Will Africa ever escape the shackles of slavery?
*As the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade is
commemorated, we're asking, will the scars of Africa's history ever heal?*
How deep is the psychological trauma of slavery? How does it affect the way
others see Africa and the way Africans see themselves?
*Should the experience of slavery still be a part of Africa's image today or
should we draw a line under it and move on? Send us your views.*
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Blair 'sorry' for UK slavery role
[image: Tony Blair and John Agyekum Kufuor.] Mr Blair met Ghanaian
president John Kufuor
*Tony Blair has said sorry for the slave trade, months after his statement
of "deep sorrow" was criticised by some for stopping short of a full
apology. *
"I have said we are sorry and I say it again," he said after talks with
Ghanaian president John Agyekum Kufuor.
Britain had a "relationship of equals" with countries like Ghana, he said.
The most important thing was "to remember what happened in the past, to
condemn it and say why it was entirely unacceptable," Mr Blair went on.
Some anti-slavery campaigners had said they wanted Mr Blair to go further
ahead of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade, after
his first statement in November.
His expression of "deep sorrow" for Britain's role in the slave trade was
welcomed by some but criticised by others for not going far enough.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chained marchers mark slave ban
[image: Campaigners bound in chains start their walk] The expedition will
finish in Westminster on 25 March
*Campaigners bound in chains have set off on a 250-mile march to commemorate
the abolition of the slave trade.*
The month-long Lifeline Expedition from Hull to London has been organised to
apologise for the slavery.
The event is one of the first to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition
of the slave trade.
The 30-strong group will be joined for the first two days by Lady Kate
Davson, a descendant of anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is also expected to join the march
before it reaches Westminster on 25 March.
*'Risky ventures'*
The expedition started on Thursday morning after the Bishop of Hull anointed
the marchers with water from the font where William Wilberforce, who was
elected as MP for the city in 1780, was baptised.
Those joining the walk include people whose ancestors were slaves or
employed slaves.
Organiser David Pott said they hoped the walk would also draw attention to
the estimated 12 million people the International Labour Organisation
reports are working in modern slavery.
He said: "I have been reminded that it is normal that expeditions involve
risks - slave trading expeditions were risky ventures.
"So as we seek to undo the damage initiated by the slave trade it should be
no surprise that we face challenges. However, on our journey we will not
suffer a fraction of what slaves went through."
He added that other people were welcome to join the march at any point
during the event.
------------------------------
S Leone honours Africa slave campaigners
By Yvonne Ndege-Burke and Mohammed Fajah-Barrie
BBC Africa Have Your Say, Freetown
[image: Howe Street sign in Freetown] Howe will be called John Ezzidio
after the slave who become mayor
*As the UK marks 200 years since it abolished the slave trade, Sierra Leone
has decided to purge its capital, Freetown, of streets named after the
British and replace them with the names of Africans who fought in the
abolition movement. *
Freetown, as its name implies, was founded in 1787 as a home for freed
slaves and many residents have welcomed the move to recognise African heroes
on its streets.
"Since the British came and went, they have done nothing for us after
slavery. All their names are on the streets. You come into Freetown you see
them, the only street with an African name is Siaka Stevens street," says
resident Sammy Conteh.
*Readdressing history*
Mohamed Bobson-Kamara, chairman of the city's planning committee for the
bicentenary, says the role of black abolitionists has been greatly
underplayed.
AFRICAN ABOLITIONISTS
[image: Shackles round a slave's legs]
Thomas Peters - ex-slave, who helped Wilberforce found Sierra Leone as
colony for freed slaves
Sengeh Pieh - led revolt on slave ship, Amistad
Olaudah Equiano - ex-slave, some believe helped abolition movement
John Ezzidio - ex-slave who became Freetown mayor
He hopes this will be partly rectified by changing the street names.
Percival Street will become Thomas Peters Street in remembrance of the slave
who was taken to America from somewhere along the West African coast.
It is believed Thomas Peters fought on the side of the British during the
American Revolution and ended up in the UK, where he went on to work with
the white abolitionists, William Wilberforce and Granville Sharp to
establish a colony in Africa for freed slaves - which is now Sierra Leone.
Mr Peters was honoured by the government of Sierra Leone in 1998.
Charlotte Street will be renamed Sengeh Pieh in memory of the African slave
who led a revolt on the Amistad, a slave ship, in 1839 as it sailed to
America.
Likewise, Waterloo Street will take Olaudah Equiano's name.
Nigerian by birth, Olaudah Equiano was kidnapped into slavery in 1756. Some
historians credit him with being one of architects of the UK's abolitionist
movement.
*Suffering*
The city's mayor Winstanley Bankole Johnson explains: "These names are the
names of Africans that were directly connected with the history of slavery.
"It is for us to know where we are coming from. It is people like us who
have to bring the names of black abolitionists to the fore. I think their
whole effort has been obscured in the process of writing history. We want to
take this opportunity to give credit where credit was due."
The Bicentenary of the Abolition of Slavery Act, which banned slavery in the
British Empire, is 25 March 2007.
The UK intends to spend £20m to mark the occasion.
But Freetown mayor Winstanley Bankole Johnson is critical of the amount of
money being spent and wants the UK to re-think its plans.
"I would rather they did not spend those millions of pounds, where the
impact would be far less felt.
"I would rather they focus their attention in countries in Africa that
suffered and experienced the worst effects of slavery, particularly in the
west coast of Africa. The economy of this region was comprehensively
devastated.
"What better way to celebrate than to make people see that the suffering of
their ancestors was not in vain?"
------------------------------
YouTube used to show slave past
[image: Archbishop of York John Sentamu] Dr Sentamu said he was left
"speechless" by what he had seen
*The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have used an video-sharing website
to highlight the history of slavery. *
They have posted the footage of their trip to Zanzibar on YouTube to
coincide with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.
Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu are shown visiting two preserved slave
pits where up to 175 men, women and children were kept chained up.
The video was recorded last month and also reflects on modern-day slavery.
During the trip, Dr Sentamu also spent some time at a memorial to the slaves
which features some of the original chains used when the market was
operating.
*'Absolutely speechless'*
He said: "I found the whole experience heart-rending.
"When I went outside and actually saw those figures - how slaves were tied
together - and touched the actual chains that were used, I was rendered
absolutely speechless.
"I felt I was going back in history, but I was also in the present where
still, slavery in some parts of the world still happens."
In the film, Dr Williams said that 200 years on, slavery was still a problem
in the world.
He said: "It's as if slavery is a kind of compulsion for human societies.
"People go back again and again to treating people as objects, as
possessions, and I don't think we can simply sit back and say it's a thing
of the past and no more."
"All those modern forms of slavery: economic slavery - debt slavery in
effect - the slavery of sex trafficking, these things are still with us."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6451793.stm
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