LEMON: “Well, this is coming when, you know, all of this wealth, and you hear about it, comes as England is facing rising cost of living, a living crisis, austerity budget cuts and so on. And then you have those who are asking for reparations for colonialism, and they are wondering, you know, $100 billion, $24 billion here and there, 500 million there. Some people want to be paid back and members of the public are wondering why are we suffering when you are, you know, you have all this vast wealth. Those are legitimate concerns.”
FORDWICH: “Well, I think you are right about reparations. In terms of if people want it though, you always need to go back to the beginning of a supply chain. Where was the beginning of a supply chain? That was in Africa. And across the entire world, when slavery was taken place, which was the first nation in the world that abolished slavery? The first nation in the world to abolish it, it was started by William Wilberforce, was the British, in Great Britain they abolished slavery. 2000 naval men died on the high seas trying to stop slavery. Why? Because the African kings were rounding up their own people, they have them on cages waiting on the beaches. No one was running into Africa to. And I think you’re totally right. If reparations need to be paid, we need to go right back the beginning that supply chain and say, who was rounding out those people and having them handcuffed in cages? Absolutely, that is where they should start. And maybe, I don’t know, the descendants of those families where they died in the high seas trying to stop the slavery, those families should receive something, too, I think, at the same time.”
LEMON: “It is an interesting discussion, Hilary. Thank you very much, I appreciate it. We’ll continue to discuss in the future.”