Apology for slavery in Ghana: Why many natives say words are not enough | Story

Accra, Ghana For many descendants of African slaves, apologizing for the Atlantic slave trade is unfair. As calls for reparations grow, it is argued that acquiescence without action will not end generations of loss, displacement and persecution.

The debate gained momentum after the three-day conference “Next Steps” on slavery and restorative justice, held in Accra from June 17 to 19, brought together heads of state, policy makers, legal experts, civil society groups and representatives of the African diaspora. The conference was held a few months after the United Nations General Assembly made a landmark resolution, with the support of 123 countries, recognizing the transatlantic slave trade as one of the worst crimes against humanity.

The participants adopted 19 principles that demand an apology from the countries and organizations that benefited from slavery, including payment methods, debt repayment, restoration of cultural artifacts and human remains, educational initiatives and strong international cooperation.

But for many descendants of African slaves, an apology, while acceptable, is nowhere near enough.

“I am not willing to accept an apology for the worst crimes against humanity,” Yaw Owusu Akyeaw of African Diaspora 126+ told Al Jazeera. The organization is a lobbying organization that supports the process of obtaining Ghanaian citizenship and citizenship for expatriates.

“A verbal apology is a symbolic way of admitting wrongdoing without doing anything to repair the damage or compensate those affected by the wrongdoing,” Akyeaw said.

“A serial killer will gladly apologize, if he does, if he gets less or no prison time.” Some people think that this type of apology is a way for people to avoid repenting, negotiating payment or giving punishment for the wrongdoing.

Marvin Walker, a Guyanese businessman who recently moved to Ghana to reunite with his parents and invest in the country, said the same thing.

“Such an apology can be seen as a shallow gesture, not a true expression of a change of heart or deep sorrow,” Walker told Al Jazeera.

More than those taken

The transatlantic slave trade did not destroy only those who crossed the Atlantic. It has also divided families, disrupted communities and deprived Africa of generations of people, jobs and knowledge.

David Adofo of the African Chamber of Content Producers (ACCP), an international African organization that has representation in the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), said that the sufferings of the marginalized people have also been passed down from generation to generation.

“Slavery did not only affect those who were taken, but those who were left behind, when they lost their loved ones, they lost faith in humanity, passing that feeling on from generation to generation. It also disrupted the development of Africa at that time,” Adofo told Al Jazeera.

“The best of Africa was removed from the continent to help develop the new world.”

Adofo pointed to colonial-era programs such as the Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment (BEKE), arguing that the legacy of colonial education continues to shape Africans.

“Programs like BEKE, which were set up by the colonial office to destabilize the African people, have stopped being destroyed so that investing in the creation of things to resettle the people is a proper investment,” he said.

The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment (BEKE) was a British colonial film that took place in East and Central Africa between 1935 and 1937. It produced educational films whose purpose was to promote what the colonial authorities described as “the educational and social transformation of Africans in the West”, promoting colonial culture through the most patriarchal form of African economic life.

“This kind of money should be fully funded by the West and made by Africans to make sense and push the horrors of slavery behind us,” added Adofo.

A legacy that still exists

For some descendants of African slaves, the wounds are so deep that no apology can heal them.

A descendant of slaves who were left behind after the abolition of slavery and who could not return because they lost all links to their origin spoke to Al Jazeera on the basis of anonymity because the discussion of servile parents remains very vigilant in his community.

“I don’t know where I came from,” he said. “No apology can stop me.”

Historical records show that slaves from today’s Ghana and other parts of West Africa were forced to cross the inland trade routes to the coast. From places like Salaga and Pikworo, they traveled hundreds of kilometers to slave camps including Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle. In Assin Manso, many took what was called the “last bath” the last trip to the beach and walked across the Atlantic Ocean.

Today, in the Central Region of Ghana, including Assin Manso, Cape Coast and Elmina, families born from those left behind after slavery are still silent. Many young people choose not to talk about their family history because of old traditions related to their slave ancestors.

Beyond the mark

The debate over whether an apology is enough shows a deep divide within the restitution movement around the world. While some see formal recognition as an important first step, others argue that it has little meaning without measures that address the lasting effects of slavery.

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, who is the main architect of the UN resolution, said the conference was designed to move the talks from symbolic to action. He announced the creation of three international organizations that focus on restorative justice, social justice and legal issues.

However, for many generations, justice cannot be measured by the government’s words alone.

“We did not know who we are. We separated from the land of our parents, our spirituality was replaced by their religion.