With Professor Pedro Welch’s untimely death, Barbados loses a great man - an outstanding historian, editor of the Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, Deputy Principal of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados (UWI), and more. Professor Welch was, above all, a passionate and steadfast advocate for the cause of reparations.
If his death touches me personally, it is because I was lucky enough to attend his classes -during the three sessions of the «Caribbean English and Culture for Interpreters" programme that I organised in Barbados in 2019, 2020 and 2023- about his favorite subject: reparations for Caribbean countries that suffered slavery. Beyond the academic interest of his presentations, it was Professor Welch's personality and humanity that made his lectures as captivating as they were moving.
It was impossible to remain indifferent as he related, simply, calmly and without a vengeful tone, the blatant racism he had faced during visits to England in his youth. For us, we westerners in the audience, those notions of racism, injustice and discrimination we thought we knew, suddenly had a face, a name.
It is this same sincere commitment that had led Professor Welch to put his personal experience and historical research in service to his country and the Caribbean community, defending the cause of reparations.
Combining historical accuracy, intellectual integrity, modesty and humanity, Professor Welch succeeded in conveying history as felt by the victims of slavery and their descendants, based on objective and documented facts, so that justice could be served.
I cannot help recounting my last encounter with him, which moved me just as much as his lectures. It was in the surprising setting of Accra Beach in September 2024, while we were both swimming in the beautiful Caribbean Sea. While splashing around in the water, he spoke to me at length and with great emotion, about the extraordinary woman his mother — who very recently passed away — had been. Dame Maizie Barker-Welch, parliamentarian and activist of several decades, advanced the cause of women in Barbados, the Caribbean and the world through her intellectual and political commitment at local, regional and multilateral levels. There is no doubt that her ethical and intellectual legacy was honourably continued by her historian son. Barbados profoundly mourns the loss of these two great members of the Welch family.
Goodbye Professor Welch !
Author : Jihane Sfeir
English Translation by Joy Lewis (https://www.aaatranslationservicesbb.com/en/)