March 21, 2007: The Caribbean Community (Caricom) member states have agreed to a synchronized one-minute period of silence at 12 noon Eastern Caribbean time (11 o'clock Jamaica time) on Sunday, March 25 in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the official abolition of the slave trade.

It was on March 25, 1807 that the House of Commons in Britain voted 114 to 15 to pass the Abolition of the Slave Trade bill. The bill had earlier passed through the House of Lords with 1/3 of its members voting against it. The passing of this bill was significant but it wasn't until 1833 that the British Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act.  It was this Act that gave all slaves in the British Empire their freedom. It should be noted that with the abolition of Slavery the British government paid compensation to the slave owners.

The decision to commemorate the anniversary was taken by Caricom at their 18th Inter-Sessional Meeting held in St Vincent and the Grenadines in  February.  In an admirable show of unity they unanimously agreed to request from the ex-European colonial powers both an apology and reparations for profiting from the abominable crime of African slavery.

The public is encouraged to observe this minute of silence in remembrance of our ancestors who crossed the middle passage.