Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
UNITED NATIONS, HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
26 MARCH 2007
COMMEMORATION TO CELEBRATE 200 YEARS OF THE ABOLITION OF THE TRANS-ATLANTIC
SLAVE TRADE
Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, President of The United Nations General Assembly
Deputy Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
I have the honor to give the following statement on behalf of the President
of the 61st session of the General Assembly.
The President deeply regrets that she is not able to be here in person to
celebrate such an important event, as she is currently on an official visit
to the Middle East.
The transatlantic slave trade stands as one of the most inhuman enterprises
in history. It began in the 15th century when Portugal and subsequently other
European kingdoms – Spain, Great Britain, France and Belgium - were
able to expand overseas and reach Africa.
It is a deplorable fact of history that the slave trade was driven by colonial
expansion, emerging capitalist economies and the insatiable demand for commodities;
with racism and discrimination serving to legitimate the trade.
Powerful businessmen, diplomats, church leaders, senior politicians, lawyers
and merchants were among those who owned plantation slaves in the 18th century
before the trade was outlawed.
Fortunes were made and financial institutions flourished on the back of human
bondage. Capital gained from investments in slavery financed investments
in related products such as tobacco and sugar, or in art, property and land.
The wealthy became influential from their investments and slavery became
an accepted part of the political economy of the time.
Demand for African labour grew as the colonies grew. The forced removal,
an estimated 25 million people from 1500 to 1900, around 13 million due to
the trans-Atlantic slave trade, had a major affect on Africa.
Africa was impoverished while it contributed to the capitalist development
and wealth of Europe and other parts of the world.
Africans traders such as Antera Duke and powerful tribal leaders also enslaved
Africans and sold them to merchants.
Some African rulers resisted the devastation, such as:
•
King Alfonso of Kongo in the 16th century;
•
Queen Njingha Mbandi of Ndongo (in modern day Angola) in the 17th century;
and,
•
in the 18th century King Agaja Trudo of Dahomey.
The 25th March 2007, marks 200 years – to the day – that a Parliamentary
Bill was passed to abolish the slave trade in the then British Empire.
This event marked the beginning of the end for the transatlantic traffic
in human beings.
However, it was not until 1833 that the act emancipating British slaves was
finally passed.
It is hard to believe that what would now be a crime against humanity was
legal at the time.
The bicentenary offers us all a chance to say how profoundly shameful the
slave trade was, and to remember the millions who suffered. It also gives
us the opportunity to pay tribute to the courage and moral conviction of
all those who campaigned for abolition.
These people included slaves and former slaves like Olaudah Equiano, church
leaders, statesmen like William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, Granville Sharp
and countless ordinary citizens who lobbied for change.
Later in France Victor Schoelcher campaigned relentlessly, which contributed
to the French decree abolishing slavery on April 27, 1848.
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
While reflecting on the past, we also need to acknowledge the unspeakable
cruelty that persists today.
Slavery comes in many guises around the world - such as bonded labour, forced
recruitment of child soldiers, human trafficking and the illegal sex trade.
The first article of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
reminds us that;
“
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
Today’s commemoration, marking the bicentenary of the act abolishing
the trans-Atlantic trade in slaves, must also encourage us all to live up
to the Universal Declaration, and to redouble our efforts to stop human trafficking
and all forms of modern slavery.
Thank you very much.
Asha-Rose Migiro, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General
I am moved to be with you this morning commemorating 200 years of the abolition
of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Let me thank the General Assembly for
making it happen -- in particular the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Caucus
of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations.
The story of the end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade must always be remembered
here at the United Nations. Our Charter speaks of fundamental human rights
and the dignity and worth of the human person. The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights states that no one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
For centuries, the trans-Atlantic slave trade inflicted unspeakable dehumanization.
Millions perished from the long march in Africa, the Middle Passage across
the Atlantic and conditions at the other end. Millions were brutally exploited
in the Americas. Their labour helped build prosperous societies, in which
they had no rights and no say.
But if slavery epitomized inhumanity at its most callous, many rejected
and fought it. Slaves rose up against their subjugation. Abolitionist movements
sprang up. The emancipation of slaves was a triumph for all humankind, for
it spoke of the inherent equal worth of human beings everywhere.
Today, as we commemorate the bicentennial of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic
slave trade, we celebrate the fact that all human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights. Yet, around the world, millions of people are
still deprived of their most fundamental human rights and freedoms.
There should be no place in the twenty-first century for trafficking, forced
labour or sexual exploitation. There should be no place for mass rape and
other war crimes perpetrated against the most vulnerable in times of armed
conflict. Children should not be forced to become soldiers, work in sweat
shops or be sold by their families. The fact that these atrocities take place
in our world today should fill us all with shame.
So let us not only look back on a tragic period of human history. Let us
shine a light on the crimes against humanity that are taking place today,
in the shadows all around us. And let us work to prevent them from happening
in the future.
I urge Member States to take action by adopting and implementing relevant
international instruments, such as the United Nations Protocol against Trafficking.
I also urge you to join the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking,
launched today in London by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The Initiative brings together a broad partnership of Governments, the United
Nations family, civil society, the private sector and the media, in an effort
to generate the political will, resources and global awareness needed to
fight the scourge of trafficking.
Taking action is not only our legal obligation. It is our moral duty. It
is a debt that we owe to all those we honour today.
Two hundred years ago, courageous women and men around the world stood up
for freedom. Today, we must do the same. We must act together to stop crimes
that deprive countless victims of their liberty, dignity and human rights.
We must combat impunity with unwavering commitment. We must mobilize political
will through domestic and international pressure. We must apply relentless
and continuous scrutiny. I am grateful for your contribution to this global
cause.
Prime Minister Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, St. Kitts and Nevis, on behalf of
the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Madam Deputy Secretary-General, Excellencies, Members of the United Nations
Secretariat, International and Regional Organizations, special invited guests,
ladies and gentlemen.
It is with a mixed sense of both humility and pride that I stand here, on
behalf of the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis and the other Member States
of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), to address this august body at such
an auspicious juncture in its sixty-first year history, and which certainly
represents a milestone of historic proportions in the evolution of our Caribbean
region.
For those of us from the Caribbean, Africa, Latin America and the United
States of America, the abolition of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade two hundred
years ago signalled the end of the barbaric and horrendous practice of the
legal trafficking in human cargo. Millions perished during the trade, and
millions more were subjected to lives of despair, brutality, rape and humiliation.
The continents of Africa, North America, South America, and Europe were inextricably
linked by this appalling practice. It had a global effect on countries and
peoples throughout the world in one form or another.
It was not only the CARICOM region where this inhumane practice occurred
and was eventually abolished. Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Venezuela,
the entire Latin American region, the United States, Mauritius and Seychelles;
we are all linked with Africa through the Slave Trade and its abolition.
The trans-Atlantic slave trade created economic growth for only some countries
and coupled with the institution of slavery, ushered in and heightened the
notion of racism throughout those countries affected by Slavery and the Trade.
The Slave Trade was much more than an economic practice. It violated the
basic moral laws of human interaction.
Mister President
For the Caribbean Community today, memories of the Slave Trade touch the
very core of our societies. Many of us are the descendants of those unfortunate
people who survived the journey of the Middle Passage. It was a crime against
the humanity of our forefathers, and a violation of their human rights.
We feel very strongly that their suffering should never be forgotten, and
we are indeed heartened by the strong show of support demonstrated by the
International Community during the unanimous adoption of resolution 61/19
last November and for today’s commemoration.
It is commendable, therefore, that leaders of some of the former colonial
powers have expressed “deep sorrow” on several occasions over
the role their countries played in the despicable slave trade. It is my hope
that leaders of other nations that supported and profited from the inhumane
activity will come forward in like manner. However, it is important that
leaders of such nations offer to the descendants of African slaves, who were
brought to the Caribbean and the Americas, a complete and unequivocal apology.
It is undisputed that such nations were developed on the blood, sweat and
tears of our enslaved forefathers, and it is only right, and the decent thing
to do, to make amends and extend their apologies into the realm of atonement
for the legal and economic support and for the atrocities that were the norm
of the Slave Trade and Slavery. Countries that were engaged in the Slave
Trade and Slavery have a moral obligation to make right those crimes against
humanity.
It is being argued, no country that was engaged in the Slave Trade and Slavery
could justifiably claim support for human rights without first offering an
official apology and atonement in the form of reparation. It is further believed
that only under such circumstances that the descendants of slaves can truly
forgive and move forward in the world. From the perspective of the people
of the Caribbean, the descendants of slaves, these two matters will remain
crucial to us for the indignity, suffering and the haunting legacies we live
with as a result of the Slave Trade and Slavery.
Mister President
Following the abolition of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the Caribbean
region underwent a variety of changes. With the abolition of Slavery, twenty-seven
years later, there was no longer a steady supply of African labour via
the slave trade. This ushered in a period of a new form of migration to
the region in the form of indentured labour. The region evolved into the
diversified society that it is today, with Africans, Europeans, Indians,
Asians, and Arabs descendents.
As societies of the Caribbean region evolved following decades of migration,
decolonization, and development, the region remained cognizant of the fact
that many of the stereotypes, misconceptions and prejudices that exist today
are remnants of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
Mister President,
As we commemorate this two-hundredth anniversary today, we must remain steadfast
in our efforts to fully eradicate the scourges that continue to plague
our world. I speak of the scourges of human rights violations of migrants;
of racism; of human trafficking; and of underdevelopment.
Mister President
Just as we were all linked through the slave trade and its abolition, we
must now all work together to resolve and defeat these plights. And we
all need to recall our linkages and work together to correct the ills that
remain from that legacy, as well as the many ills that exist today.
Let us not forget the sacrifice made by those who fought so valiantly for
the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The successful Haitian Revolution
of 1804, the countless revolts of the slaves including the Maroons, the humanitarian
intervention of William Wilberforce and others; the changing attitudes of
the populations as a whole; these all brought about the movement and the
eventual abolition of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
Mister President
CARICOM is committed to ensuring that a permanent memorial, in honour of
those who perished under slavery, is prominently placed in the halls of
the United Nations, as an acknowledgement of the tragedy and in consideration
of the legacy of slavery.
We have established a CARICOM Fund towards this project and are deeply grateful
to the Government of the state of Qatar, the first to contribute towards
it. We are also grateful to our other friends in the United Nations that
have indicated their intention to support us in this regard, and I take this
opportunity to invite other Members of the United Nations family to join
us. It is CARICOM’s belief that a permanent memorial in the United
Nations will help to ensure that future generations will always be reminded
of the history of slavery and lessons learned
Mister President
In conclusion, I take this opportunity to make special mention of the support
that we have received from our many friends around the world. I would also
like to thank the United Nations, the Shomburg Centre for Research in Black
Culture and UNESCO for their support and for the launch of the exhibition “Lest
we Forget” which opened on 1 March at the United Nations. We have
come a long way but more remains to be done to overcome the lasting effects
of this crime against humanity.
I do believe that this is possible Mister President. In fact, I am confident
that with the same fervour that was exhibited over two hundred years ago,
and with the same dedication we witness here today, we can right the ship
of compassion, overcome the storms of discrimination, prejudice, intolerance
and indifference, and sail into a bright future promoting and protecting
human rights and human dignity for all.
I thank you.
Ambassador Dumisani S. Kumalo, Permanent Representative of the Republic of
South Africa, on behalf of the African Group of States
President of the General Assembly,
Deputy Secretary-General,
Distinguished delegates,
Slavery may have been about the sale and subjugation of Africans, but its
impact was felt throughout the entire African continent. Up to this day,
the waters of the Atlantic Ocean are said to remain dark and murky with the
blood of Africans stolen all along the western coast as far south as the
windy coast of Namibia and all the way to the dry shores of the Sahara. Whenever
the slaves revolted, became sea-sick, or in any way disobeyed their captors,
they were dumped into the icy Atlantic Ocean.
Two hundred years later, Africa is still nursing the wounds of slavery. It
is an undisputed fact that the slave-traders robbed our continent of its
best people. But even worse, the powerful backers of the slave trade returned
to unleash upon those remaining behind an unequalled oppression driven by
greed and expansionism that manifested itself as a colonial system that left
Africa impoverished for centuries.
The General Assembly in its resolution on the Commemoration of the Two-Hundredth
Anniversary of the Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, recalled
that the slave-trade and the legacy of slavery are at the heart of the profound
social and economic inequality, hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice, which
continues to impact directly or psychologically on people of African descent
wherever they may be found in the world.
At the historic World Conference Against Racism held in 2001 in Durban, South
Africa, Member States acknowledged that "slavery and slave trade are
a crime against humanity and should always have been so, especially the transatlantic
slave trade, and are among the major sources and manifestations of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and that Africans
and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent and indigenous
people were victims of these acts and continue to be victims of their consequences."
As the world marks the halfway point to the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals in 2015, it has become clear that Africa may be the only
continent lagging in the eradication of extreme poverty. The WTO Doha Development
Round that could possibly result in the easing of market access for African
trade is currently held hostage by some of the countries whose wealth was
built on the profits of slavery and the benefits of African colonialism.
Statistics suggest that a cow in Europe receives far more subsidy than an
African child receives in development aid. Many developed nations still renege
on agreed global commitments to eradicate poverty, including meeting the
0.7% of the GNP in development assistance.
President,
As we commemorate the end to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and honour the
memory of those who died in the middle passage or in the resistance and revolt
against enslavement, our resolve to value human life regardless of colour,
sex and creed remains unshaken. We value human life, whether it is is the
life of the descendants of former slaves or of the former slave-owners.
Perhaps no one captured this spirit better than the world-renowned American
poet Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784). In fact, Ms. Wheatley was born in Senegal
in West Africa and was captured and sold into slavery at the age of seven,
like many other African children who were part of the slave trade and have
yet to be acknowledged by history. In 1760, Ms. Wheatley was sold to the
Wheatley family in Boston, Massachusetts, whose name she was given. As part
of the Wheatley household, Phillis was given extensive home education by
her owners, including being taught Latin, Greek and Biblical studies.
She wrote her first poem at the age of 13. Her speciality was composing poems
celebrating the lives of her owners and their wealthy friends in the high
Boston society of the day. She gained great prominence and fame in 1770 when
she wrote a poetic tribute to the well-known Calvinist George Whitefield.
Many doubted that such a young person, and especially an African slave could
have written this by herself. So, a group of Boston luminaries led by John
Hancock whose signature four years later on the US Constitution was to distinguish
him forever, was organized to check if Phillis had indeed written the poem.
John Hancock and his fellow luminaries confirmed that indeed a slave girl
had written the poem. Before long, Phillis Wheatley had produced enough poems
to fill a book. However, no American publisher would accept a manuscript
written by a slave. Phillis's owners took her manuscript to London where
it was published together with her other later works.
Among her admirers was none other that General George Washington who later
became the first President of the United States of America.
Her writing career ended when John and Susannah Wheatley died and Phillis
was freed to marry another freed Black grocer, named John Peters. Phillis
spent the rest of her life working as a domestic and died in poverty in December
1784.
In honour of this day, allow me to conclude with the only poem Ms. Wheatley
ever wrote about her capture into slavery. It is simply titled "On Being
Brought from Africa to America"
"Twas mercy brought me from Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:
Once I redemption neither sought now knew,
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
'Their color is a diabolic die.'
Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,
My be refin'd, and join th' angelic train."
Finally, President,
On behalf of the African Group, may I thank our brothers and sister of the
Caribbean Nations for ensuring this commemoration took place so that we could
never forget. Today, we claim in the words of Phillis Wheatley that we are
indeed "refined and are on an angelic train" on a journey toward
achieving a better life for all….
MYANMAR
Ambassador Irakli Alasania, Permanent Representative of Georgia to the United
Nations, on behalf of the Group of Eastern European States
Madame President,
Excellencies,
I am honoured to address this special Meeting of the General Assembly on 200th
Anniversary of Abolishment of Trans-Atlantic Slavery, on behalf of the Group
of Eastern European States.
Two hundred years ago, the spring of 1807 marked the beginning of a new
era and an international order, when through the wisdom, humanity and appreciation
of universal values by the outstanding statesmen, in the United Kingdom and
the United States was adopted the legislation to ban the slave trade, which
undisputedly is among the worst violations of human rights. This anniversary
is a time to honour the memory of those who died as a result of slavery and
slavery related practices and to acknowledge that the legacy of slavery –human
trafficking and other contemporary forms of slavery, racism, xenophobia and
bigotry continue to affect people of different racial descent on all continents.
Despite the abolishment of the slave trade, some of its transformed forms
unfortunately still exist today. Although, it is no longer legal for people
to be traded as commodities, but millions of people are still forced by poverty
to work and live in slavery-like conditions. Contemporary forms of slavery –from
forced labor to human trafficking-despite the efforts of the international
community to fight that vice, are flourishing. Demand for contemporary slaves,
ineffective prosecution of criminals and inadequate protection of labour
rights also contribute to the growth of modern day slavery.
Furthermore, almost every continent is distressed by the armed conflicts
that produce yet another source of suffering. These include death, destruction
and use of children in the armed conflicts.
Madame President,
When one has problems getting enough food, housing and education, one becomes
a victim of a new form of slavery. Because of our failure to alleviate
poverty, eliminate demand for modern day slaves, defend the human rights
of all, and address impunity effectively, potential victims are unable
to protect themselves against exploitation and abuse. Most of the time
our efforts are not enough and notwithstanding of all that has been accomplished,
we still have much to do.
I would like to end with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said
that “the hope of a secure and liveable world lies with disciplined
nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.” He
also said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things
that matter.” I believe that together we can end despair and build
a world with equal opportunities for all.
Thank you.
Ambassador Leo Mérorès, Permanent Representative of
Haiti to the United Nations, on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean
States
Madame la Présidente,
En ma qualité de Président du Groupe des États d’Amérique
Latine et de la Caraïbe (GRULAC), j’ai l’honneur de m’associer
aux délégations et aux Groupes régionaux afin de commémorer
dans l’enceinte de l’Organisation des Nations Unies, promotrice
des Droits de l’Homme, le Bicentenaire de l’abolition de la traite
transatlantique des esclaves.
Madame la Présidente,
La traite constitue l’un des chapitres les plus tragiques et barbares
de l’histoire de l’humanité. L’Afrique autant que
l’Amérique porteront encore longtemps les stigmates de l’esclavage.
Si les ténèbres de l’exploitation esclavagiste ont triomphé durant
deux longs siècles, les atrocités ineffables de cette aberration
de l’histoire avilissent ceux qui les ont pratiquées et déshumanisent
ceux qui les ont subies. Nous devons condamner avec véhémence
ces actes humiliants et racistes et rendre leur dignité aux victimes
et à leurs descendants.
La résolution A/Res/61/19 du 28 novembre 2006, en consacrant le 25 mars
2007, Journée de la commémoration du Bicentenaire de l’abolition
de la traite transatlantique des esclaves et en décidant de la célébrer
ce jourd’hui 26, vient de signifier, une fois de plus, les efforts de
l’Organisation en vue de faire reconnaître l’esclavage et
la traite négrière comme un crime contre l’humanité.
Madame la Présidente,
Le GRULAC se félicite de toutes les actions de la communauté internationale,
particulièrement des conclusions de la « Conférence de
Durban en 2001 » et de la proclamation par l’Assemblée
générale de l’année 2004 : Année internationale
de commémoration de la lutte contre l’esclavage et de son abolition ».
Ce sont des outils consensuels indispensables dans la lutte pour le triomphe
des idéaux de liberté, de justice et de respect des droits
inaliénables de l’espèce humaine. La lutte contre l’esclavage
sous ces formes nouvelles est un interminable chemin à parcourir,
elle est une lutte de longue haleine qu’il faut mener avec pour objectif
final l’émergence d’un monde meilleur, plus juste et plus équitable.
Elle doit être définitive et universelle.
Au 19ème siècle les forgeurs de liberté qui, du reste,
sont les produits de la traite transatlantique, se sont dressés en
pionniers pour défendre les droits sacrés de l’homme
et du citoyen et ont su briser le joug infâme de l’esclavage.
Dans toute l’Amérique esclavagiste, notamment en 1804 à Saint-Domingue,
devenu Haiti, suite à la première révolution anti-colonialiste,
anti-esclavagiste et anti- ségrégationniste, ces forgeurs tels
Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexandre Pétion, Henri
Christophe, ont creusé des sillons de gloire et ont légué à l’humanité des
valeurs universelles de liberté, d’égalité, et
de fraternité. Ces valeurs se sont fructifiées et éparpillées
comme des étincelles de lumières. Elles ont fait naître à la
face du Monde une nouvelle conscience et inspiré des libérateurs
tout aussi héroïques que Miranda, Simon Bolivar, José Marti.
Quant aux esprits éclairés, humanistes et philanthropes du
monde qui, par leurs actions ou par leurs écrits ont su embrasser
et défendre cette noble cause pour le respect de la dignité humaine,
notamment Kaplan en Angleterre,Victor Schoelcher,Victor Hugo en France, John
Brown aux Etats-Unis, Frédéric Douglas et j’en passe,
ils ont droit à l’admiration de toute l’humanité.
Madame la Présidente,
En ce début du 21ème siècle, le devoir de mémoire
nous interpelle pour que plus jamais le monde ne connaisse cette forme abominable
de déshumanisation et que celle-ci ne soit perpétuée
sous d’autres aspects que l’on appellerait l’esclavage
moderne. Selon les Nations Unies, sur tous les continents où le travail
forcé existe encore, plus de 20 millions de personnes en sont victimes.
A cela il convient d’ajouter la pauvreté abjecte dans laquelle
croupissent nombre de nos congénères. Cette pauvreté est
le corollaire direct des criantes inégalités sociales de notre
monde et du retard en matière de développement accumulé par
des siècles d’esclavage de colonialisme et d’exploitation
outrancière des ressources.
Madame la Présidente,
Excellences, Mesdames et Messieurs,
Cette journée du 26 mars 2006, loin d’être la commémoration
de l’aboutissement de la lutte doit être plutôt un lieu
commun de réflexion sur le chemin parcouru, ce qu’il reste encore à parcourir,
les citadelles à vaincre et les correctifs à apporter pour
qu’enfin, notre victoire finale sur l’esclavage, ses différentes
formes et ses séquelles soit enfin une réalité. Soyons
résolus à conjuguer nos efforts en vue de rendre à l’homme
toute sa dignité. Soyons humains.
Je vous remercie
Ambassador Rosemary Banks, Permanent Representative of New Zealand, on behalf
of the Western European and other States Group
I have the honour to speak today on behalf of the Western European and Other
States Group, on the occasion of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary
of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
May I thank the President for organising this important event, and express
our deep gratitude to the CARICOM Caucus of Permanent Representatives for
leading the initiative to have this Assembly adopt a commemorative resolution.
Mr President,
It is now over two-hundred years since United States President Thomas Jefferson
signed legislation on 7 March 1807 to abolish the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
The British Parliament passed legislation on 25 March 1807 prohibiting the
trading of slaves throughout the British Empire. Those landmark actions signalled
the beginning of the end of one of the longest and most sustained assaults
on the dignity and worth of the human being in recorded history.
We gather today to recall the great human cost of the trans-Atlantic slave
trade, which saw more than 12 million people – mostly transported from
West Africa to the Americas - suffer the barbaric and inhuman practice of
slavery. They also had to endure the infamous Middle Passage, which history
tells us claimed the lives of almost 18 per cent of those making the crossing.
Mr President,
As Member States of the United Nations who have solemnly pledged to reaffirm
faith in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human
person, we must never forget the tragic reality and consequences of slavery.
We remember the past, even its darkest chapters, to acknowledge the human
suffering and experience which is woven into the fabric of today’s
world. We also remember the past in order to avoid repeating it.
Sadly, not all the shadows of slavery have been banished. Even today, millions
of fellow human beings are subjected to the practices that fall within the
United Nations’ definition of enslavement. Sexual and debt enslavement
and the forcible involvement of children in armed conflict are among the
many examples of practices which hark back to the dark days of centuries
past. As Member States of this institution we must be vigilant in opposing
all modern day forms of human enslavement.
Today we pause to reflect on the sufferings of those who endured slavery
and to honour all who helped to end it. Let us draw from those lessons of
the past wisdom to guide our future conduct.
Thank you.
Sir Emyr Jones Parry, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations
Today is a moment for us to reflect on past actions. Today we remember millions
who suffered. Twelve million Africans were loaded on to slave ships to be
brought to the New World for forced labour and exploitation. Three million
died en route during the horrors of their passage. A continent was torn apart.
These were acts that run against every grain of humanity, acts that remain
a scar on the conscience of us all.
Today also provides an opportunity, an opportunity to celebrate the many
who struggled to abolish the barbaric transatlantic slave trade. They included
parliamentarians, slaves and former slaves, but also countless ordinary men
and women from all parts of society. Their actions delivered social change
that was to form the bedrock of open, tolerant and inclusive societies. We
owe them a countless debt for leading the tireless campaign that delivered
such basic human rights.
Yesterday marked 200 years since the UK Parliament passed the historic 1807
Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, the result of an 18-year campaign by the
British Parliamentarian William Wilberforce. Twenty-five years later the
Slavery Abolition Act was enacted; finally giving freedom to all slaves within
the then British Empire.
As Prime Minister Blair has said "this bicentenary offers us a chance,
not just to say how profoundly shameful the slave trade was - how we condemn
its existence utterly and praise those who fought for its abolition, - but
also to express our deep sorrow that it ever happened, that it ever could
have happened and to rejoice at the different and better times we live in
today".
A national service to mark the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave
Trade will be held in the presence of HM The Queen at Westminster Abbey in
London tomorrow. Representatives from many of the countries most affected
by the slave trade will attend. That service is one in a series of events
that the UK, working with other countries, has planned throughout 2007 across
the world to commemorate the abolition. We welcome the opportunity the commemoration
provides to share our histories and learn from each other's experience.
The United Kingdom thanks the members of the Caribbean Group for their leadership
in bringing forward last year's General Assembly resolution which established
today's commemoration. We were honoured to join as a co-sponsor of that resolution.
We have a duty to ensure that the horrors of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade
are never forgotten.
Whilst we meet here this morning, the UN's Global Initiative to fight Human
Trafficking is being officially launched in the United Kingdom's House of
Lords. Because today's commemoration must also serve to remind us of how
- 200 years later - so much more remains to be done to abolish the forms
of slavery that continue to exist today in many parts of the world.
Eliminating bonded labour, the forced recruitment of child soldiers and the
trafficking of human beings require the same commitment and determination
today that was demonstrated by the abolitionists 200 years ago. But it requires
this commitment on a global scale and with the determination of the whole
international community.
In 1937 William Prescott, a former slave said “They will remember that
we were sold, but not that we were strong. They will remember that we were
bought, but not that we were brave”. Today we must prove these words
wrong. We must never forget their strength or their bravery. We must remember
this slavery, and honour their memory. And so in doing, we must commit to
ensure that no living man, woman or child can be subjected to the barbarism
of modern slavery.
Ambassador Richard T. Miller, U.S. Representative on the Economic and Social
Council to the United Nations.
Mr. President, distinguished delegates and friends:
Here at the United Nations, we are too often called together to address
tragedies and injustice throughout the world. It is all too rare that we
come together to celebrate and acknowledge an achievement. Today we are here
to commemorate, and to celebrate, the end of one of the darkest chapters
in the history of humankind.
For more than three centuries, the Trans Atlantic Slave trade defiled a
continent and a people. We gather here today to honor and remember its victims
- the millions of unknown souls who suffered, died, and have now been lost
to history. We can never allow their tragedy to be forgotten.
We also gather to honor and praise the courageous individuals who risked
their lives and fortunes to bring this barbaric trade to an end - individuals
willing to put morality ahead of personal gain, and shine a glaring and unforgiving
light into the moral abyss that was the Trans Atlantic Slave trade. The struggle
of mankind is a struggle against sin and injustice. All too often we fail
in that struggle. When we succeed, it is profoundly important to recognize
and celebrate our personal and collective victories. 1807 was a moment, really
the culmination of era, when men and women recognized the wickedness among
them and said “this must stop!”
The voices of the victims of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade, and of those
that brought about it’s end, still echo here today, and their actions
set a precedent we must not ignore. In 2007, we face our own moral challenges,
and they are not so different from those faced by our ancestors. Two hundred
years after the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade, the trafficking
in human beings, and slavery itself, persist in many forms and in many parts
of the world. At this very moment, there are an estimated 12.3 million people
enslaved in forced or bonded labor and sexual servitude. The purchase and
sale of human beings was not then, is not now, and can never be acceptable.
Wherever men and women suffer violence, deprivation, or injustice, we share
the tragedy, and the responsibility. Nowhere is this more clear than here
in this house, the United Nations, dedicated to the well-being of all the
people of the world. We cannot trumpet the moral awakening of the 19th century,
and ignore the tragic victims of the 21st. So while it is right to celebrate
the anniversary of this historic event, as civilized people, and nations,
we have work to do.
When future generations look back at the early 21st century, I hope it is
with pride. I hope that like those whose memories we celebrate today, we
are viewed as a people who stood up for what is right, and who did everything
in our power to fight evil and injustice.
Thank you
Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO
"
Throughout history, slavery and the slave trade have existed in diverse forms
and in many societies. In view of its duration, scope, and consequences,
the transatlantic slave trade is widely regarded as one of the most appalling
tragedies in the history of humanity. According to leading experts, between
the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, over 10 million Africans were forcefully
deported to the Americas, thereby depleting the African continent of its
most precious human resources and stifling African development, while fuelling
the economies of countries in Europe and the Americas. Recent studies have
revealed that during their captivity, deportation and re-settlement, many
enslaved Africans steadfastly resisted and fought for their dignity and freedom,
using all means and possibilities at their disposal including suicide.
Considering the institution of slavery morally unacceptable, leading Afro-British
humanitarian campaigners and abolitionists, such as William Wilberforce,
Ignatius Sancho and Olaudah Equiano, relentlessly condemned the horrors of
the slave trade. They paved the way for its abolition across the entire British
Empire in 1807. Many other countries followed suit in the course of the nineteenth
century.
In keeping with its mandate to uphold the principals of dignity, equality
and mutual respect of all peoples and cultures, UNESCO, at the initiative
of Haiti and several African countries, launched the Slave Route Project
in 1994 not only to "break the silence" and shed light on this
unprecedented global atrocity, but also to promote a culture of tolerance
and peaceful coexistence among all peoples.
As a result of the growing international awareness of this issue generated
by activities such as UNESCO's Slave Route Project, the Durban World Conference
against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance,
organized in South Africa in 2001, qualified the slave trade and the slavery
as "a crime against humanity".
Less than three years later, at the initiative of UNESCO, the United Nations
General Assembly, designated 2004 as the International Year to Commemorate
the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition in conjunction with the bicentenary
of the first independent black state, Haiti. The international year was observed
by numerous UNESCO Member States through an impressive range of educational
and cultural activities and events around the globe linked to the three priority
areas of scientific research, living memory, and encounters and dialogue.
To complement the nation-wide observance organized by the British Parliament
on the bicentenary of the signing of the act that abolished the slave trade
throughout the British Empire, the UN General Assembly has proclaimed the
25 March 2007 the International Day for the Commemoration of the Two-Hundredth
Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. This decision
clearly reaffirms the UN's commitment to our collective duty to remember
a tragedy that has long remained hidden or unrecognized and to assign it
its proper place in the human conscience. It also reflects the international
community’s resolve to pursue the combat against the sad legacy of
slavery namely, racism, intolerance and xenophobia, which still pervade many
of our societies and are considered to be among the root causes of many internal
and international conflicts, including armed conflicts and the forced displacement
of populations.
In keeping with these goals, the UNESCO Slave Route Project encourages research
centres, universities and the associated schools project network to pursue
the study of the causes and dynamics of this shameful chapter in the history
of humanity and its manifold consequences, which are permanently imprinted
in the world’s geography, economy and culture. The Project also calls
for the development of pedagogical materials and educational programmes designed
to inculcate in future generations an understanding of the historical consequences
of the slave trade and slavery, while at the same time exposing and denouncing
all forms of contemporary racism, discrimination and intolerance. Among the
programmes implemented by UNESCO within this framework is the Transatlantic
Slave Trade Education Project.
Moreover, through its action in favour of establishing and promoting historical
heritage sites, places of remembrance, the Slave Trade Project aims to build
itineraries of memory that will open up new opportunities for cultural tourism
and sustainable development in addition to reinforcing a sense of identity
in descendants of slaves throughout the world. To date, over ten significant
sites related to slavery have been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage
List. Additional sites are expected to join the ranks of this prestigious
list in the coming years.
Another priority of the Slave Route Project is the creation of slavery museums
for the tangible and intangible heritage of African peoples and the African
diaspora. Such institutions can generate wider public awareness and serve
as forums for debating issues related to slavery. However, the lack of artefacts
and documents and their dispersion constitute major obstacles to the diffusion
of information related to this tragedy. The majority of the surviving objects
are stored in museums and archives in Europe and North America, leaving the
showcases of the few slavery museums in Africa and the Caribbean nearly empty.
In response to this situation, UNESCO has launched a series of initiatives
to facilitate access to these irreplaceable artefacts and to encourage concerned
institutions and scholars from developed and developing countries alike to
collaborate and share their collections, experience and expertise in this
field.
It is UNESCO's firm conviction that by analyzing, understanding and disseminating
knowledge about this tragic chapter of history, we will be better equipped
to combat discrimination and racism in all of their forms and to build a
sustainable future in which respect for diversity, social cohesion and peace
triumph."
Koïchiro Matsuura
Professor Rex Nettleford, Vice-Chancellor Emeritus, University of
the West Indies, Jamaica “The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery:
The Psychic Inheritance.”
I come from that part of the Americas - the Caribbean - which is arguably the
living laboratory of the dynamism of the encounters between Africa and Europe
on foreign soil, and both with the Native American who had inhabited the real
estate of the Americas time out mind, during periods of conquest and dehumanisation
along with the corresponding process of struggle and resistance.
For these purposes, North-East Brazil with its iconic centre in Bahia, New Orleans
and all of that Eastern littoral of North America, referred to as Plantation
America, constitute along with the island-Caribbean the geo-cultural area that
houses a civilisation with its own inner logic and inner consistency.
The advent of later arrivants into the Caribbean after the abolition first of
the trade in enslaved Africans and later of slavery itself did not save them
from labour exploitation. But those new arrivants did enter as free men and women
into a society which by then had the promise of decency and civility informing
human, if not an altogether humane, existence.
This has been made distinctive by the catalytic role played by the African Presence
in social formation within a psychic universe a great part of which has been
plunged, wittingly and unwittingly, into subterranean and submarine silence -
to mix a metaphor. Mixed metaphors are, in any case, masks to hide real visages,
audible decibels to mask the ultra-sound or mute-buttons to impose that threatening
silence which Jimmy Cliff, the reggae superstar and talented lyricist, characteristically
described thus: "You stole my history/Destroyed my culture/Cut out my tongue/So
I can't communicate/Then you mediate/And separate/Hide my whole way of life/So
myself I should hate".
It is fitting that ones like us in the Caricom Caribbean should be concerned
with breaking the silence, that second most powerful act of oppression which
the African presence in the Americas has suffered for the past 500 years along
the slave route which Unesco has wisely placed on its agenda of concerns with
a resolve to have action follow intention through efforts like this very Special
Assembly of the parent body. Such are the acts that define the journey by those
who having been severed from ancestral homelands and suffered in exile on plantations
but have survived and continue to struggle beyond survival.
The quest for delivery to humanity of the truth of what has evolved over the
past half-a-millennium is all part of the exercise. It is a form of co-ordinated
social action and an effective way of tackling what has been arguably the greatest
scourge of modern life. I refer to that which may well have been the culmination
of some four centuries of obscenities perpetrated in the pursuit of material
gain, fueled by greed and the lust for power, and often under the guise of carrying
out a civilising mission said to be divinely ordained and even earlier sanctified
by Papal edict.
The fight for land space leading to wars and rumours of wars over time but starting
with the occupation of newly "discovered" spaces which, as we know,
were there before the Genoan Wanderer and his marauding successors, armed with
papal papers, claimed the Americas and continued with the enslavement of millions
torn from ancestral hearths and bulk-loaded across the Atlantic.
This was followed by the systematic dehumanisation of an horrendously exploited
labour force in the production of commodities for commercial profit as well as
by the psychological conditioning of millions into stations of self-contempt
bolstered by an enduring racism, underlying rigid class differentiation, and
ending up with the habitual violation of human rights.
These are but a few of the blots on human history that have left all of us legacies
of the deepest concern in humankind's journey into the 21st century.
However, there are other legacies - legacies that are relegated to silence, but
which in stubborn defiance speak, often through the intangible heritage of non-verbal
communication, to the invincibility of the human spirit against all odds, to
the ability of the human mind to exercise the intellect and imagination creatively
for the advancement of human knowledge and aesthetic sensibility, to the refinement
of ideas about individual rights and collective freedom giving rise to civil
society and democratic governance, and to the exploration of the learning process
to produce in the human being higher levels of tolerance in dealing with each
other manifested in mutual respect, human dignity, caring and compassion, despite
temptations to embrace selfishness, dissembling and even strong doses of mean-spiritedness
evident among ones of us.
The contribution of the African Presence to all this is without hubris or rancour,
deserving of bold assertion supported, to be sure, by painstaking investigation,
critical analysis and decisive programmed dissemination - all part of the mission
of Unesco's Slave Route Project.
For all of us who tenant the Americas are the creatures of that awesome process
of 'becoming' consequent on the historic encounters between diverse cultures
from both sides of the Atlantic in circumstances that, for all their negative
manifestations, have forged tolerance out of hate and suspicion, unity within
diversity, and peace out of conflict and hostility.
The ongoing struggle by those who seek recognition and status in human terms
demands from all with the gift of knowledge and insight, the commitment of self
in the continuing development of humankind.
For stronger than war, which dehumanises, humiliates and destroys, is indeed
the love of life. And the African Presence on the Route continues to speak of
those gone, those living and those yet unborn - a celebratory incantation of
a philosophy of life and of the hope-in-despair which has sustained survival
and beyond in defiance of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and slavery.
What we have learnt from history will have sharpened insights about ourselves
in the process of cross-fertilisation which is the great art of humankind's 'becoming'
out of the dynamism of the synthesising of contradictions. For this is the story
of Africa-in-the-Americas for the past half-a-millennium.
This, from ancient times to this day, is indeed the source and stuff of great
literature, great art, and great social structures, of sturdy crucibles of human
understanding, of great intellectual achievement in science and the humanities.
And all of this has taken place along the Slave Route of which we speak! And
has taken place, indeed, despite the stubborn persistence of the rules of representation
which decree the denigration of things African as well as a debilitating racism
against all who carry the stain of Africa in their veins.
Lest we forget, that Presence, that African Presence, informed the ancestral
pedigree of ancient Greece and Rome which Western civilisation has hijacked into
its history with monopolistic fervour. In that Mediterranean crossroads civilisation
the treasures of cross-fertilisation gave to humanity the sort of creative energy
which guaranteed humankind's capacity to live, die and live again.
Within historical memory we again see that Presence playing its catalytic role
in the Iberian Peninsula when the cross-pollination of cultures (the one from
Africa included) gave rise to an expansiveness of thought that resulted in the
so-called "discovery" of the Americas and our own flowering into the
vital source of 'crossroads' energy that this Hemisphere has been for modern
humanity.
It is good for us to remember that the moment the European Iberians expelled
the Moors and the Jews, Spain declined having lost its intellect and its imagination
as someone pungently and wickedly remarked. The enslaved and colonised Americas
provided, as it were, a new arena for experimentation in human exploitation admittedly
but it was the relegation of hordes of humanity (themselves sources of creative
energy) to margins of silence that was to render the Americas more impoverished
than she might be.
Thanks, however, to the resistance of those who would be silenced, the vitality
and energy of the Hemisphere was to benefit. Neither total physical expulsion
nor ethnic cleansing has been possible (since both modes of liquidation would
have been unprofitable for slave owners and metropolitan masters) and the African
Presence continues to make the impact where it most matters in the enduring areas
of language, religion, artistic manifestations and even kinship patterns, as
well as in areas of ontology and cosmology rooted in the creative diversity that
is now the global reality of our Third Millennium and has been the lived reality
of the Caribbean and the wider Americas of which the Caribbean is an iconic integral
part.
This is something that invites understanding and acknowledgement from the countries
of modern Europe which have been colonised in reverse and their extension, white
North America, where homogeneity has been considered a virtue among the power
structures but which is now threatened by heterogeneity following on the breakdown
of geographical boundaries with the advent of migrant hordes of different hue
as well as a textured sensibility via galactic spheres. But alas, the legacy
of slavery and its fertiliser of a trade in African labour, continues.
I agree with the notion that "there comes a time when the past ceases to
be an alibi, and [that]..at the turn of the 20th century [we had] surely reached
that point" [Fergal Keane: "Time to Wake up to the false dawn of Africa's
renaissance" in The Independent (London) Weekend Review 13/3/99 p 3], but
what I cannot agree with is the shrouding of critical elements like the brutality
of the trade in enslaved Africans in a silence that would deny to hordes of humanity
the fullest possible participation in all discourse that would attempt to define,
determine and delineate the destiny of said hordes of humanity long relegated
in that past to stations of humiliation, would-be psychic despair and non-personhood.
Indeed, those who dare to ignore their history are doomed to repeat it. And the
Unesco Slave Route Project, in helping to prevent this, is clearly designed to
identify all the deep social/cultural forces which have successfully conspired
to prevent any such repetition at least on the scale of that past or to deny
history and us the long memory of that past. Hence the Caricom Caribbean's deep
involvement in the operations of the Project ever since its inception in 1994
and still today in its revitalised and restructured form. And that vision is
what now fortuitously brings us here to challenge the validity of such past obscenities.
I have long had reason to address such obscenities elsewhere but in the context
of the responsibilities of the African Diaspora, which has helped to seminally
shape the Americas but which is still being denied its historic and historical
role in the growth and development of this Hemisphere and of elsewhere.
The African Diaspora cries out for recognition and status in the new dispensation
that goes by the name of globalisation which, from the perspective of ones like
us in the ex-slave post-colonial Caribbean, threatens to be a calculus of inequality
rather than an opportunity to make a last dash towards universal human dignity
and individual freedom in praxis.
Such dignity and freedom in praxis must continue to be on the agenda of concerns
and positive action for the African Diaspora in the new Millennium. Crossing
the boundary of thought to programmes of action that will benefit the millions
that tenant the African Diaspora is itself an imperative. Hence the need to incorporate
designs for social living and a positive sense of self into the mainstream development
strategies of the newly globalised world.
The aim for Diasporic Africa must be to help determine the mainstream and not
merely to float along with the currents wherever they may take one. The age-long
struggle "to be" and the working solutions providing life skills for
survival and beyond should be utilised to the hilt in sustaining the strengths
of the Diaspora and eliminating the weaknesses that have come to systematically
plague progress and development.
So one 21st century challenge for the African Diaspora is to have the new globalisation
veered away from inherited obscene habits of racialised division of the world
into the rich industrialised North and the poor non-Caucasian South, the developed
civilised world versus the two-thirds underdeveloped world misnomered the Third
World. That this is best done by the manifestation of achievement through the
Diaspora's exercise of the creative intellect and creative imagination is impatient
of debate.
But it must help replace the Cartesian driven thought-system that declares that
the show of emotion is a "decline from thinking to feeling", with the
Diasporic reality that genuine creativity and intellectual rigour are not mutually
exclusive and that the harmonisation of the two may well be the hope of a third
millennium world.
The abolition of the Trade for all the reasons, including those outlined in the
Caribbean scholar Eric Williams' seminal Capitalism and Slavery, could not help
but facilitate the re-humanisation of the offspring of the millions involuntarily
and inhumanely lured/dragged from West Africa and the Congo across the Middle
Passage. The mind, as the African Diaspora has long known, can be a passionate
organ too.
This is arguably a main point of the Reparation advocacy - by no means seeking
a hand-out of 500 pounds sterling per person to descendants of the oppressed
but rather positing serious investment by countries which have been enriched
by the heinous crime of the Slave Trade and Slavery, in the human resource development
of countries that suffered, preferably through the education and preparation
of their young to enable them to cope with the inheritance of a continuing unjust
world. And above all, for them to be able to understand their own history and
help plug the knowledge gap which the Honourable Representative from St Vincent
and the Grenadines so eloquently emphasised in the UN debate of last November.
For as a well-known African proverb goes - "until the lions have their own
historians, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter".
To cross the boundaries of hate, intolerance, discrimination, racial arrogance,
class exclusivity, intellectual snobbery, and cultural denigration, which constitute
the legacy of that horrific past, the African Diaspora must continue with its
time-worn strategies of demarginalisation, re-inforcing the intensity of the
creative work in the expansion of communication arts serving humankind. Caribbean
kweyol, sranan tonga of Suriname, and Jamaica Talk, all legitimately speak to
the African diasporic reality and help to substitute voice for the imposed silence
of oppression.
The choice of one's Creator whether it be the Jah of the Rastafarians, Pentecostal
versions of Jesus, or African-American versions of Mohammed and Islam, the Orishas
of Cuba's santeria, Brazil's candomble and Trinidad's shango, or the oguns of
Haitian vodun must insist on the legitimacy accorded Christian and other Orthodoxies
in the spirit of that ecumenism which has forced the ritual of apology from Rome
to Judaism and has the Graeco-Judaeo-Christian religious-cultural complex acknowledging
the rightful existence of Hinduism, Budhism and Shintoism, the great religions
of the East. Heterogeneity as a guiding principle of human organisation is here
the desired framework for peace - global, regional and local.
The gift of the grasp of the plurality and intertextuality of existence, though
not exclusive to African diasporic experience, is the primary feature of that
experience. The 21st Century and the new millennium which, through the accessibility
by each segment of Planet Earth to every other at a moment's notice by way of
Internet, e-mail, (and electronic media), could benefit tremendously from such
sense and sensibility to get the millennium's hopes for peace, security and the
improvement of the social capital, fulfilled. Can the world without anguish accept
itself as part this, part that, part the other but totally human without one
part of it trying to dominate the other?
The idea of the Caribbean person being part-African, part-European, part-Asian,
part-Native American but totally Caribbean is still a mystery to many in the
North Atlantic which has been spoiled by the very hegemonic control it has had
over empires and far-away real estate for half-a-millennium - and with the indulgences
of a trade in slaves, slavery and colonialism acting in tandem.
It is the full grasp of the creative diversity of all of humankind that provides
the source for tolerance, generosity of spirit, forgiveness, respect for the
Other, that the new millennium will require if it is to house the brave new world
with the human being as centre of the cosmos. It is the source, as well, of the
patience which is needed for the human-scale development which all the grand
objectives of United Nations declarations envision.
That patience is honed in the habit of the African diasporic tenants who have
had to negotiate their space over time and to find form on a playing field that
has not been level, not since 1492 when Spain's Cristobal Colon lost his way
to Japan; not since 1562 when England's John Hawkins traded some surrogate beasts
of burden (enslaved Africans) to the Spanish West Indies; not since 1807 when
a mix of capitalistic self-interest and humanitarian impulse drove the British
Parliament to enact the first step on the journey to restore decency to human
life and living.
The African Diaspora is, for this reason, more than equipped to enter the dialogue
among civilisations having seeded the germ of a civilisation itself, as if with
the beneficence of retributive justice.
Such dialogue, after all, is all about the quest for peace, tolerance, justice,
liberty, sustainable development, trust and for respect and human understanding
and should not be seen as a threat but rather as a guarantee for peace.
Yet, even while I recommend this to our African Diaspora and to the world as
the guarantee of a safe and meaningful future, the experience of ages drives
me back to some wise words uttered on February 28, 1968 which have been immortalised
in the Bob Marley musical setting ironically entitled "War" even while
it hankers after peace.
"
Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior, is finally
and permanently discredited and abandoned.
Until the colour of a man's skin is of no more significance than the colour of
his eyes, Until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without
regard to race.
Until that day.
The dreams of lasting peace, world citizenship and the rule of international
morality will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued but never attained!"
Such, distinguished delegates, are the many boundaries, left by the Slave Trade
and Slavery. Many rivers are indeed yet to be crossed, to take us all over to
the right side of history and away from the obscenities of the Slave Trade and
of Slavery, as well as from the vile consequences that continue to plague far
too much of humankind, depriving us all of decency, and threatening our innate
humanity.
LAW ABOLISHING THE TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE MARCH 25, 1807
"
Be it therefore enacted by the King's most excellent majesty by and with
the advice and consent of the Lord's spiritual and temporal and Commons,
in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that
from and after the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and seven,
the African Slave Trade, and all manner of dealing and trading in the purchase,
sale, barter, or transfer of slaves, or of persons intended to be sold, transferred,
used, or dealt with as slaves, practiced or carried on, in, at, to or from
any part of the coast or countries of Africa, shall be, and the same is hereby
utterly abolished, prohibited and declared to be unlawful, and also that
all manner of dealing, either by way of purchase, sale, barter, or transfer
or by means of any other contract or agreement whatever, relating to any
slaves, or to any persons intended to be used or dealt with as slaves or
persons being removed or transported either immediately or by trans-shipment
at sea or otherwise, directly or indirectly from Africa or from any island,
country, territory, or place whatever, in the West Indies, or in any other
part of America, not being in the dominion, possession, or occupation of
his majesty, to any other island, country territory or place whatever, is
hereby in like manner utterly abolished, prohibited and declared to be unlawful".
NOTE: The Abolitionist Movement was spearheaded by "the Saints",
a group of evangelicals led by William Wilberforce, Member of Parliament
from Hull and a born-again Christian. A similar American Act was passed into
law in the same month as the British Act by US President Thomas Jefferson
but was to become effective on January 1, 1808 in the United States. But
slavery continued apace terminating in the British Empire between August
1, 1834 and August 1, 1838, but not until 1865 in the USA, in 1882 in Cuba
and in 1888 in Brazil. The system still exists today in parts of the world.
