A Rastafarian group says Barbados’ two main political parties have wronged Rastas over the years and it is calling on the current administration to offer them reparations.
Interim secretary general for the National Rastafari Registry Secretariat and Trust, Paul “Ras Simba” Rock, said similar to how Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley acknowledged the role the slave trade played in the underdevelopment of Africa and its people, so too should she acknowledge the fate meted out to the Rastafari community.
He however stressed that they were not seeking favours, but justice and equal rights.
“The Barbados Labour Party and the Democratic Labour Party must share responsibilities for what has been done to the Rastafari community since Barbados’ Independence in 1966, and Prime Minister [Mottley] must acknowledge that just as Europe grievously wronged Africa and her people, the two political parties who have governed Barbados from 1966 until present have grievously wronged and allowed wrong to be done to the Rastafari community. Ironically, these injustices to Rastafari have come as a result of their unapologetic retention of African heritage and cultures,” he said. (RA)
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