Rhoda Arrindell brings St. Martin voice to CARIFESTA against backdrop of PM Mottley’s reparation calls

GREAT BAY/BARBADOS--Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has emerged as one of the region’s staunchest advocates for reparatory justice, repeatedly insisting that centuries of slavery and colonial exploitation demand recognition and repair. In London, she welcomed King Charles’s admission that the “time has come” to acknowledge the enduring impact of slavery, stressing that reparations are not a matter of quick payouts but of justice and visibility.

It is against this backdrop that Dr. Rhoda Arrindell, president of the One St. Martin Association (One SXM), has traveled to Barbados to deliver St. Martin’s perspectives on reparations and decolonization at CARIFESTA XV. Arrindell, a Howard University lecturer and author of Language, Culture and Identity in St. Martin, is participating at the invitation of the Caribbean Reparations Committee (CRC), which is hosting several panels and discussions during the festival.

“Barbados was owed $4.9 trillion by slave-owning nations,” Mottley said in 2023. “We’re not expecting that the reparatory damages will be paid in a year, or two, or five because the extraction of wealth and the damages took place over centuries. But we are demanding that we be seen and that we are heard.”

Beyond a symbolic apology, Mottley asserted that reparations must be structured as economic justice mechanisms that address historic inequalities. “Reparations must also ensure fair access to development and compensation because our journey to independence started with a chronic deficit—a deficit of resources, fairness, and opportunity,” she said.

Earlier this year Mottley, in a powerful address at the 38th African Union Summit, called for a historic realignment between Africa and the Caribbean to break free from colonial legacies. She urged leaders to push for economic justice, reparations, and deeper integration, declaring, “We must determine our own future, not be victims of history.”

Arrindell will be a featured panelist at “Freedom Isn’t Finished—Reflections on the Caribbean’s Unfinished Historical Mission: The Total Decolonization and Unification of the Region,” scheduled for Wednesday, August 27, at the Marcus Garvey Amphitheatre in St. Michael. She will join voices from the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The panel is part of CARIFESTA’s “Big Conversations” program, which seeks to spotlight urgent social and cultural issues shaping Caribbean identity. According to Arrindell, the session represents an opportunity not only to articulate St. Martin’s stance on reparations but also to engage in broader discussions on Caribbean spirituality, climate justice, and decolonization.

The Caribbean Reparations Committee will also use the platform of CARIFESTA XV to present the revised CARICOM 10-Point Plan on Reparations, a framework that outlines regional demands for acknowledgment, restitution, and structural change.

Arrindell emphasized her enthusiasm for both the intellectual and cultural aspects of the festival. “I am excited to attend performances in dance, music, and other art forms, and I am looking forward to discussions on Caribbean spirituality, climate justice, decolonization, and Reparations, as well as seeing St. Martin artists perform,” she said.

As host country, Barbados has set the tone for this year’s edition of the region’s premier arts festival, which runs from August 22 to 31 under the theme “Caribbean Roots … Global Excellence.” The opening events included a Parade of Nations, an address by Prime Minister Mottley, and a high-energy concert featuring regional musical stars.

For Arrindell, her participation highlights St. Martin’s active role in a conversation that Mottley and other Caribbean leaders have pushed onto the global stage: reparatory justice as a moral, cultural, and political necessity. As Mottley put it, “The extraction of wealth and the damages took place over centuries. But we are demanding that we be seen and that we are heard.”

‍