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The Greater
Caribbean This Week: International Day of Remembrance of the
Slave Trade and its Abolition (August
23 ) |
By: Watson R.
Denis, PhD, Political Advisor of the Association of
Caribbean States.
Sept, 6, 2007: On August 23rd 2007, the world
commemorated, once again, the International Day of
Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, by a
series of activities, some more striking than others. In the
course of the period surrounding this commemoration, there
were in many countries exhibitions on the Slave Trade and
Slavery, panels for discussion and reflection, and the most
diverse cultural and artistic shows.
All in all, August 23rd is a symbolic day: this day
symbolises the victory of freedom over slavery, of the
historical freeing of a category of men that other men had
transformed over the centuries into beasts of burden. |
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The commemoration
of August 23rd originates in the general uprising of slaves
on the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti),
during the night from August 22nd to 23rd 1791, after which
the slaves employed several forms of resistance, ranging
from rebellion to suicide to setting up maroon societies.
This uprising which came about to demand freedom for all,
after 13 years of struggle and new revolts, resulted in the
independence of Haiti in 1804.
The general uprising of slaves on August 23rd 1791 sounded
the bell heralding the death of Slavery, the slave trade and
Colonialism in the world! Slavery and Colonialism, in their
most absurd manifestations, did not disappear immediately,
however the Haitian Revolution led to a series of
anti-slavery, anti-colonial revolts that fatally weakened
those institutions. In other words, this Revolution had
weakened their foundations forever and had traced the path
of history for the vast majority of enslaved and/or
colonised peoples. Humanity was heading irreversibly towards
a world liberated from these two systems and people marched
against all odds towards the conquest of freedom and
independence. This Revolution had also changed the mentality
and the vision that certain men had of those they had
dominated and subjugated.
The immediate and long-term repercussions of the Haitian
Revolution have therefore made the 23rd August an
unforgettable date in the annals of history. It is to
underline the importance of this date and also to underline
that the Slaves were the main architects of their own
liberation that UNESCO has adopted August 23rd as the
International Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its
Abolition. It is also in recognition that Great Britain was
the first European colonial power to abolish the slave trade
in 1807. According to the Circular CL/3494 of 29 July 1998,
the Director General of UNESCO invited the Ministers of
Culture of the Member States to commemorate August 23rd by
organising various cultural and scientific events, involving
the populations of their respective countries, especially
young people, spiritual advisors, artists and intellectuals.
This welcome decision was ratified by the Executive Board of
the organisation in the Resolution 29C/40, during the 29th
session.
The International Day of Remembrance was officially
celebrated, with the participation of UNESCO, for the first
time in Haiti, in 1998, then in Senegal (Gorée), in 1999, by
a series of cultural activities and debates on the Slave
Trade, Slavery, Colonialism, and political emancipation.
Since then, the annual commemoration of the event has
proceeded in its merry way, with the participation of
increasing numbers of countries, governments and national
and international institutions.
For example, on August 23rd this year, in Liverpool
(England), the International Slavery Museum was inaugurated
in the framework of festivities organised to celebrate the
Haitian Revolution and to commemorate the bicentenary of the
abolition of the slave trade in the former British Empire.
In founding this permanent museum of the transatlantic slave
trade, those responsible have underlined that they intend to
accept a dark period in their history. This is directly in
accordance with the public apologies made in 1999 by
Liverpool City Council for its direct involvement in the
slave trade in Europe. This museum, which the directors wish
to convert into an important memorial site, will serve as a
public space that can contribute to reflections on the
contemporary problems caused by Slavery and the Slave trade,
through the programmes that will be implemented there.
The International Day of Remembrance follows on from the
“Slave Road” project that has also been adopted by UNESCO
(Resolution 27C/3.13), in 1993, at the proposal of the
Republic of Haiti and supported by the African countries and
the African Union. One of the aims of this project is to
break the silence, by making universally known through
scientific works, the history of the transatlantic slave
trade and slavery, to explain its deeper causes, its means
of operation and its consequences. In this sense, the “Slave
Road” project, considering its objectives of popularisation
and dialogue for sensitising people to slavery, meets the
objectives of the International Day of Remembrance… Both aim
for the construction of a better world, to the founding of a
culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence among peoples. |
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