Goodbye Ben, Hello Karia: WonderFi Co-Founder And Anti-Slavery Advocate Changes Name

Monday marks a climactic moment in a decades-long journey for WonderFi Technologies Inc WONDF co-founder and director Ben Samaroo. The entrepreneur-turned-advocate changed his name to Karia Samaroo, to honor his grandfather and the ancestors enslaved before him.

Samaroo first learned about his heritage at 14 when a schoolmate called him a “coolie”, short for “the coolies” or forced labor used by the British. Making little of the comment due to his family’s reticence on the issue, Samaroo moved forward with his life and ultimately became one of the few people of color to serve as the founder and CEO of a public company and work with famed investor Kevin O’Leary.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II prompted Samaroo to reflect again on the British exploitation of his loved ones. In short order, Samaroo renounced his British citizenship to protest Canada’s proclamation of a new king.

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Referencing Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till, who said, “freedom for everyone, or freedom fails,” Samaroo adds that freedom is meaningless if people continue to be enslaved. There are 50 million people enslaved today, with large corporations acting as the effective owners, according to the U.N.'s International Labour Organization.

“I still see many similarities to what I know about my ancestors,” Samaroo said, recalling his recent visit to Nepal and India, the first time anyone from his family returned since his ancestors were forcefully taken in 1894 to Caribbean sugar cane plantations. “There is one common denominator here which applies today and historically – vulnerable people are exploited for profit.”

“It's time to use my freedom to work for the enslaved and oppressed,” he added.

‘Karia Means Free Man’

After Samaroo renounced his citizenship, his father shared stories about his grandfather Karia, who lived through the transition from slavery to freedom in the British Caribbean.

“That night, I had a vivid dream where my grandfather appeared and was beside me. It was only a brief moment, but it was distinctly him.”

After Samaroo woke, he recognized his former name’s connection with London’s Big Ben clock tower and its symbolism of Britain’s colonial power and strength. "Ben is a colonial name representing Britain's power over its colonies," says Samaroo.

He researched further and found that Karia was the name of his great-great-grandfather, the first ancestor taken from India to Guyana.

“I knew the name Ben was no longer mine,” Samaroo ends. “All I could see was my grandfather’s name in big, bold letters: KARIA. I shared this with my parents, who asked whether I knew what KARIA meant. None of us knew, so we looked it up.”

“Karia means free man.”

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Photo courtesy of Simon Rochfort Photography.