Kenya: Britain to Compensate Kenyan Veterans of Mau Mau Uprising

[the_physicist]

Kenya: Britain to Compensate Kenyan Veterans of Mau Mau Uprising
6 JUNE 2013Britain has bowed to legal moves and agreed to compensate 5,228 elderly Kenyans tortured during the Mau Mau uprising from 1952 until 1961. The deal follows a London court ruling last year that victims could sue

Comments

[zinnia_rose]

Foreign Secretary William Hague stopped short of delivering a full apology in parliament on Thursday but offered Britain's "sincere regrets" for abuses committed by the former colonial British administration in Kenya.

Seriously? You're willing to pay them but not give them a actual apology? Ew.

[underlankers]

Good on the British.

[tabaqui]

Fuck the whole 'we won't apologize' crap. I really wish that every country and victim that the UK, the US, and any other 'colonial' power would sue, if only so these countries would be forced to acknowledge their fucked up history and the horrifying acts they committed.

[the_physicist]

The UK shouldn't just apologise for what happened, but also for waiting until now to compensate victims. >:( And yeah, an apology isn't exactly enough anyway. You can't undo such acts. You should at least acknowledge them properly though and do more for the survivors. And do all that waaaaay earlier than when most of them have died of old age already.

[tabaqui]

This, exactly. I find it revolting that the black men and women in the US who were subjected to sterilization and medical experiments (and the mentally handicapped) weren't even acknowledged as victims of such until there were almost none left.

[the_physicist]

They do it on purpose so that they don't have to pay compensation. Or accept any kind of responsibility and so that it all looks like it's an ancient problem that doesn't need examining any more. Even though there are mental health drugs that can cause sterility and doctors don't explain that or give alternative options or choices at all (and doctors with racist views are still around and PoC probably suffer disproportionately from all that).

And in this case, it's all about Britain again not wanting to pay compensation or accept responsibility towards all the many ways in which it has and is still fucking up former colonies.

[merely_a_facade]

I'm glad that the suffering of the Mau Mau veterans/freedom fighters were publicly acknowledged.

But seriously, fuck the UK for refusing to apologize :\

I'm glad that there was financial reparations + creation of a memorial but that's not enough. Nothing will ever be enough, tbh. It's not so easy to wash one's hands in regards to these kinds of matters.

Here's hoping that the UK won't think that just because it's offered financial reparations + created a memorial that their link to these Mau Mau veterans/Kenya is over. Unfortunately... that will most likely be the case. Eurgh..... :\