind the co ... Show More
8m 54s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2022
‘Give us the money’: Aid as reparations | Rethinking Humanitarianism
The call for reparations, which has long reverberated in former colonies, is now gaining momentum in the aid and philanthropy sectors, too. It’s a call that rejects the idea of aid as charitable giving, and instead reframes it as justice for the ravages of colonialism and imperia ... Show More
56m 45s
Feb 2024
Special preview of Into America presents: Uncounted Millions
On Into America presents: Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations, award-winning MSNBC correspondent Trymaine Lee dives into one of today’s most pressing debates: reparations. Months ago, Trymaine discovered the little-known story of Gabriel Coakley and it blew his mind. In ... Show More
6m 12s
Feb 2021
Isabel Wilkerson on Caste and William Darity on Reparations
Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson talks to Alec about her best-selling book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Wilkerson says America’s caste system began in 1619, when enslaved people first arrived in the Jamestown colony. Drawing comparisons between India’ ... Show More
45m 55s
Feb 2024
Special preview of Into America presents: Uncounted Millions
On Into America presents: Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations, award-winning MSNBC correspondent Trymaine Lee dives into one of today’s most pressing debates: reparations. Months ago, Trymaine discovered the little-known story of Gabriel Coakley and it blew his mind. In ... Show More
6m 12s
Aug 2023
70. The Haitian Revolution, Dutch royals, and what happened to the Caribs?
What happened to the Caribs, the indigenous people of the Caribbean? Why did indentured labour become so prominent? What is the current Dutch monarchy's approach to slavery? Did Native Americans keep slaves? Listen as William and Anita answer your questions. This episode is spons ... Show More
40m 38s
Jul 2020
A blueprint for reparations in the US | William "Sandy" Darity
With clarity and insight, economist and author William "Sandy" Darity discusses how the grievous injustice of slavery in the US led to the immense wealth gap that currently exists between Black and white Americans. He explains how reparations for descendants of enslaved people wo ... Show More
31m 28s
Aug 2023
71. Nazis, reparations, and laws 'just for the English to see'
Did the Nazis use slave labour? Should Britain pay reparations? What is the origin of the Portuguese phrase 'just for the English to see'? What was the role of Islam in abolition? Listen as William and Anita answer these questions and more... Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepo ... Show More
36m 54s
Feb 2021
Why Now?
In the premiere episode, Erika and Whitney ‘show us the money’, as they travel to the American crossroads of business and slavery, Wall Street. They get personal when they unearth the pain and shame of human bondage, hidden at the site of New York City's notorious African slave m ... Show More
24m 20s