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Students Warm To Reparations Talks

Image of Priest Kailash Leonce
Priest Kailash Leonce

AFTER blazing the trail at local secondary schools earlier this week, the Saint Lucia national reparations Committee Thursday started a series of community lectures to take the message beyond the classrooms.

The NRC’s first community lecture for Reparations took place at Odsan. Hosted by the Odsan Youth Group, the lecture sought to introduce the audience to the history and concept of reparations and explain why everyone had an interest in it.

The lecture was delivered by NRC Chairman Earl Bousquet, along with other members of the committee who have also been delivering the school-based lectures.

Meanwhile, there is growing interest in the schools’ lectures, which have become quite popular among students.

Lectures have already been held at the Vide Bouteille Secondary, the Vieux Fort Beane Field Secondary and the Soufriere Secondary schools.

Coordinator of the schools lectures, Priest Kailash Leonce, says he and the other NRC lecturers are quite pleased with the response so far.

He says, “I have been motivated by the zeal of the students and feel encouraged that the future of the reparations fight rests in competent hands.”

Added Leonce, “One of the key concerns of the organizers was the level of interest of the students. But we are quite pleased, as they have amazed us with their depth of questioning and pride of being African descendants.”

The next school lecture was at the St. Joseph’s Convent yesterday and the first next week will be in Castries and Vieux Fort on Monday.

The Castries Comprehensive Secondary School and the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School will both host their lectures on Monday October 24.

The school and community lectures are preceding a CARICOM Youth Reparations Forum, a Reparations Baton Relay and a Reparations Youth Rally, to take place next weekend in Castries, as part of 2016 Kweyol Heritage Month activities.

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