Today, June 16, the Saint Lucia National reparations Committee (NRC) joins the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC), the National Nobel Laureates Festival Committee and all Saint Lucians in observing the 30th anniversary of the death of Sir Arthur Lewis, who died on June 15, 1991.
NRC Chairman Earl Bousquet told The VOICE yesterday: ‘Sir Arthur’s legacy continues to make Saint Lucia and the Caribbean proud, not only because of his economic prowess and vision but also for his contribution to opening the world’s eyes, albeit late, to the need for Britain to pay financial and economic reparations to its former West Indian colonies.’
He said, ‘Eighty-two years after he wrote Labour in the West Indies (1939) providing a template for reparations for the Caribbean, CARICOM has adopted his blueprint to guide its quest for $500 Billion worth of Reparatory justice in the 21st Century and Reparations is now the biggest human rights issue globally.’
Bousquet said ‘It’s important for Saint Lucians to learn more about Sir Arthur even 30 years after his death, just as it’s also important to learn about the contributions of John Quinlan, another Saint Lucian whose contributions to our history was also significant but is little known.’
The NRC Chairman therefore invited Saint Lucians to tune-in to tomorrow evening’s 10th National Reparations Lecture on the theme ‘John Quinlan’s Roles in the Quest for Reparations for Saint Lucia’s Ex-Slaves’, to be delivered by veteran trade unionist Lawrence Poyotte.
Quinlan was a Saint Lucia-born land surveyor who predated Marcus Garvey and made a presentation to the West India Royal Commission of 1987 on the crisis facing the sugar industry and its implications for the British West Indies during their visit to Saint Lucia.
Meanwhile, the online lecture will also be accessible to households with Cable TV, thanks to another new stakeholder partner, Calabash Television CTV (FLOW 110).
Tomorrow evening’s lecture will be aired live from 7p.m. to 9p.m. on the following UWI Open Campus and CTV platforms:
YouTube: www.open.uwi.edu/livestream
Facebook: www.facebook.com/uwiopencampuscaribbean
Calabash TV: FLOW – Channel 110