The Truth Commission on The British Empire

Sathnam Sanghera suggests the Commonwealth is a good place to start the conversation on Truth, Reparations and Reconciliation on the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism. Recorded just before the last election it is more relevant now than ever, as sadly little has altered in attitude with the change of government. He also discusses his latest book Empireworld and his bestseller Empireland, and how a Commission could also work in Britain.

Netsayi is a critically acclaimed singer, who returned to Zimbabwe after living in the UK. She gives a vital alternative point of view on whether a GB TRC could ever work, whether its possible to discuss this across the races and whether financial reparations would ever appease the ancestors. She calls for African sovereignty to be respected, and reflects on how the patterns of the past are simply repeating today.

Today I speak with Richard Atkinson, author of Mr Atkinson's Rum Contract , the story of a tangled inheritance-a detective biography uncovering new truths in his family archives about Britains role in Transatlantic slavery. Evidence which can no longer be denied.  Richard speaks of his conflicted feeling in writing and exposing this story, but ultimately feeling morally obliged to publish, as an act of radical honesty, only a few months before the horrific murder of George Floyd.After publication he had one last extraordinary discovery when an unknown and most unexpected family connection takes him right back to where this story started in Jamaica, connecting the past directly to the present and affirming his belief that despite his fears his family history has ultimately widened and deepened his world in the most unexpected and positive ways.Today he encourages others to unearth their records and bring them into the public domain , believing it is in all our interest to engage in these journeys of truth and reconciliation .

Today is part two of our documentary series on the Seychelles Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission . Beneath the surface of this paradise archipelago lies a hidden and tragic history of torture, murder and forced disappearances. I speak with Demetri Wijesinghe, an international investigator at the TRC and ask him how he managed to persuade the high level intelligence operatives, military officers and perpetrators of death squads to open up and reveal their truths, and how the victims families felt when finally facing these perpetrators.We discuss whether the process helped them and country move forward and whether justice and reparations will ever be delivered. As always we connect how these processes of truth telling could be applied in the Uk context when looking into our colonial past. The aim of which is to create dialogue over division, and help us overcome the toxic culture wars of today. 

Today we begin our 2 part documentary on the Seychelles Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission. Beneath the surface of this paradise archipelago lies a hidden and tragic history of torture, murder, and forced disappearances,. I chat with renowned international legal practitioner and and Chair of the Seychelles TRC Gabrielle McIntyre.  Against all odd and expectations, often comic if not so tragic, the commission completed its work only afew months ago, after fulfilling their mandate to look into the gross human rights abuses that occurred during the coup of 1977, under the one party state that persisted until 1993 and then on up to the presentWe discuss the many lessons learnt that might be helpful if a British TRC was to be established over our colonial past, how not to do it perhaps. But due to Gabrielles utter determination she believes that the Seychelles TRC did manage to achieve a shared version of the past that might allow the country to move forward together with this as their new foundation. The value of such was not lost on us as we looked for ways for Britain to unite beyond the culture wars over our colonial past. 

I speak to Peter Lepping, a consultant psychiatrist in Wrexham, and an honorary professor in Bangor University in Wales and Mysore medical college in India.Peter grew up in Germany and experienced the countries struggle to come to terms with its past, moving beyond shame by learning the lessons that gave a greater sense of responsibility for the future .,When he moved to live in Britain he was surprised by how much this country was in denial over many aspects of its colonial history. Which came to a fore for him when he witnessed the vicious reactions to the BLM movements from certain sectors of society. It made him question what Britain was most afraid of in widening the narrative on its past and what he could offer from his experiences in Germany that might allow the country to become more at ease with its historyLooking into his area of expertise he considers the imperial legacy on psychiatry, looking at the on going effects of eugenics, which, he believes has left an legacy of racism and a sense of white superiority that still very much impacts both psychiatry, the medical establishment and society today.He ends with suggestions for intergenerational healing and hope, drawing on his experiences from Germany, and what he believes is beginning to happen wit the younger generations in Britain today. 

Today I speak with Sibo Kanobana, Postdoctoral Researcher, sociolinguistics and lecturer in postcolonial studies at Ghent University, Belgium and The Open University, Netherlands. We discuss his paper “Black activism through colonial monuments” which was presented at a conference on Courts, Commissions and the Making of an "official" Colonial Memory at NIAS in The Netherlands .These podcasts are also a call for action, There is a link below to the global petition calling for an official British TRC to be established, If you agree please sign and share .https://chng.it/mjksWP7bBB

Alex Renton is a British journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of several historical and investigative books, most recently Blood Legacy: Reckoning With a Family's Story of Slavery (2021).In April 2023 he co-founded Heirs of Slavery, a group of descendants of people who had profited from British transatlantic slavery and want to make amends in the form of reparations. The group has called on the British Prime Minister and King Charles to make a formal apology on behalf of the United Kingdom.In this episode he tells of the discovery of his families ties to slavery, from rummaging around in his family homes attic, and the way this hidden history has transformed the way he sees his ancestors and Britain today. The reframing of his family story has led Alex to encourage others in Britain to unearth their records and for the UK to acknowledge this history, apologise and discuss reparations for the legacy of slavery that still impacts so many today.The podcasts are also a call for action, There is a link below to the global petition calling for an official British TRC to be established, If you agree please sign and share .https://chng.it/mjksWP7bBB

Nana-Jo Ndow founded the African Network Against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances (ANEKED), following her family tragedy when her father, Saul Ndow, was forcibly disappeared in 2013. She is a Human Right Activist, storyteller and gender rights specialist, based in The Gambia. In this episode we follow her search for the truth of what happened to her father, and her experience of The Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission and her continued calls for justice and accountability until today. We also hear of her creation of The Memory House, a place where the forcibly disappeared are remembered and the lessons of the past never forgotten.The podcasts are also a call for action, There is a link below to the global petition calling for an official British TRC to be established, If you agree please sign and share .https://chng.it/mjksWP7bBB