THE MOST HON. PORTIA SIMPSON-MILLER, ON, MP,
PRIME MINISTER,
AT THE CULTURAL RALLY LAUNCHING
THE BICENTENARY OF THE ABOLITION OF
THE TRANS-ATLANTIC TRADE IN AFFRICANS
 EMANCIPATION PARK, JANUARY 2, 2007

(Salutations)

I begin with a quote from Bob Marley that strikes a chord in our hearts:

Old pirates,  yes,  they rob I
Sold I to the merchant ship
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit

Those simple yet profound words, poet and musician by Bob Marley call to our remembrance the painful journey of our African ancestors.   They were torn from mother Africa, forced through the terrors of the Middle Passage as living cargo and flung on to the plantations of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

When the notorious transatlantic trade in Africans came to an end it was the beginning of the end of a long and shameful chapter in the history of humanity. And this is why the government and people of Jamaica are, this year, commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Legislative Abolition of the transatlantic trade in Africans. 

This cultural rally marks the beginning of one whole year of remembering, reflecting and rekindling the spirit of our ancestors who fought for freedom so that we would have the opportunity to be our own men and women and live our own lives.

It is fitting that this rally is being staged on Haiti’s ancestors’ day, in recognition of the magnificent role played by our Haitian brothers and sisters in the struggle against the transatlantic trade in Africans. Let us celebrate today Boukman, a Jamaican, Dessalines and Toussaint and others who fought to liberate Haiti from French slavery.  We need to know as a nation that it was our Haitian neighbours who patrolled the seas and seized slave ships.  We need to know and remember that many a slave who ran away from slavery in Jamaica found refuge in Haiti.

And so this evening we hail the memory of the Haitian freedom fighters who stood in solidarity with us, as we salute our heroes who fought against slavery and the mentalities of slavery here in Jamaica - Sam Sharpe, Paul Bogle and Marcus Garvey.

We are privileged to have in our midst, to share in this great occasion, the distinguished author, professor Chinua Achebe, whose work is so well known and valued in Jamaica, as it is all over the world. Welcome to Jamaica, Professor Achebe, son of Nigeria.  You stand tall among the finest writers in the English language. Thank you for enlightening and inspiring us, your brothers and sisters of the African Diaspora.

We are here this evening because it is important that we never forget how long and hard was the journey of our ancestors  and how far we have come.  We are here because it is important that we never forget the unquenchable spirit of those who survived and bequeathed to us our African heritage. We can all be proud of the leading role that Jamaica played in putting forward the resolution to commemorate the bicentennial to the UN General Assembly.  It was supported by the USA and the UK.

Today I commend the work of the Bicentenary Planning Committee, led by Professor Verene Shepherd.  The Committee which was launched by former Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson in 2005 is honouring its mandate to work with various communities and organizations to plan appropriate and meaningful events to mark the bicentennial as an important development in the nation’s history. Under the theme, Our Freedom Journey: Honouring our Ancestors,  it will educate the nation about the abolition process from a Caribbean point of view, emphasizing the triumph of Jamaicans over the Middle Passage.

I know there is a view that we should forget the past.  Why bother to go over the painful memories?  Vera Bell in her poem reaching out across centuries to address her “Ancestor on the Auction Block” confronts the thinking that out of shame we should try to hide slavery under the carpet. She wrote:

Ashamed to look
Because of myself ashamed
Shackled by my own ignorance
I stand
A slave.

But her poem ends on a triumphant, liberating note.

I cry to the eternal abyss
For understanding
Ancestor on the auction block
Across the years your eyes meet mine.
Electric.

We too must meet the eyes of our ancestors and we must promise them to make good use of their sacrifices, strengths and triumphs to build a free, peaceful and prosperous country.

And so it is my privilege this evening to officially launch this great year of commemoration of the Bicentenary of the Legislative Abolition of the Trade in Enslaved Africans to Jamaica.   It will be a whole year of enlightening, exciting and empowering activities across the length and breadth of Jamaica.  Together we will pray; worship; discuss; argue; tell stories; sing; dance and express through other art forms; eat and drink; entertain brothers and sisters of the African continent and across the Diaspora; reflect and celebrate. 

I am inviting every single Jamaican, representing all the branches of our heritage – Chinese, Indian, European, and Syrian, Jewish as well African – to join in this great national year commemoration of the ending of a rough and brutal passage and the beginning of our great Jamaican nation.

Over the year of the bicentennial, our task is to look, learn and be liberated from the mental chains of the past. Marcus Garvey called us to emancipate ourselves from the slavery mentality. We must honour the heroes and embrace the legacy that they have left us. Let the words, the music and the dance tell our story, heal the old wounds and inspire us to draw strength from the remarkable courage and resilience of our forefathers and foremothers.

Sing the sad songs for the many Africans who did not survive the brutal Middle Passage.  Estimates of the percentage of those who died have been put at anywhere between 13% and 33%. Let it sink deep in our hearts that our forefathers and foremothers were extraordinary.  They were the survivors and their spirit lives in Jamaica today.  We are the inheritors. Sing the songs of freedom today for the one million Africans who survived and came to Jamaica to work as slaves on the plantation. 

It is worth repeating that it was the abolition of the trade in Africans that marked the start of a new Jamaican identity.   Before 1807 Africans saw themselves in tribal terms -  Yoruba, Ashantis and Igbos; home was Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal and other countries of the African continent.  This recognition and acceptance of the Jamaican identity was a significant development in the history of our ancestors.

It is fitting therefore, that we use this year 2007, to highlight the African contribution to the birth of Jamaica. Let us proudly claim this historical legacy.  Though born in blood and pain, it is a proud history that has brought us to where we are today – still working, still on the march towards full liberation but strong, triumphant and celebrated around the world for our great achievements.

To every son and every daughter, every descendant of those who survived the Middle Passage, I say this evening:  sing the songs of freedom.  

But my hand was made strong
By the power of the Almighty
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly

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