As King Charles makes his first trip to meet Commonwealth leaders in Samoa this week, the question of reparations is once again before the monarchy.
The king largely met with supportive people in Australia – with the exception of independent senator Lidia Thorpe after harassing King Charles and shouting: and accusing the monarchy of “committing genocide against our people.”
In recent decades, several groups in the former British colonies have called on the British government to provide compensation to First Nations people whose way of life was brutally disrupted by colonization.
The details varied, with some groups calling for an apology, while others demanded payments as compensation for their suffering.
A report co-authored by UN justice Patrick Robinson says Britain should pay £18.8 trillion ($36.6 trillion) for its involvement in slavery in 14 countries.
It was published by the University of the West Indies and the amount is not subject to any legal agreement or judgment.
But he acknowledged that this was an underestimate and that the actual amount owed should be much higher.
Peaceful protesters gathered outside a Sydney church service attended by King Charles on Sunday. Source: MONKEY / Dean Levins
The Brattle Report, released last June, has reignited the debate over reparations and apologies. Rishi Sunak, the then Prime Minister, was asked about an apology for the slave trade and said: “Trying to unravel our history is not the way forward and is not something we will focus our energies on.”
On Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman ruled out reparations after Starmer’s fellow MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy said Britain should be open to discussing the matter.
“The UK has both a moral and legal obligation to address the injustices of the past. “If reparations are on the agenda for Commonwealth countries then the UK government must be prepared to talk about that,” she said.
Starmer’s spokesperson added that it was “not on the agenda” of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa.
However, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Reparations Commission has pledged to push for a “full and formal apology” for slavery and work to create a model of restorative justice.
The 56 Commonwealth member states will also elect and appoint the next Secretary General of the grouping in Samoa. The post has been held by British Patricia Scotland since 2016.
All three candidates – Mamadou Tangara of Gambia, Shirley Botchwey of Ghana and Joshua Setipa of Lesotho – have said they support reparations.
Why are people calling for reparations?
Professor Jioji Ravulo, chair of social work at the University of Sydney, is located in Samoa to attend the Commonwealth Youth Forum, held ahead of the King’s visit.
He told SBS News that the call for redress is primarily about wanting governments to take responsibility for ongoing damage caused by systems set up by the British monarchy.
“Many of the social structures and systems that exist in the countries we are talking about, healthcare, legislation and welfare, and even the education system, are still largely based on a Western and white approach,” he said . .
“A lot of the work when it comes to moving beyond decolonization means asking how we can meaningfully integrate First Nations perspectives, practices, beliefs and values into those social structures, those systems, those services.”
Ravulo, an indigenous Fijian man, said First Nations people in colonized countries are consistently overrepresented in “health issues, in educational withdrawal, in child protection, gender-based violence,” due to the legacy of colonization.
Robinson, co-author of the reparations report, said these are “necessary for the completion of emancipation.”
“If a state has committed an unlawful act, it is obliged to pay reparations,” he told the BBC last August.
Prime Minister Philip Davis of the Bahamas said this weekend: “The time has come for a real dialogue about how we address these historic abuses.”
Ahead of King Charles’ coronation last year, Lidia Thorpe was among signatories from twelve countries who shared an open letter demanding that King Charles apologize to First Nations people and compensate them for the disastrous consequences of the colonization.
“The so-called king must be held to account,” Thorpe told NITV at the time.
“We need him, as part of his coronation and part of the legacy of his ancestors who caused so much damage, to say sorry.”
Caricom’s recovery plan outlines ten areas it says European governments must commit to, including no direct financial payments.
It calls for repatriation programs for enslaved peoples, indigenous development programs, technology transfer and debt forgiveness, among other things.
How does colonization still affect people today?
Colonization has had a “devastating” impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and culture, according to a report amended in June by the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare.
The AIHW report states that violence, disease and settler occupation of land have caused loss of life and prevented Indigenous Australians from earning their livelihoods.
The forced removal of children had also contributed to intergenerational trauma, the report said, with the factors having a “fundamental” impact on disadvantage and physical and mental health.
Indigenous Australians did not gain the right to vote until 1962.
According to the AIHW, cultural identity and participation, together with access to traditional land and family, have a positive impact on overall health and well-being.
Rates of incarceration, and suicide are rising rather than falling, the Productivity Commission’s latest Closing the Gap report shows.
Similarly, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children assessed as developmentally on track has declined.
Dr. Tracy Westerman, director of Indigenous Psychological Services and founder and director of the Perth-based Westerman Jilya Institute for Indigenous Mental Health, that racism, discrimination and generational trauma have major consequences for depression and anxiety.
“The harmful effects of colonialism through an increased risk of trauma; suicidal behavior, depression and a host of mental health responses have been undeniable for decades,” she said.
“When people have experienced massacres, segregation and forced removals that are historically documented and have witnessed this type of violence and abuse, the likelihood of post-traumatic stress disorder becomes difficult to assess because there are multiple trauma risk factors, which in themselves result in a fourfold risk of post-trauma compared to the general population.”
In the minutes before Thorpe protested in Canberra on Monday, King Charles acknowledged Australia’s “long and sometimes difficult journey towards reconciliation”.
“It is in all our interests to be good stewards of the world and good ancestors to those who come after us,” he said.
“Because we are all connected, both to the global community and to all that sustains life. That is the timeless wisdom of indigenous peoples around the world.”
Speaking to ABC Radio on Tuesday, Thorpe doubled down on her accusation that the king was complicit in the genocide of indigenous people through his silence.
“Why doesn’t he say, ‘I’m sorry for the many, many thousands of massacres that have taken place in this country and that my ancestors and my kingdom are responsible for that.'”
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