April/May 2007

So what if Tony says sorry?

By Words of Colour Intern Marsha Blake

Hardly a week has passed this year where the issue of slavery has not failed to generate media coverage. It is now well publicised that a mere two centuries ago the slave trade between British ships was ruled illegal by Parliament.

So the 200th ‘anniversary’ should be great news as this tyrannical chapter in history has been largely relegated to taboo status, despite deserving the highest recognition within educational and media institutions.

Finally it has been brought to the attention of the mainstream. So we’ve now got less than a year to pump out as much information and publicity as possible to highlight this atrocious practise and the massacre of our ancestors and the millions of displaced Africans, scattered across the world.

While culturally enriching for the countries the slaves were forcibly taken to, it was an immeasurable loss to the African continent and its descendents. They were robbed of their culture and severed from the intricately woven fibres of their identity.

What I find perplexing is the self-appointed spokespeople for the black masses who seem to be preoccupied with one word: sorry. Recent weeks have borne witness to televised emotional outbursts from individuals demanding an apology from the monarch and government, chiefly Tony Blair. Our Right Honourable PM has caved in somewhat to the pressure, releasing a bland, half-hearted ‘apology’ in the New Nation newspaper. Readers were unmoved and the call for a genuine apology intensified. But just what would a more heartfelt apology really achieve?

Let us look at the word apology. The standard dictionary definition is ‘A written or spoken expression of one’s regret, remorse or sorrow’. Dig a little deeper and we discover the true meaning derived from its Greek origin ‘apologia’ which breaks downs as ‘A justification or defence of an act or idea …’ and almost as an afterthought ‘… an apology can also be an expression of contrition and remorse for something done wrong’.

Where there is contrition and remorse, it follows that regret should also be present. Yet with the tremendous material and socio-political gains made by the Europeans on the backs of African slaves, can we really say for sure there is genuine regret? You know the ‘if I could turn back the hands of time, I would do it all differently’ sort of regret. Methinks not.

An expression of hollow sentiment will not go an inch towards solving many of the problems that black people face. The only way to tackle these issues is to face them head on. An apology is worth nothing unless combined with a definitive plan of action aimed at correcting society’s imbalances it played a part in creating.

Let’s imagine that by some miracle, ‘ole Tone’ had a change of heart and decided to say ‘sorry’ to the masses. A noble gesture that would be, but then what? How would that improve the economic, political and social situation black people are in today? How would it alleviate the pain of the families who have lost their sons, daughters, brothers and sisters in the senseless killings that currently plague our streets?

It is now blatantly clear that our government operates an ‘it is of no interest unless it’s in our interest’ policy. Frankly the uplifting of black people is not high on the government’s agenda. This isn’t new. This is old. So wasting time and energy demanding apologies is a pointless pursuit.

Let’s devote our energies to the here and now – making the most of this unique position we find ourselves in, despite having the eyes of the all too fickle media upon us. Let’s create positive solutions for our future: no one else is going to do that for us.

Sources: www.dictionary.com. www.wikipedia.org

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