This very funny letter appeared in the New York Times today.

At the recent Durban conference against racism, some African governments were demanding reparations for the slave trade. One is led to think that much of the reparations, if paid, would not actually be used to compensate the victims, but just the 'victim' country. In fact, there was a significant amount of intra-Africa slave trading. Additionally, it would be impossible to track down all who 'suffered' from the slave trade.

This writer makes a very good point:



September 11, 2001
Slavery Reparations

[T] o the Editor:

It seems to me that Prof. Martin Kilson (letter, Sept. 6) compares apples and oranges in his contention about the similarities of reparations by the Germans to Jews and our government to African-Americans. It has been my understanding, as a Holocaust survivor (Auschwitz-Birkenau, prisoner No. 172099), that the German reparations were to those Jews who suffered directly, not to the descendants.

A logical extension of Mr. Kilson's comparison might be payments by the Egyptian government to the Jews who were descendants of the slaves who helped build pyramids and other structures during the times of the pharaohs.

LEON W. ZELBY
Norman, Okla., Sept. 7, 2001