Making amends: John Lampen on reparations

‘Reparation can mean offering time, skills, partnership and friendship, as well as cash.’

I have been involved with community projects in Uganda since 1998. So I was interested in Britain Yearly Meeting’s decision to look at meaningful reparations for Quaker involvement in Britain’s colonial past, and the article by Ann Floyd and Lee Taylor on power redressing in Africa (16 September). The piece urged us to focus on present-day inequalities rather than identifying people who deserve compensation for the past.

Reparation can mean offering time, skills, partnership and friendship, as well as cash. Passing on skills is an important way of rebalancing power. We should not underestimate the value of small well-focused interventions – these can make a big difference. Interest and encouragement – ‘the ministry of presence’ – may be as important as giving money.

Yes, there are dangers. Our involvement could be controlling, Euro-centric, and post-colonial. We may be unconsciously seeking a role as ‘white saviours’. And giving money and training always means taking some control – especially when we raise money from donors and have to account to them, too. I try to keep these dangers in mind; mutual trust has grown, and I have gradually relinquished demands which I had once thought essential. I ask my Ugandan colleagues to guide me when the decision has to be mine, and I have learnt to sense when they are doubtful or uneasy. Expert friends have accompanied me on my visits; they can challenge and criticise me.

The crucial question, for me, is whether I am empowering or disempowering my partners. It is not always easy to answer. An orphanage approached me when its children were falling sick and dying. I offered to send a small monthly sum if they promised it would be spent on adding fruit to the diet. I made this demand knowing that otherwise our gift might be diverted to other needs (like fitting windows). I was using the power of our money to impose an action on them. I am conscious of this, but I needn’t feel guilty. Indeed I get satisfaction in knowing the children’s health has improved. If satisfaction at doing a good thing is blameworthy, which of us is innocent?

Quaker Africa Interest Group (QAIG) tends to support peacebuilding or education. Education is a valuable way of passing on skills without imposing an agenda. The curriculum is determined locally, and we can’t dictate how students will use their knowledge. In our Ugandan project we raise £13,000 annually to support adult literacy and nurseries. As Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the UN, said, ‘Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development.’

Peacebuilding too responds to local needs; if not, no one there would give time – work is done by local volunteers. The peace group we support has programmes in mediation, preventing school strikes, reducing domestic violence, teaching how to make sanitary pads, and monitoring elections. All this is a response to community demand.

British Quakers are already committed to reparations in Africa, through QAIG. If you believe we need to make amends for the past, you could support these initiatives.

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