Reparations: Bonaire's voice from Barbados to the global stage

For generations, the Caribbean has carried the heavy socioeconomic consequences of slavery and colonial exploitation. Today, the regional dialogue surrounding reparations has evolved. It is no longer just a historical reflection on past centuries, but an urgent demand for modern justice, recognition, accountability, and the active repair of systemic damages that persist in everyday life.

This message resonated clearly at the Third CARICOM Regional Conference on Reparations in Barbados. The landmark gathering united Caribbean leaders, scholars, and advocates to chart the future of the movement. Among the delegates were James Finies—Leader of Partido Pueblo Progresivo (PPP) and Founder of the Bonaire Human Rights Organization (BHRO)—and myself, representing BHRO as UN-accredited advocates and Associate Members of the CARICOM Reparations Commission. For Bonaire, participating was vital; though our island is small, our history is structurally inseparable from the broader Caribbean experience.

“Let the negotiations begin”

Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, sharply defined the movement’s transition into an operational phase with four decisive words: “Let the negotiations begin.” With the historical record of wealth extraction firmly established, regional focus must shift from securing basic acknowledgment toward enacting formal engagement, legal negotiation, and structural redress.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley reinforced this framework: “We have no desire to bankrupt anybody. But we have a desire for justice.” Reparations are not acts of charity, nor are they discretionary development assistance offered out of geopolitical generosity. They represent a matter of justice and systemic repair. To achieve this, CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett outlined three guiding principles: recognition, accountability, and transformation.

The Intersection of Reparations and Self-Determination

In his address to the delegation, James Finies expanded the scope of the dialogue, asserting that true reparatory justice cannot be decoupled from modern political equity. Opening his remarks in Papiamentu to emphasize cultural identity, Finies argued that reparatory justice for territories like Bonaire is fundamentally linked to decolonization and the right to self-determination.

Finies urged CARICOM to develop a unified regional strategy to engage the Netherlands regarding both the enduring legacy of the Dutch slavery past and Bonaire's present constitutional dependency. Addressing recent developments, Finies made it clear that genuine reparatory justice is a matter of structural correction, not a charitable handout or a discretionary subsidy from the Dutch government’s slave past awareness programs.

“Reparations must repair the past,” Finies noted. He issued a direct call for solidarity: “We are not asking the Caribbean to determine our political future. That future belongs to the people of Bonaire, but we are asking our Caribbean family not to leave us standing alone.”

Translating Reparatory Justice for Bonaire

These principles have direct operational relevance for Bonaire. Our history is physically etched into our landscape, yet our historical salt pans cannot merely serve as a heritage backdrop for tourism; they must have meaning for the generations living today. A meaningful framework for reparatory justice must drive concrete domestic progress. It should stimulate targeted investments in education, healthcare, housing, poverty reduction, and economic opportunity. We must critically examine why local communities whose ancestors contributed so much through generations of exploitation continue to face disproportionate poverty and social marginalization. This is not about remaining trapped in the past, but about understanding history to actively re-engineer an equitable future.

Ultimately, reparatory justice cannot remain confined to international declarations and high-level conferences. If the movement is to succeed, its outcomes must be tangible for ordinary citizens. The practical benefits must reach the kitchen tables of the mother struggling to provide for her children, the elderly person seeking to live with dignity, and the young person searching for education and housing.

Our island may be small, but our history, our ancestors' suffering, and their contributions were not small. Therefore, Bonaire's voice in the reparations movement should not be small either.

The regional consensus from Barbados is clear: the movement has officially progressed from a period of remembrance to an era of accountability and action. Alongside Sir Hilary Beckles' call to begin negotiations, Bonaire demands that its distinct history be formally recognized, its people’s contemporary experiences be heard, and reparatory justice manifest as a tangible inheritance for future generations. True reparations are measured not only by what was stolen from our ancestors, but by what we are determined to restore for our descendants.

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