Tara Clivio, Contributor

Slavery is defined in the Webster's Dictionary as drudgery or toil, the submission to a dominating influence, or the state of a person who is chattel of another. The slave trade apparently came to an end 200 years ago, a significant milestone in our history. Ironically, this anniversary came at a time when the US$100 million that we toiled and drudged for was used to benefit a dominating influence in the form of Cricket World Cup. At the same time, most of us do not even have the freedom to go to a match, a single ticket being in excess of our minimum wage. We had no choice but to sacrifice things we badly needed for our development, such as health care and education. So what exactly was abolished 200 years ago?

Our slave ancestry is something we can be proud of, as it signifies an incredible physical fortitude and strength of character that was required for mere survival in the harshest of conditions. If the Middle Passage was a kind of 'genetic selection', the concept of survival of the fittest must mean we are a tough breed. Yet, we see history repeating itself, as influences rise to dominance and then fall; inevitably it seems that the dominant, regardless of their race, take advantage of their position and even abuse it. But even the Middle Passage could not have prepared us for looking at a magnificent stadium built by our blood and tears for one night's use, while our children die from inadequate care.

Reparation

The debate surrounding reparations has been our politicians' chosen distraction. The debate, while very popular, is simply not very feasible. Britain is not likely to ever pay these reparations. U.K. taxpayers, who are made up of a wide number of ethnicities, will not see the need to pay for the sins of their leaders of 200 years ago. Most Jamaicans can't even get a visa to Great Britain much less any rights to the Crown Jewels. So instead of preoccupying ourselves with a fruitless debate perhaps we could direct this energy at modern-day slavery. Perhaps we could take the strength that ensured we survived the atrocities of the slave trade, and use it to end our present oppressor, gross corruption.

For example, present-day taxes suggest that we Jamaicans work half of our working career for free; or at least for the public coffers. For 20 hours of a 40-hour week we are slaves to the tax man, and in return we still get to pay for most health care, a quality education, the use of our only decent roads, and for just about anything else we might need. A slave in the 1800s at least got food and housing thrown in. We stand by in our deportees as our overseers order BMWs en masse and have our streets cleaned unrecognisably for our visitors' entertainment.

Slave drivers saw education as the enemy; an educated slave was a threat. Yet, if our present-day leaders were not threatened by education why have they allowed our education, system to fall into disarray, with many of our prestigious schools declining below the standards of pre-independence?

Wrong priority

Certainly, there is wider access to schools, but based on our test results and rate of literacy, we continue to provide schools that don't educate. Surely, we can also say that our very own leaders can take some responsibility for the horrific violence we all endure today. Why were security and education not seen as a greater priority than cricket?

The colonisers were led by Royalty, Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand, with their questionable ethics, were not even elected officials. These and other colonisers came under the guise of developing the New World, and they also believed they were appointed by God. It was out of the generosity of their hearts that they plundered our land and eradicated this country's indigenous people. Similarly, many of today's acts of invasion and intervention are done under the guise of humane efforts, or even in the name of development. yet, why is it that the investor and our leaders always find a way to profit, and we the slaves just don't seem to ever get ahead?