The Indian Oceans First International Conference on Reparatory Justice Aug 2026

As a member of the HOS group I was invited to attend The Indian Oceans First International Conference on Reparatory Justice Aug 2026.

I attended the conference and signed the ''THE ACCRA-LE MORNE DECLARATION ON REPARATORY JUSTICE''

My ancestor Sir Henry Barkly was a colonial governor of Mauritius from 1863 to 1870. There is an suburb - lived in by the Kreol Mauritius called Cité Barkly and I was honoured to attend a reception held in my honour at which I gave this apolgy...

I am humbled and honoured to be here in Cité Barkly.
You invited me here today because my ancestor was Sir Henry Barkly and I understand that Cité Barkly was named after him.

The Barkly family - of Sir Henry Barkly and his father Aeneas Barkly, benefitted financially from the ownership of a sugar plantation in Guyana called Highbury, which was made profitable from the labour of enslaved Africans. They also benefitted from compensation monies received from the British Government when slavery was abolished in 1834.

I acknowledge my ancestors' role in this crime against humanity, and I am here to apologise for all the immense suffering that was caused directly to those they enslaved and their descendants.

Why is what I am saying relevant to Cité Barkly? It is relevant because we know that the direct legacy of the Mauritian slavery economy can be seen everywhere still today in Mauritius. All the deep inequities that we see today that affect the Kreol community are as a direct result of what happened in history when the control of the nation’s economy was in the hands of white plantation owners.

I speak to the community here at Cité Barkly. I am here to listen, to understand and most important move forward together on this journey of reparative justice.

Thank-you