The Jamaican human rights lawyer said the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge immediately benefited from their ancestors’ blood, tears and sweat and called for an apology as the royal family on the Caribbean island was protesting.
Opal Adisa helped organize activists outside the British High Commission building in Jamaica’s capital Kingston during William and Kate’s visit to call on the UK monarchy to pay reparations for slavery and to apologize for human rights abuses.
The Advocates Network coalition of Jamaican politicians, businessmen, doctors and musicians has written an open letter with 60 reasons why the monarchy should compensate Jamaica to mark the 60th anniversary of the country’s independence.
Demonstrators held up signs reading “Princesses belong to fairy tales … not in Jamaica” and “Excuse me”, and held copies of the open letter.
Ms. Adisa, a retired professor in her 60s, is a gender specialist and human rights lawyer who works with the coalition, and wanted to call the assembly a plea bargaining session rather than a protest.
In accordance with the protocol and coronavirus restrictions, Ms Adisa said she had requested space for 60 people, but the Advocates Network said 350 people attended the event on Tuesday.
A copy of the open letter was handed over by representatives of the Advocates Network to a British High Commissioner, the group said.
The luxury and the lifestyle that they had and that they continue to drive all over the world for free at no cost, this is a result of my great-grandparents, their blood and tears and sweat
Ms Adisa said: “Kate and William are beneficiaries, so they are actually accomplices because they are positioned to benefit specifically from our ancestors, and we do not benefit from our ancestors.
“The luxury and the lifestyle that they had and that they continue to drive all over the world for free at no cost, that is a result of my great-grandmother and grandfather, their blood and tears and sweat.”
She echoed the call for an apology, saying the monarchy should offer “economic social reparation”, such as “building our proper hospitals, delivering our children and ensuring that our children are educated above the college level, and ensuring that the country is equally distributed “.
Ms Adisa said an apology was the “first step towards healing and reconciliation”.
She added: “You know, we have nothing personal against Kate and Prince William, and also the Queen, on this matter, but we simply say that you have done wrong, and it has been a long time since you have admitted .that you have done wrong and if you do, correct.
“The fact that our government is spending money on security and finances to help the Duke and Duchess who are rich is scandalous, it’s criminal.
“Because the Caribbean is tired, the same thing happened in Belize. We just say enough is enough, we were calm, we were kind.
“Enough is enough, let’s deal with this racism and this discrimination.”
The protest began before the Cambridges arrived in Jamaica on Tuesday, where they will remain until Thursday when they leave for the Bahamas.
Earlier in the tour, there was opposition from villages in Belize, which cited a number of issues, including disputes over the Cambridges helicopter landing site, which forced a trip to a farm on Sunday to be scrapped.
It was replaced by a visit to a chocolate producer before the couple traveled to the Garifuna Community Cultural Center in Hopkins.
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