Caricom governments move to help Rastafarians

Caribbean governments say they will soon sit down with members of the Rastafarian community to discuss decades of marginalization and discrimination meted out to this section of regional society following persistent complaints and lobbying from this group.

The unprecedented decision to meet with Rastafarians follows discussions between presidents and prime ministers at a virtual leaders meeting held in early May, but the Guyana-based regional secretariat announced only this week that high level discussion on the issue had taken place and that a formal meeting is being planned in the coming days.

The announcement noted that the May meeting had looked at the issue “against the background of persistent discrimination and marginalization experienced by Rastafarians, both in the region and internationally. In the meeting, member states noted that many Rastafarians continue to face exclusion in areas such as education, employment, and public life. They reaffirmed the importance of ensuring the full recognition and protection of the rights of Rastafarians as equal members of society,” the announcement stated.

So far, the governments have agreed to establish a working committee of stakeholders including representatives from Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, to advance consideration of issues affecting Rastafarians at both the regional and international levels. The governments said that some initiatives have already been undertaken by member states to address historical wrongs and injustices experienced by Rastafarians around the 15-nation bloc including official public apologies, the provision of land grants and legislation to “protect individuals from discrimination in the workplace,” the release noted.

The most notable historical injustice meted out to Rastafarians is known to have occurred in Jamaica a year after independence back in 1963 when police and soldiers arrested more than 150 members, beat, tortured and detained them following a violent confrontation at a petrol station in western Montego Bay. Tensions had been building for months between members and security forces over marijuana use among other issues resulting in alleged extrajudicial police killing and other atrocities against this group. Jamaica’s government formally, had however, apologized for the Coral Gardens atrocities back in 2017 but officials say more needs to be done to address alleged injustices.