Public Sittings on Reparations Move to Clarendon

Citizens of Clarendon will get their chance to contribute to the national discussion on compensation for slavery, when the National Commission on Reparations holds sittings in the parish this Friday, November 27.
A public meeting, slated for the St. Gabriel’s Anglican Church Hall on Church Street in May Pen, beginning at 5:00 p.m., will follow a session for secondary level students at the Glenmuir High School, 10 Glenmuir Road, at 2:00 p.m.
The meetings are being held in collaboration with the National Centre for Youth Development (NYCD).
Director of Cultural Policy and Monitoring at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Ms. Tanya Batson-Savage, told JIS News that the sessions will allow the public to voice their opinions on the issue of reparations for slavery and to state whether or not the Government of Jamaica should pursue such compensation.
She said the forum at Glenmuir High School will target fifth and sixth form students, since the input of young persons is important to the process.
The National Commission on Reparations, launched in May this year, is charged with the important task of receiving submissions, hearing testimonies, evaluating research and studies, and engaging in dialogue with relevant interest groups and legal academic experts. It is chaired by Professor Barry Chevannes.
Meetings were held last month in Kingston at Liberty Hall downtown and Webster Memorial Church on Half-Way-Tree Road; and on November 11 in St. Catherine, at the Social Development Commission (SDC) office in Spanish Town.