Jamaica’s prime minister has hinted that Britain might want to pay her country compensation for the “wicked and brutal” years of slavery in the days of Empire as she prepares to host Prince Harry on the latest leg of his Caribbean tour.
Portia Simpson Miller said that if Britain wanted to apologise for slavery it would be “fine with us” and repeated her view that the Queen should be removed as head of state of the Commonwealth realm.
In an interview with the BBC recorded hours before Prince Harry touched down at Kingston’s Normal Manley Airport, Mrs Simpson Miller chose the four-day Diamond Jubilee visit to highlight the way her forebears had been wronged by the British.
WE ARE AS HUMANITY ARE IGNORANT AND GOD TOLERANCE WITH US is COMING NEAR TO AN END WHY IF WE DO NOT FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE IN PERSON? HEED OR LISTEN TO THE WORD, NOT BRINGER. GOLD IS GOLD EVEN IT BE IN THE HAND OF THE RICH OR THE POOR.
But we people of colour are too personal and emmotional you cannot erase history of evil or good. Creation writes the petition!!!
Intresting comments and support for Portias’ argument if only half of you who are supporting her really saw her press con and her sucking up to the same Harry and Queen. Portia is a disgrace, she made that speech to impress and rile up Jamaicans and other Caribbean people, meantime those of us in the UK and US saw a totally different Portia. The only thing left to be done by this woman was to kiss Harry’s tush. Wait till Jamaicans start with her. Why can’t people stand for what they believe for once?
she a last a mind
half DA half UK
You are a bloody jack
While I understand her woes about slavery, but she is in the best position to change the current state of poor Jamaicans today, so it would do her best to focus on THAT. In this day and age our leaders need to take care of their own right here right now, rather than shifting the focus and ignoring what is happening to their people.
Portia is attention seeking. I refuse to take this woman serious. Looking at BBC news who up and HUG & KISS the prince.. PORTIA, then she extended an open invitation to HER MAJESTY to come to Jamaica even if she when she is no longer Queen and referred to her as OUR HEAD OF STATE. Portia like most caribbean leaders are confused. They have a different speech for every audience. NOT ONCE did she say one word about slavery or change while she had so much international press available to her. These people are cowards and exploiters.
Remind me of Chavez, huffing and puffing about America and then push Skerrit and all other leaders aside to steal the spotlight with OBAMA damn near kissing the man shoe, and hugging him.
Great observation. Talk all her crap and hugging and smiling.. A real ‘ attention seeker’
Our women are put on weave on, wigs and perming their natural hair to be straight, false eye lashes. Our men and women are bleaching their skin. In DA you hear high colour, light skin, dark skin, and black as coal. Black is bad…But white is pure… Not only that we are not even BLACK in colour; and you don’t think we are affected by slavery. We have been brainwashed to accept Eurocentric beauty as the norm: blond hair and blue eyes; and don’t ask ourselves why they have access to capital, money and we find it difficult to acquire.
Then there is the impact upon us men. In Africa the majority of men are supportive and proud to be the external bread winner; while we men in the Caribbean and the US are breeders and breed pickney, don’t get married and partly to blame for this is the decimation of culture and values is the impact of slavery where we were put on par with cattle and referred to as chattel.
Of course Africa is partly cursed for selling their, own people into slavery.
The Africans that carried out this barbaric and inhumane crime, let us ask ourselves this where are their souls languishing? From experience the only Countries making a concerted effort to redeem and acknowledge their slave past is Ghana, with Cape Coast; and Senegal, Dakar with Goree Islands.
In St Aroment and Upper Goodwill the so called high colour bourgeoisie still owns most of the flourishing businesses in Roseau which belong to Dominicans; they pull string and have long leg to get scholarships, high paid jobs home and abroad, see the makeup of these statutory boards if it is not them it is their offspring. Bob Marley said “Mental Slavery”. Google: Jim Crowe and Willie Lynch. Nuff said…
stupes remove allu n allu slavery talk we all are one am not red Sabine or high colored am dark skinned and am beautiful but am very annoyed with the slavery this and that common don’t u ppl move the hell on? prince harry come visit my home u wont pay a dime Jamaica is vex allu vex cuz they didn’t take allu petition to spend pounds again but wait nuff Jamaicans in england i wah dem send home tute (all) stupes get over the rubbish and move on
It is increasingly easy to identify the happy slaves around here.
Our ancestors couldnt leave a legacy for us because of those brutal centuries.
On the otherhand, the europeans who benefitted from those CENTURIES of slavery are still standing heads above the Africans all over the world. THEIR LEGACY CAME FROM OUR LABOUR.
WHAT A TRAVESTY
…its the cheapest and the most simplistic demagogy. Madam PM uses the opportunity to attract the attention to her own personality with this ‘pseudo-agenda’.
Portia is not the only one seeking compensation.the french caribbean deputies’armenia.europe owe the whole african nation.the objects in their museums,the ruby from the maharajah.they plundered india,china,america the caribbean.those against portia are a shame to the black community.drake,walter raleigh,bligh a whole heap of cutthroats plundered.the kalinago nation should be fully recompensed too.GO PORTIA GO.RALLY THE CARIBBEAN HEADS AROUND YOU
I believe and know in reincarnation and Ms Portia Simpson Miller Sister Nanny come back or Yaa Asantewa or lo and behold Queen Victoria who was the overseer to the Empire.
What you sow, so shall you reap many times over. We have their names-as descendants of slaves, we were emasculated, raped, dehumanized and forced to accept their own so-called ‘civilised culture’. Europe especially Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Holland and Britain has and have built up its nation of, and on the spoils of slavery and colonialism. The Almighty Creator NEVER gave them that right. But He warned Vengeance is mine I shall repay. Away from any church or religious dogma or earthly explanations, if Europe does not redeem as we reach this significant turning point in mankind’s epoch it will become fatal. If you don’t believe me are you observing Greece. Greece stole from Egypt and look at the Greek economy now!
Yellowman knew the feminine has a guiding intuition and he acknowledged this simply when he sang “Man smart, but the Woman smarter…”
England don’t owe us a dime! If black ppl know their history well enough, they would know that the white man didn’t go into Africa and enslavery Black man. It was Black ppl that sold off their own kind for Guns and other items from england that was new to them. As a matter of fact, it was all business on the west coast of Africa. Like Bob Marley said in one of his songs,” tribal war won’t stop the fighting”. There was and still is this War going on in Africa. Take a look at the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Its black man Killing black man.
So if Simpson needs help from England she could at let’s show some empathy and just ask for help for her country in a manner that doesn’t lay blame on other ppl. She could at least use the past and show how the Caribbean nation have and still are affected by this era of the past.
We fought for emancipation and our independence now we are still in poverty we pointing fingers. Black ppl to like to bring each other down and this thing must stop. Its time we start to show more love and unity amoungst each other in an effort to move forward. The world have to much corruption going on and that’s what needs to stop. This goes out to all Caribbean leaders.
Here goes a woman to respect. very bold, brave and deserving step to take.
Oh Oh! I really thought we were freed. Still looking for compensation from them? What are we going to do with the monies if it is granted? Will our children asked for their as well? and the next and next the generation asked for their too and so on. Stop that foolishness and work to build our countries. There is enough natural resources in the region to get us out of poverty than begging for pieces of food
She make right, but all the money in the world will not free people from their own low self esteem and disregard for their fellow man. Black,White,Blue or green. It’s high time we love each other. Evil people come from every walk of life.I don’t believe we will ever have peace and love on this earth. People are just too wicked. Help ever hurt never. By the way I am a Scot and the English enslaved my ancesters also. But I do not think my English friends owe me anything, after all they didn’t do it. They shouldn’t have to pay for their distant relatives sin, they don’t even know if they were involved. But at the end of the day I do think if you have plenty regardless of the past you should help less fortunate people. And God help Jamaica they have plenty poor people. The affects of slavery are deep and pass on generation after generation. We must help each other to overcome and overstand. One Love
Get some manners woman !!!!!
remember Third World sang; U caught me on the loose fighting to be free Now u show me the noose on the cottontree Entertainment for u Matyrdom for me England should pay us all for all their wickedness and false REPRESENTATION
Madame pm let them know what’s up I like this whoman it about time a PM stand up for the caribbean people.
Boy if it was Hon Skerrit who said those words both Layou River and Roseau River jointly would not wash out his sins away. Not even the Atlantic Ocean Would.
I fully support Sister P on this one.
we all would stand behind skerro for that one… alas… skerro not that caliber of politician… he can’t even stand in his own shoe.. so don’t expect such from him
Do you really expect Skerritt to say those words? Black history month, February, just passed, not a word, not an educational programme to remind people of the horrendous days of slavery, its effects and the urgent need to chart a new way forward. Instead, a new form of slavery, a new form of colonialism is the order of the day. Mental slavery is turning people in Dominica and the wider Caribbean into Zombies.
Almost total dependence on foreign countries for our development. A policy of handouts, institutionalized “Red Clinic” instead of adopting self-reliance and earning a living by the Sweat of thy own brow. Massa Day not done. Quick enrichment while in Public office by authorities like past colonial masters, while the majority gets the crumbs, given trinkets and little material things. Life-long loyalty to the politician or master or Govt.
Nowadays, just check how some present-day black leaders treat their people. People are still like commodities for sale. The chains of slavery are not on our feet. They have been placed on our minds. That is a worse form of slavery and control. That new form of control of the minds persist in our land and that is what new-colonial ‘Masters’ want.
what a load of rubbish, well if she wants the british to pay, lets find some one who is still alive whom they enslaved and give them the money,insted of it going to her goverment pocket, and i know the queen of england may be a little arrogant and i can not forgive the way they treat poor dianna, but i do not think that she has ever been involved with slavery, why is it people want to constantly start a balck white race thing,how many people i know in DA who are now with white husband or wives here and in other country, and prehaps then england should start asking for money from all those people that invaded them through the historic times, romans and vikings, and not forgetting the germans who nearly destroyed there country during the world wars,
this woman is stupid and arrogant, and is not been in power 5 minuets and already starting trouble, the caribbean needs its european tourist and with terrible things happening now to tourist, like the poor french family who where attacked and there child brutilsed on the beach, all we gonna do is scare them all away, and then what we do, rob our neigbours for bread….
I am a woman and she is embarrassing our race. The UK must pay Jamaica? Are they the only ones who were enslaved? Get off it an move on. There are better issues to address in Jamaica.
it is about time time somebody say something. The rest of the Caribbean needs to follow.
Stop singing and dancing every time you all see white people.
emancipate yourselfs from mental slavery thats a key line that many seem to be clouded about..
Bob was a liberator thats why he was loved dearly all over the Globe and respected Highly..
if we still keep track of the slavery aspect will we continue to eat ourselfs raw!
while its good to be tough but you have to be clever and know how to climb over hurdles in life!
Portia i wish u was Dominica prime minister!
hell no.
Sorry, but sometimes I think slavery was the best thing that happened to the black man/or at least Africa. I’d be sitting somewhere with flies on my mouth, or with my lil pickney dem muddy digging for diamonds with their bare hands EVEN NOW 2012, for whom? The same slave masters.
Anyhow, if she wins I guess Africa will make a claim for enslaving its people and sending them to the Caribbean from which they should consider repatriating.
She’d do African slavery better justice by adopting 2 destitute children from Ethiopia.
I agree with her 100%. We are afraid to speak up on issue that matter to us. That is the difference between we black people and the Jews. The Jew will not let his gaurd down on any opportunity to bring forward the horrors of the holocaust. We on the other hand are ashamed to talk about slavery.
Well, charges are still made for holocaust victims, so perhaps Spain, England, Portugal, the Netherlands and France can be charged for African slavery
We’re not interested in who those fore fathers are, which tribes and African nations we come from but we want money for… ummm… loss of identity? When she gets the money she will develop a fund and test the DNA of Jamaicans find out which part of Africa they come from. I think Angola or Mali, they dance and dress like them. Then Jamaican families will adopt poor African children and buy real estate in Angola or Mali and build homes.
yes there is a good think so they will be able to receive their brothers persecuted by Boko Haram : they are looking now for somewhere to live
The white colonialist did an extra special job on the dominican psychy. By some of the comments here one can see much evidence of that brainwash in effect.
I cannot agree with you more, I don’t know what it is but they are so ashame of their heritage, the whites really did a good job on them, boy talk about brainwash.
Is she looking for the right time to tackle a quick fix for Jamaica’s economic woes?
I am starting to like this woman..
Can we just leave the past behind and concentrate on the future. If we do keep the past, then what a heavy load we will carry and to even speak of the hatred inside. If we do not let go of the past, then you know what, we would be always fighting and fussing and fretting with those person who alledgely enslaved out forefathers. Hey this is gone .. A l’heure cela!
Hold on!!! Did you just say “allegedly enslaved”? You need to go educate yourself.
Madame PM while I agree with your hurt, there is a time and place for everything. There is also a respectable way to bring light to your grievances, and this is far from proper.
You are one of the few who can see the nuisance in what I said earlier. There is a time and place for everything. You cannot invite (or accept their offer to visit) someone to your home for what is to be a joyful occassion and then turn around and blast them while they are in your company. That is what manners is all about.
But it is obvious some of you don’t have the upbringing to appreciate that.
yea but did jamaica invite or accept their offer to visit,or did jamaica have any choice,and on the other hand telling you to your face what i feel about you,where does manners come in that,in fact at least they are not being hypocritical,they are up front, you does here them jews respecting them nazis,
Max she Hon Posha is such a hypocrite, becaus in the presence of said prince she is hugging him and saying what a nice lad he is. She should have reserved her comments until her audience with the Prince then send a letter to the Queen, whom is the individual she has a grievance with! And all those idiots giving thumbs down and talking rubbish, I stand by my words. THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE FOR EVERYTHING!
who are you to tell her when is the right time?
Handle the truth!!
first the WICB, and now the Queen ? Obama watch out lol lol…. she busy picking fights instead of addressing her countries concerns….
why she dont talk to the drug lords and gang leaders like that lol lol
what is her problem nuh? choops
black people still killing and enslaving each other. Doesnt she think that the crimes in Jamaica because of Jamaicans killing Jamicans are enough to stress over?
this has nothing to do with manners… in dominica we are too laid back… this is the best time to bring up this issue since it will get international attention… i’m not asking for there money since what was done can’t be paid in monetary value…
many nations ruled at some point but none did the kind of things that the european powers did… they brainwashed our ancestors to give up prisoners of rival tribes to slavery… let me give a brief history… in one of the south american countries… when the spaniards were coming… a certain chief sent a spy to gather info… the spy came back and said.. they should be killed on sight no mercy… they are devils, they kill the men and rape the children.. alas when the spaniards arrived and the chief asked of those rumors… the spaniards said they came to bring the word of god and came in good faith… next time they met with the chief they brought a friar (acolite) who then handed the chief a bible and said this is the word of god… the chief shook the bible and put his ear towards it and said… how come your god don’t talk… i’ll not accept your god… all hell broke loose and this chief was killed right then and there in public…
how i wish most of us would research our history.. not the ones that are taught in the schools esp. the u.s.a… go to your library that’s where all the deep secrets are….
manners for what? You idiot. She 190% correct and all our coward and good for nothing leaders in the OECS should do the same. Shame all u forget..hmmm
She does not seem to have suffered from any wrongs that may have been done to her forebears, does she? She is playing the polular, emotional vote, that’s all. Very cheap!
I’ve been to Jamaica and have friends who are Jamaican. The Prime Minister may not be a ruthless slave owner as the British may have been, but the way commoners and poor are treated by today’s Jamaican goverment is very wrong as well. She is not without blame either.
Doesn’t this woman have any manners?
I know…right….the past is the past…if things could happen so then we all should be compensated for the trials and tribulations all our ancestors had been through. chupes..nonsence.
because she isn’t singing and dancing like the rest of you, she doesn’t have manners.
will and come again
Pulp fiction well check the news articles! She was singing and dancing when she met Prince Harry!
You sound like you are still a slave. Emancipate yourself.
I think she needs a lesson in diplomacy. She needs to realize that when she speaks its not just as MP for her consituency or leader of her pary but as Prime Minister of her country, thus some dimplmacy would be required
You are correct, she is speaking for us/we of whom some too blind to see the truth.
that’s what the ‘traitor’ field slaves would say smh
I am uncertain about what point you are trying to make here. I am of the solemn opinion that she is within her right to seek an apology from Europe generally but Britain specifically for the hundreds of years of slavery, abuse and injustice that our ancestors endured at their hands. In fact in 2012 we are still suffering from that legacy and the various associated stigmas. Don’t get me wrong, no apology can adequately suffice for the hundreds of thousands of lives that perished both in the ‘middle passage’ and on various plantations throughout this region. However it is the gesture of remorse that is central to the improving of relations between Britain and the Caribbean countries which she colonized. No offence meant.
manners for who are you serious are you not black no wonder they still enslaving all you. Miller do dan right call them out they have money living lavish life and black people paid the price. he queen is a woman just like her she is not more than her or nothing a man is just a man so the queen or whomever she is queen or not shuld be trested as anyone else
Make dem pay Portia make dem pay
Hold on, Maximillion, you feel offended because a Caribbean leader dares respond honestly to a question pertaining to our common history as Black Caribbean people? I suppose you feel that she should not say “such things” so that she does not offend massa, huh?
To all who think that PM’s timing is poor, i understand your logic but there is a whole lot more at play here than just Mrs. Miller speaking out.
Manners about what! Princess Diana died running trying to run away from her shameful life. Think she had manners then?
Boy I wish I could give the “manners” comment 10 thumbs down. lol
What’s your definition of manners?
I dont see her asking for a apology as bad manners.
There are many grand buildings in cities in England that were built from monies made from the slave trade.
I’ll never understand the thinking of some blacks. The Jews can remember the Holocaust, there are many films/documentaries/books etc about their sufferings, but no, we blacks must move on and forget. Thats why some of us are still mentally enslaved.
Its manners for someone to apologise for wrong doings, especially when they benefitted from it.
No monetary compensation, just a simple ‘We know what our ancestors did and we are sorry’