UK’s Quaker church to make reparations for slave trade, colonialism

Friands Church Kaimosi

Friends (Quaker) Church in Kaimosi, Vihiga County. Kenyans may also benefit from the reparations UK church will make.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

In a possible first for a church and which is likely to turn the spotlight on other churches, the British branch of the Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers) last week announced the decision  “to make practical reparations for the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialism and economic exploitation”.

And a Kenyan lawyer, who was involved in the 2013 pay out by the British government to victims of its government during the Mau Mau uprising, Mr Donald Rabala, told the Sunday Nation that the court settlement could be used as a guidepost by the Quakers if they were to go the reparation way

The Quakers’ decision was reached at following the church’s annual gathering, which was held both in person and online, and where the attendees were asked to take practical action on the named vices. The church consequently issued an epistle signed by Siobhan Haire, clerk of yearly meeting.

This is the second case of reparations by a major institution in the Western world in as far as slavery goes. In April, the world famous Harvard University announced a $100 million (Sh117 billion) fund to redress its ties to slavery after a report found that the university’s leaders enslaved more than 70 people in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Improve educational opportunities

American newspaper USA Today quoted the university’s president saying the fund would go towards the recommendations in the report, which included efforts to improve educational opportunities for marginalised students and partnering with historically black colleges and universities. It also recommended memorials, research opportunities and curricula that honour enslaved people and acknowledge the university’s ties to slavery.

Haire later told Premier Christian News: “We’ve been considering explicitly issues of diversity, inclusion, equity and privilege for a few years now. Last year, we made a commitment to becoming an anti-racist church and I see this very much as the next step on the journey and thinking about what that means practically in the world.”

“These are Quakers who were merchants who either themselves owned ships which were used for the transportation of enslaved people, or themselves held slaves. It’s important to acknowledge the truth of our history and to acknowledge that we were not the sort of squeaky clean abolitionist that we might remember today. Parts of organisations benefited from the wealth that accrued for people who held slaves or people who invested in companies that benefited from that exploitation. How do we put this right? Respond to that? We need to take urgent action as individuals, in our local, area and yearly meetings,” added Haire.

The issue of the church in slavery and colonialism has been an emotive one, more so in the former British Empire. In almost all of the colonialised countries, the British administrators arrived after missionaries had established stations in the hinterland leading to the phrase “the flag followed the bible”.

It was due to these ties that the church and Christians were considered fair targets when the Mau Mau war broke out in Kenya. The freedom fighters saw Christians as collaborators, ranking them with the much hated chiefs and their headmen.

Christianity

The issue has never been quite settled because there are those who believe that by bringing Christianity, the missionaries and the colonialists introduced Africans to enlightenment from the more developed Western world, thus not only bringing the ‘good news’ of eternal life, but also exposing Africans to education and other modern ways of life.

Lawyer Rabala explains that if they were to embark on reparations, the Quakers would be forced to first get the records of those enslaved, then track down their living descendants and pay the reparations.

“Since this is a decision of the church and not a court order, the payments would largely be discretionary. The out-of-court settlement of the Mau Mau case can serve as a guidance and help the church in this task since it took place in their own country,” he said.