I was listening to a podcast on the Slave Trade Era, the arguments and the discussions centred around the impacts of the era on the homeland of the slaves; financial, economical, labour and otherwise and the need for reparations, and it got me thinking:

I personally believe the 'Reparations' argument is a long and debatable one; from a certain perspective, of which I oblige to, I don't think the African countries involved are owed “money”.

These slaves, according to parts of history, weren't kidnapped and whisked away completely on the White man's will, they were negotiated, arranged and supplied to the slave traders by their fellow brothers;

Who hold this lots accountable?

How much do they pay for their parts in this crimes against humanity?

Did they consider the "economic and financial" impact of their business, at the time, on their homeland?

I personally believe "financial" reparations are unnecessary.

It's one thing to demand for artefacts that were taken during a colonial era as there's an argument of theft around that, and it's an entirely different thing to demand reparations for slave trade.

I noticed a point was made that the reparations were for the lives lost too, and I thought;

Who fixes the amount to be paid back?

What is the unit of measurement for the lives lost?

And if we're still getting and taking payments for lives, how far are we from the slave era we claimed was abolished?

And when I consider the African countries involved, many of which are still wallowing in absolute poverty and knee-deep in corruption, I often wonder;

Isn't this money just going into the pockets of a selected few?

Is there a system in place to invest, disburse and expend this money into fixing the ruins from the Slave Trade Era?

Is there a system to trace and establish contacts with families that were torn apart by the Era and pay them?

And what makes us believe that money would close that century long scar?

I believe that returning stolen artefacts, systemic debt reliefs, fixing global trade regulations and other economic reforms that affect African countries are better ways to "restitute", if the world seeks to, it serves a better purpose in the long run than lump cash payouts to these governments, of which the monies can neither be tracked or accounted for publicly.

Generally, I believe it's an arguable topic of which might never be settled.