Last week I wrote a post how many African-Americans do not know what part of Africa they come from. My cousin commented on her visit to Ghana’s Door of No Return and how powerful it felt to actually see where millions of Africans were shipped to a life of slavery. For many, it was their last glimpse at Africa. But now that the castle is open to tourists, Ghanaians can “go back out of this room the way we came.”
“The feeling that overcame me when I stood in the Cape Coast castle, which still has the metallic stench of blood in its walls, and looked out from THE DOOR OF NO RETURN to the Ocean was one of pure and total consuming pain. It was as if all of the tragedy and horror of the lives of those who had been confined in that room locked itself around my heart. I could not breathe. My life was forever changed in that moment. It may sound cliche, but you truly can have no appreciation for where you are going until you understand where you come from. If you have the chance, go.” – Jessica, YBP Guide Commenter
As Britain marks the bicentennial of its abolition of the slave trade on March 25, Ghanaians are still coming to terms with slavery’s impact on their country’s development and the role Africans played in the capture and sale of fellow Africans. Governments of countries most responsible for the slave trade have skirted around the prickly chapter of their history, wary of strengthening the case for huge financial compensation some say they should pay the descendants of slavery’s victims. We are already seeing slavery apologies in the U.S.- first Virginia and a skeptical Georgia is next to issue a resolution apologizing for their role in the slave trade. Last year, Prime Minister Tony Blair said he “feels deep sorrow” for Britain’s major role in the slave trade, but refused to issue a full apology. Since this year marks the bicentenary of legislation abolishing slavery, the government is finally considering issuing “a statement of regret” on March 25, 2007. Well….uh….better late than never? I’m still not sure how I feel about reparations, but any government with a history of slavery owes a sincere apology to the millions of people who are direct descendants of slaves.
Jess
If you follow the link for the Door of No Return, it will take you to a Wikipedia entry describing The Slave House in Senegal.
The Door of No Return in Cape Coast castle is the one illustrated in the picture. There is a smaller room in the Castle that is connected to a tunnel like holding cell, where slaves were kept prior to being placed on ships. This smaller room also has a Door of No Return, which is much narrower and shorter than its larger counterpart in the Castle’s courtyard. Today this doorway is barred, and it looks directly towards the Coast, over the beach. I asked our guides if this doorway had actually been used, and was told that the water line was much closer than it is today, and slaves were placed onto ships from that location. It is this Door of No Return that I spoke about in my previous comment.
http://www.iveknownrivers.org/read.php?id=38
See also
http://www.economist.com/world/international/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=8749406
And
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1264/is_n6_v23/ai_12658627
March 20, 2007 at 9:49 am
Sheria
My dad was able to tour the castle. He said he was overwhelmed and brought to tears when he saw the inhumane conditions so many people were subjected to.
March 20, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Lakeya Chase
I am a college student and I was able to spend a month in Ghana January of 2006. I too experienced the overwhelming feeling of sorrow for the many lives that have failed to return through the door. I wrote an essay on my experience and also a poem of my visit to the castle. One of the lines of my essay asks the question, “How can such place, be filled with grace?” In this same castle there is a chapel that the slave owners worshipped in. It is hard to imagine slave owners praising and worshipping God just above the area where some slaves were kept. Along with the “Door of no return” there was a place where slave women were forced to stand if they refused to have sexual relations with the masters. I believe the tour guide said canon balls were thrown at the women for their refusal. Again I ask, “How can such a place be filled with grace?” My experience was life changing and I encourage all African Americans to go…. I am a young college student, if God can provide a way for me to go, he is not a respector of persons, he can make a way for you. God Bless~
March 21, 2007 at 9:46 pm
RODJUAN
Too many of us will not have or take the opportunity to travel to these sites. But the pain experienced by those who did is the same pain we as Africans in the Diasporas feel. It’s the pain that causes us to rise up and burn down our neighrborhoods such as Watts, and Newark. This is direct evidence that pain is energy and energy cannot be destroyed, it has to be toned.
A weep here and a weep there without focus is tantamount to trying to move the boulder away from the tomb of Christ with a wish. It is not enough to cry, WE HAVE TO MOURN.
Mourning is not feeling sorry for ourselves, it is reconciliation, it is a ritual of settling with those who have died, allowing their spirits to cross over. In this case our ancestors did not just die, they were slaughtered brutally, life was intentionally snuffed out of them in most horrific ways, as a result they are still trapped in a realm where they are helpless and still in much agony. By mourning for them, we release them from this static non-exixtence allowing them to cross over, we effectively tone the pain of the past into useful and healing energy.
An INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING will take place on JUNE 19TH, 2007 and continue for 7 years on that day, after which that day becomes a day of celebration. AFRICANS UNITE.
March 22, 2007 at 5:45 pm
YBP Guide — affirmative action for whites
[...] the exposure of this reality in 2007 should allow us to see the path still being plotted from ghana to [...]
March 23, 2007 at 10:04 am
YBP Guide — weekly roundup: 3/24
[...] ‘Door of No Return’ in Ghana open to tourists [...]
March 24, 2007 at 11:29 am
Robert Varela
Why not have Ghana or Nigeria apologize for their role in Slavery? Why put the blame on England and or the USA?
Seriously,the black African/Arab traders had slaves for sale. The Dutch,British,American,etc bought them!!!!
December 26, 2008 at 11:22 pm