Rastafari community welcomes land transfer to Coral Gardens Benevolent Society

 

The local Rastafari community has welcomed the transfer of two properties in Albion, St. James to the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society.

 

The land transfer ceremony was held at the Office of the Prime Minister on Monday, and is a part of a broader programme of reconciliation with the Rastafari community in recognition of atrocities committed against members in Coral Gardens in 1963.

 

The properties will be developed to house a permanent elder care home for members of the Rastafari community. 

 

Attorney-at-law Marcus Goffe, who has expressed appreciation to the government for acknowledging the wrongs of the past, says it is important for contemporary modern-day justice.

 

But he says injustices continue to plague the Rastafari community and is therefore calling for more inclusion in the government's reconciliation programme.

 

"The whole progress around Coral Gardens, you know, culminating and here we are having a trust fund, having land transfers, [is] definitely significant in legal history. In terms of where we go from here, I hear in the announcement mentioned that this is part of a broader reparatory justice framework or a broader step towards reconciliation with the Rastafari community, you know.... We're not currently aware of what this broader framework or this broader reconciliatory process is going to look like and we want to be involved in shaping that," he said. 

 

In April 2017, Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness made a public apology for the Coral Gardens incident and pledged to compensate the 35 survivors. Several persons were killed and maimed during the violent altercation between police and Rastafarians in St. James.

 

In the meantime, since 2019, the government has contributed $122 million to the trust fund that was established for victims of the Coral Gardens incident. 

 

The fund has been topped up twice after $102 million was depleted. 

 

Pamela Rowe-Williams, Secretary of the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society, said survivors of the incident receive a monthly disbursement to assist with their living expenses.

 

Meanwhile, Mrs. Williams is pushing for a public campaign as part of the reparations for the damage done to the Rastafari community, to educate the population on "the rights of Rastafari and the contributions that we are making to the economy and the society at large".