Slavery: 200 Years Later (NVS Platform Special )

...Read the full article.

[Palamedes]

The Personal change journey.--The beginning of any personal change is knowing who you are; what your problems are; and finding the appropriate solution. The first is knowing that you are an African and not a Black man or woman. So far we have failed at this first journey.

The changing semantics: “African Slavery Holocaust” to “Slavery around the World”.--There are conspiracies assisted by African collaborators to dilute the “African Slavery and Holocaust”. With our usual open door policy, we hear of “Slavery around the World”, and some are even comparing what happened then to modern “Sex slaves” from Eastern Europe. That both are discussed on equal footing in the Western media makes me boil---what could be more insulting? I don’t hear “Holocaust around the World” when the Jewish Holocaust is discussed.

The elevation of the roles of African collaborators.--The revisionist and our distractors are elevating the part played by African collaborators to the centre stage, knocking off the real perpetrators. I dare anyone to name a collaborator-free large scale atrocity in history.

Afamefuna Anawana (above) mentioned the UK’s Channel 4 programme titled, “The Last Slave”, by David Monteith. Mr Monteith had access to Nigerian academic scholars and historians and the enlightened but chose oral tradition as recounted by the unenlightened, illiterate and backward so-called elders—men who cannot even speak the English language in the modern Nigeria; evidence of never had any schooling.

Wilberforce who?--There are far many Africans at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean than in the whole population of Hull, UK--Nothing taken from William Wilberforce's contributions, of course.

Spanner into the reparations question.--The Western distractors and their African collaborators are again trying to confuse the situation: When reparation is mention, they ask, how?

May I remind Villagers that the “how” question is a common tactics and its ultimate aim is to sabotage or resist change. You might want to try the “how” question whenever you wish to oppose any change or don’t want something to be done. The “how” question when applied, would buy you time; sow seed of doubt in minds, change the argument and frustrate your opponents to the point of giving up.

My answer to the “How” question is to point to the Jewish holocaust reparation model and use it or adapt it for the African Slavery and Holocaust reparations.

The danger of selective history.--Some say that the African Slavery and Holocaust happened long time ago and that descendants of the perpetrators should not even apologise. Dear World, selective history is a dangerous thing, and is behind many a war, including the Second World War. Some even have the temerity to DEMAND that Africans FORGET and MOVE ON.

The Adolph Hitler before Adolph Hitler.--Let us also not forget the atrocities committed by Belgium Adolph Hitler, King Leopold II in Congo where over 20 million Africans are said to have died from Belgium brutality; where women and children where held in concentration camps to force their men not only to work but to meet their quota of rubber. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3516965.stm

[akuluouno]

Thank you Uche and Afam fo rmentioning the role palyed by Eze Nri.

[Rose]

Thanks, Uche. I pray these events will serve as a catalyst for all Africans and diasporans to reflect on the urgent need to unite as one. I enjoyed reading the comments and am glad to know that others are keenly aware of this vigorous and disgusting attempt at role reversal in the grand scheme of the slave trade.

1) I saw it as an attempt by unseen hands to incriminate the Igbo race thereby weakening the calls for reparations for the slave descendants and subliminally robbing them of any moral locus standi. The 200th anniversary of the “abolition” of slave trade, should also concentrate on the descendants of the trans-Atlantic slaves. It is usually gory to read commentators’ contributions, who try to throw in the odd smokescreen of also trying to get us to concentrate on modern slavery.


2) The elevation of the roles of African collaborators —The revisionist and our distractors are elevating the part played by African collaborators to the centre stage, knocking off the real perpetrators. I dare anyone to name a collaborator-free large scale atrocity in history.

[nero africanus]

Originally Posted by Rose

Thanks, Uche. I pray these events will serve as a catalyst for all Africans and diasporans to reflect on the urgent need to unite as one. I enjoyed reading the comments and am glad to know that others are keenly aware of this vigorous and disgusting attempt at role reversal in the grand scheme of the slave trade.

1) I saw it as an attempt by unseen hands to incriminate the Igbo race thereby weakening the calls for reparations for the slave descendants and subliminally robbing them of any moral locus standi. The 200th anniversary of the “abolition” of slave trade, should also concentrate on the descendants of the trans-Atlantic slaves. It is usually gory to read commentators’ contributions, who try to throw in the odd smokescreen of also trying to get us to concentrate on modern slavery.


2) The elevation of the roles of African collaborators —The revisionist and our distractors are elevating the part played by African collaborators to the centre stage, knocking off the real perpetrators. I dare anyone to name a collaborator-free large scale atrocity in history.

i think that we need to always seek the truth and acknowledge it no matter how painful it is

it is only when we know the truth that we can view things in the right perspective .

for instance , it was not the white man who started slavery in africa.slavery existed mainly as a punitive measure as africa had no penal system to punish offenders and a lot had to do whith some of the barbaric practices of those days. for instance a nuisance in an average igbo community was simply sold away as a means of justice or sent into exile with his family, an example of a slave was ikemefuna in things fall apart by achebe.

we must not try to exonerate ourselves at the expense of the truth , just like we know that slave trade did not end as a result of the moral rectitude of the british or the campaigning of the anti slavery coalition of people like william wilberforce.

slavery as a punitive measure is diffrent from slavery for commercial gains .

the niger delta nationality had powerful chiefs and kings turned into slavers who had been largely empowered by the white man who were off shore and these went on raids inland capturing people and selling them off to the merchants of shore.

this was pure capitalism in action .

the niger delta nationalities chiefs became what was known as the niger delta middle men who caught the slaves and sold to the merchants . city states was established on the trade in slaves and led to the ascendancy of people like king boy of brass, nana etc.

the british wanted slave trade abolished more than anything else , they were seeking to arrest the ascendancy of the americans who established massive cotton plantations in the american south and gained commercial might as a result of the horrible practice.

these scenario played itself out again in the american civil war not because the north was so concerned about the plight of slaves but because they wanted to use it to curtail the power of the south where cotton was king..

[No Smoking]

Originally Posted by nero africanus

we must not try to exonerate ourselves at the expense of the truth...

Nero, you be my hero biko.

At the church service this morning, our minister (an Irishman) delivered a well-researched message to mark the bi-centenary celebration. He covered the efforts of the Quakers, John Newton's beginnings, John Newton as master of a slave ship, John Newton's repentance, John Newton's entry into church ministry and later mentoring of William Wilberforce. He continued into Rosa Park's life and activism, first noticed in 1943 long before the 1955 incidence on the bus. Altogether, a befitting message for the day.

After the service, I caught up with the minister at the exit of the church, as he shook hands and made small talk. I had a few minutes with him, until the next bature OAP lady came along. She commended the minister for the message. Then, she delivered her point: "They were freed from slavery, but they did not know what to do with it". The minister was again brilliant in his unscripted defence of the progress the black race had made since the traumatic events.

I didn't need to add to what the minister said. Not that we do not have the Mugabe's of the continent, letting down the side.

[Palamedes]

@nero africanus

for instance a nuisance in an average igbo community was simply sold away as a means of justice or sent into exile with his family, an example of a slave was ikemefuna in things fall apart by achebe.

Sir, “Things fall Apart” by Achebe is a fiction and NOT an authoritative source or truth about Igbo life or African life in general. Many Igbos and for that matter, many other ethnic groups in Nigeria and African would fail to recognise in their culture, the claims that you are making on their behalf.

the british wanted slave trade abolished more than anything else , they were seeking to arrest the ascendancy of the americans who established massive cotton plantations in the american south and gained commercial might as a result of the horrible practice.

After over 450 years of facilitating the slave trade, “the British wanted slave trade abolished more than anything else”? What a load of rubbish--as we say in the England.

Sir, the plantation owners were British who became Americans after America gained independence from Britain. You start a fire and then put it out after 500 years, and then you want the world to commend you for putting it out.

I don’t know what you have been reading but they sound like fiction to me. Sir, I partly blame our African education for our speculations; very few of us know much about the Slave trade or Africa for that matter.

@No Smoking
I wonder if your Irish minister in his well-researched delivery also told you that the Quakers had slaves before they saw the errors of their ways.

[No Smoking]

@Palamedes
Your revisionism is in a class of its own. It is an established fact that bature slavers waited on the shores for the native-slavers to deliver their consignments, for a fee.

Jesus Christ came to redeem those that were/are lost. A sinner that repents makes great rejoicing in the heavenly realms.

[DeepThought]

@No Smoking.
Pls let me have some of that good stuff too O!.

As I see it , they must be continuosly partying in heaven and have no time for anything else especially if we consider the amount of repenting going on in the world today. Don't Nigerian leaders repent on a daily basis and twice on Sundays?.

O.K , me sef, I just repented..... (again!). I wonder if I can charge heaven a fee?.

(Don't mind me O, sorry, I just couldn't resist looking for your trouble!)

[nero africanus]

Originally Posted by Palamedes

@nero africanus

Sir, “Things fall Apart” by Achebe is a fiction and NOT an authoritative source or truth about Igbo life or African life in general. Many Igbos and for that matter, many other ethnic groups in Nigeria and African would fail to recognise in their culture, the claims that you are making on their behalf.

After over 450 years of facilitating the slave trade, “the British wanted slave trade abolished more than anything else”? What a load of rubbish--as we say in the England.

Sir, the plantation owners were British who became Americans after America gained independence from Britain. You start a fire and then put it out after 500 years, and then you want the world to commend you for putting it out.

I don’t know what you have been reading but they sound like fiction to me. Sir, I partly blame our African education for our speculations; very few of us know much about the Slave trade or Africa for that matter.

@No Smoking
I wonder if your Irish minister in his well-researched delivery also told you that the Quakers had slaves before they saw the errors of their ways.

palamedes,

i grew up in a place where if you wanted a child to shut up , you will tell him or her that the kidnappers were coming.

this is pretty much like the italian "hannibal ad portas", ( hannibal is at the gates of rome)

you very much come across like somebody who loves to argue for its own sake and not for the sake of making a valid point .

the british commited several naval squadrons all over the west and central african coast to stop slavery , when ajdai crowder was rescued it was the british anti slavery squadrons who did and set them free at free town.

do you have a problem with my english or is it that you dont see the commitment of the british to ending slavery for their own reasons


now what is exactly your grouse,

that slavery was instituted in africa by the europeans or what.

or that the domestic slaves in igbo land have no descendants and as such we can sweep it under the carpet like you want us to.

who said anything anything about commending the british for ending slavery.

the portuguese started slavery on the commercial scale not the british

the fact of domestic slavery is not an opinion , it is a fact and part of our history.



palamedes ,

are you sober............................................. ..................

[Palamedes]

@nero africanus
>>you very much come across like somebody who loves to argue for its own sake and not for the sake of making a valid point.
Sir, I do it very well with facts NOT fiction. Further, I don’t think that using, as reference, a book of fiction and oral tradition as evidence of facts in a serious discussion is particularly making a valid point—is it? It is all about Knowledge.

(1)>>the british commited several naval squadrons all over the west and central african coast to stop slavery , when ajdai crowder was rescued it was the british anti slavery squadrons who did and set them free at free town.
Indeed? Assuming the claim were exact, who were the slavers the British were trying to stop?

(2)>>do you have a problem with my english or is it that you dont see the commitment of the british to ending slavery for their own reasons
Sir, your English compare to mine is far below standard—even if I say so myself.

>>or that the domestic slaves in igbo land have no descendants and as such we can sweep it under the carpet like you want us to.
No sir, as long as we don’t elevate the roles of the African collaborators to diminish the role of the perpetrators--I had to repeat myself for you.

>>who said anything anything about commending the british for ending slavery.
Sir, as a master of the English language yourself, one would expect you to understand the word “commend”, meaning, “to praise or express approval of (somebody or something)…”(The New Penguin English Dictionary). Now return to your comments in (1) and (2) above and justify to yourself that it is not a commendation.

>>the portuguese started slavery on the commercial scale not the british
The issue is beyond who started it, it is who facilitated, perpetrated and benefited from it most and then try to be holier than thou. Even with your PR for the British, we don’t buy it. Further, the British are not denying any of the facts about the African slavery and holocaust except you on their behalf. Sir, I don’t think the British need your help.

>>the fact of domestic slavery is not an opinion, it is a fact and part of our history.
You are confusing slavery with the arrangement where Africans from poor families are given away for marriages or work. These people are assimilated into their new families and culture; and most would go on to hold prominent positions in their adopted culture or adopted ethnic group. Further, most would maintain links with their original family. The modern equivalent is the “house boy” or “house girl”.

It is NOT slavery at all. No ethnic group in Nigeria would have stood by and have its people treated in the manner the British Slave owners treated their slaves in the Americas and Caribbean.

I wish you would read a little bit more about the treatments the African slaves received. Even if you only know a hundredth of what is there to know, you would stop belittling their privation, hardship, humiliation and pain by comparing it to what you call “domestic slavery” in Africa.

Sir, I have participated in other forums on this subject with mainly non Africans but very knowledgeable, and what never ceases to amass me is the level of ignorance, we Africans show on issues that are close to us. Yet we never cease to tell the rest of the world how intelligent and knowledgeable we are. This is why I condemn our African education for not telling us enough about our history.

[Jah Guda]

On Saturday 24 March, the Church of England organised a march through Central London to mark the 1807 Act Of Parliament that led to the abolition of Slave trade. I am still trying to figure out what the march was meant to achieve. On Sunday the front page of the Sunday times had a photograph of a white lady with one of those gigantic wooden padlocks around her neck, an image from the previous days procession. Again, what’s this about? We need positive action in the form of reparation, not silly token gestures that actually winds up Africans. We know that England was built from the proceeds of the Trans Atlantic slave trade. Take London as an example, the city of London-the Square Mile- was built from the proceeds of Slavery, the sea port around the Docklands were developed to receive goods, sugar, coffee etc, from America. English ships sailed to Africa, collected their human cargo then sailed to America where slaves were traded for consumer goods. The British in turn sold these consumer goods to the Europeans.
What was the driving force behind the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade? MONEY and cheap if not free labour. The Church of England has admitted that it was involved in Slavery big time. That a great percentage of the Church’s assets and wealth were as a result of the Church’s participation in the slave trade. Politicians have admitted that England benefited a great deal from the slave trade.
Rather than prance about the place wearing objects that were used to oppress Africans, why don’t they do the right thing? Compensate Africa for her great loss. Those who benefited from the trade in Africans should help Africa out of the quagmire she has been in since slavery deprived her of the opportunity to build her continent. What needs to be done is, for a period of 50 years, Europeans and Americans should send skilled workers, experts and money to Africa and build and maintain the infrastructure that will enable Africa stand on her own feet. We do not need aid or handouts; we need those who totally messed up the Continent to go back and do lots of good things to reverse the wrongs they did in the past. Not cash for individuals but infrastructure for Africa. So when next your Pastor, MP, Senator, Lecturer or Boss starts going on about how wrong slavery was, ask him politely if he would help us lobby the government to do what I have suggested above, I think it is about time, don’t you?

Jah Guda

[nero africanus]

Originally Posted by Palamedes

@nero africanus
>>you very much come across like somebody who loves to argue for its own sake and not for the sake of making a valid point.
Sir, I do it very well with facts NOT fiction. Further, I don’t think that using, as reference, a book of fiction and oral tradition as evidence of facts in a serious discussion is particularly making a valid point—is it? It is all about Knowledge.

the fact that africa could not read and write before the coming of the white man has necessitated the use of oral tradition which as flawed as it is the the only available record

(1)>>the british commited several naval squadrons all over the west and central african coast to stop slavery , when ajdai crowder was rescued it was the british anti slavery squadrons who did and set them free at free town.
Indeed? Assuming the claim were exact, who were the slavers the British were trying to stop?

if you dont know and accept this for a fact then i dont see the point of these exchange ,like i said before this is not an opinion , it is a fact and the least you could have done is check to disprove it since it is so obvious you dont believe it.

(2)>>do you have a problem with my english or is it that you dont see the commitment of the british to ending slavery for their own reasons
Sir, your English compare to mine is far below standard—even if I say so myself.

accepted, your english is better, palamedes .

when i asked about my english , i just wanted to be sure you understood what i was saying . but your english "compare" to mine is better

>>or that the domestic slaves in igbo land have no descendants and as such we can sweep it under the carpet like you want us to.
No sir, as long as we don’t elevate the roles of the African collaborators to diminish the role of the perpetrators--I had to repeat myself for you.

who said anything about collaboration in domestic slavery ,

domestic slavery existed before the coming of the white man and all the languages in nigeria i bothered to check have a word for it

>>who said anything anything about commending the british for ending slavery.
Sir, as a master of the English language yourself, one would expect you to understand the word “commend”, meaning, “to praise or express approval of (somebody or something)…”(The New Penguin English Dictionary). Now return to your comments in (1) and (2) above and justify to yourself that it is not a commendation.

you see palamedes this is where i have a problem with "your english being better than mine".
read these carefully

"abacha had a commitment to see that the ogoni people were subdued under him"

"the americans commited several war ships to the persian gulf. "

how on earth does any of these statements which is similar to one and two above amount to anything like commendation.

you dont even know what a commendation is and you cant seperate it from a statement of fact.

>>the portuguese started slavery on the commercial scale not the british
The issue is beyond who started it, it is who facilitated, perpetrated and benefited from it most and then try to be holier than thou. Even with your PR for the British, we don’t buy it. Further, the British are not denying any of the facts about the African slavery and holocaust except you on their behalf. Sir, I don’t think the British need your help.

what one earth are on on about, mister,

just what are you talking about ?

>>the fact of domestic slavery is not an opinion, it is a fact and part of our history.
You are confusing slavery with the arrangement where Africans from poor families are given away for marriages or work. These people are assimilated into their new families and culture; and most would go on to hold prominent positions in their adopted culture or adopted ethnic group. Further, most would maintain links with their original family. The modern equivalent is the “house boy” or “house girl”.

look at what you are doing to yourself, palamedes ,

behold , you are the only african who does not know that slavery existed in africa before the coming of the white man.

you are confusing houseboys and housegirls , which still exist in nigeria today ( people who run household errands in most cases in return for food , education and exposure ) with slavery people who were either captured in war and were not free to go or were actually bought with money and were not free to go

It is NOT slavery at all. No ethnic group in Nigeria would have stood by and have its people treated in the manner the British Slave owners treated their slaves in the Americas and Caribbean.

this is true , but it does not make it anything but slavery

I wish you would read a little bit more about the treatments the African slaves received. Even if you only know a hundredth of what is there to know, you would stop belittling their privation, hardship, humiliation and pain by comparing it to what you call “domestic slavery” in Africa.

palamedes,

who reduced the plight of the slaves , who did?

i merely pointed out the domestic slavery existed which for course you are devoting energy denying,





palamedes , you really need to do a lot of reading .

i cringe at what you are doing to yourself

here is a reading list i hope it will help


A History of African Societies to 1870 by Elizabeth Isichei (Paperback - 13 April 1997)

Ibo People and the Europeans: The Genesis of a Relationship by Elizabeth Isichei

Oyo Empire, C.1600-c.1836: West African Imperialism in the Era of the Atlantic Slave Trade (Modern Revivals in History) by Robin Law (Hardcover - 23 Jan 1992)

Trade and Politics in Niger Delta, 1830-85 (Oxford Studies in African Affairs) by Kenneth O. Dike (Hardcover - Dec 1956)

Groundwork of Nigerian History by Obaro Ikime (Paperback - April 2000)

Yoruba Warlords of the 19th Century by Toyin Falola and O.G. Oguntomisin (Paperback - 9 May 2001)

A Thousand years of West African history. by with a forword by K.O. Dike. ed. by J.F. Ade Ajayi and Ian Espie (Hardcover - 1967

Yoruba warfare in the nineteenth century by J. F. Ade Ajayi (1971)

West African Chiefs by Michael Crowder and Obaro Ikime

[Palamedes]

@Jah Guda

I couldn’t agree more. You are obviously a well-informed and thinking person showing the sort of awareness that is lacking among Africans—the ignoramus, apologist and spoke-persons who prefer to speak for the other side rather than Africa.

I bet you they will come complaining that that I have insulted them. I never!

[jthelmsdeep]

[QUOTE=Palamedes;163672]@nero africanus
>>you very much come across like somebody who loves to argue for its own sake and not for the sake of making a valid point.
Sir, I do it very well with facts NOT fiction. Further, I don’t think that using, as reference, a book of fiction and oral tradition as evidence of facts in a serious discussion is particularly making a valid point—is it? It is all about Knowledge.

Mr. Palamedes,

On this point I agree with Nero Africanus. You do often tend to come across as one who is arguing for the sake of argument and not necessarily to establish a valid counter position. Your above statement is an example of that fact. Simple logic should indicate that you cannot denounce a book, because it is a fictional account, as being without merit or validity in pointing to real life circumstances. That is the purpose of sattire in writing. It is to establish truths using allegorical examples so that actual names and accounts are not disclosed. Animal Farm was a sattire about the oppression of the masses, but we all know that pigs and other farm animals don't speak or stage revolts. Things Fall Apart is a sattirical account of real life situations and as such can be used to cite examples of real life issues.

[nero africanus]

Originally Posted by Palamedes

@Jah Guda

I couldn’t agree more. You are obviously a well-informed and thinking person showing the sort of awareness that is lacking among Africans—the ignoramus, apologist and spoke-persons who prefer to speak for the other side rather than Africa.

I bet you they will come complaining that that I have insulted them. I never!

mister ,


one thing i will not do is to hold brief or make apologies for the waste or the brutish(apologies eja)

i hold the west and the british in particular, responsible for a lot of things

however unlike you

what i will not do is to deny the facts .

it is not necessary

facts dont go away

THEY ARE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


THE INTEGRITY OF HISTORY NEEDS TO BE PRESERVED AT ALL TIMES


do you understand ,

go read my posts , who will find out what my world view is and what im on about.



one last thing

stay sober whenever you are coming to the NVS ....................................

[Palamedes]

@jthelmsdeep
Sir, declare your intensions for joining the debate or is it to continue your ill feeling towards Palamedes for his critique of your article. Well if you can’t take criticism, don’t write articles. Palamedes hold no malice towards those who have criticised his articles in the past, so GET OVER IT. Beside the title of the article says “Slavery: 200 Years Later (NVS Special )” NOT “Palamedes tends to come across as one who is arguing for the sake of argument

I can summarise my reply to your lecture -- to wit, that you don’t go into a history lecture with a book classified as fiction. The discussion here is about history of the slave trade with nero africanus and his silly attempt to exonerate the Europeans backed with his abracadabra, ghost facts and weird account of the genesis of slavery in African.

Despite trying to impress us with a list of books he himself have read, he is still unable to resolve his confusion as to the beginning of the slave trade--not that it is pertinent to the debate. Here according to him:

>>domestic slavery existed before the coming of the white man and then
>> the portuguese started slavery on the commercial scale not the british

Now what is one to make of this confusion?

I have quoted myself again and again and here is one more time—hopefully the last time:

The elevation of the roles of African collaborators.--The revisionist and our distractors are elevating the part played by African collaborators to the centre stage, knocking off the real perpetrators. I dare anyone to name a collaborator-free large scale atrocity in history.

Sir, you might see the debate on the African Slavery and Holocaust as argument for its own sake, I DON’T. It should be compulsory subject in all African schools and a national holiday should be set aside to remember it; monuments should be built and pilgrimage to the various site should be on the same par as pilgrimage to Mecca and Jerusalem.

[…] come across as one who is arguing for the sake of argument (SIGH !!!).

[No Smoking]

Originally Posted by jah guda

..What needs to be done is, for a period of 50 years, Europeans and Americans should send skilled workers, experts and money to Africa and build and maintain the infrastructure that will enable Africa stand on her own feet. We do not need aid or handouts; we need those who totally messed up the Continent to go back and do lots of good things to reverse the wrongs they did in the past. Not cash for individuals but infrastructure for Africa. So when next your Pastor, MP, Senator, Lecturer or Boss starts going on about how wrong slavery was, ask him politely if he would help us lobby the government to do what I have suggested above, I think it is about time, don’t you?

@jah guda
No, I don't think so. Africa is not backward today because her able-bodied youths were evacuated as slaves over 200 to 400 years ago.

The solution you proffer is plain risible. Japan, Vietnam and most of Europe were devastated by the great wars of the last century. All those countries have shaken off their huge losses and grown out of the ashes and rubbles. I can see why you want them to send over their skilled labour to build Africa.

What the likes of Palamedes and yourself need to ask yourselves is simple: What is the real cause of the African backwardness?? The answer is not too far from the surface, if you look at the types of leaders - Mugabe, Nguema, Idi Amin, Abacha. Then look at the types of youths who burn down buildings and beat their teachers to death.

Cry, Beloved Continent.

[I Love Nigeria]

The links below.... contain various thoughts on the plights and predicaments of Africans and Africa..... from antiquity to the present.... from Slavery to Colonialism-Neo-colo and outside interferences, intermeddling etc


http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/...nd-coun-3.html

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/...ng-vic-11.html


http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/...t-bahamas.html

http://www.bahamian.dynamohosting.ne...c=view&id=1651

http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/ar...rld-Works.html

[tatafo]

the whole slavery thing exist today- Even as we celebrate it's formal ending

See the news item below

Smugglers toss Africa migrants overboard By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Writer
Mon Mar 26, 4:14 PM ET

Smugglers taking illegal migrants from Somalia to Yemen forced hundreds of Africans overboard in stormy seas in an effort to make a fast getaway from security forces, officials said Monday. Thirty-one bodies have been found and nearly 90 people remained missing.

Passengers who resisted the smugglers were stabbed or beaten with wooden and steel clubs, then thrown into the water where some were attacked by sharks, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said, citing survivors.

"Several recovered bodies showed signs of severe mutilation," UNHCR said. "Survivors also reported that several Ethiopian women and at least one Somali were raped and abused by the smugglers during the voyage from Bosaso in Somalia's Puntland region. Survivors also alleged that some Yemeni security forces confiscated their money once they reached shore."

Yemeni officials said several boats were involved in Thursday's incident. The dead and missing came from a single wooden boat that was carrying around 120 people, said an official from the local government in coastal Shabwa province.

Eight bodies were found Thursday, and another 23 were taken out of water over the past couple of days, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

Another 450 people forced out of other boats at the same time have been rescued, he said. The UNHCR put the number of dead at 29, with 71 missing.

It was the latest case of smuggler brutality involving boats carrying people across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia and the Horn of Africa. It brings the total number of dead and missing among people trying to reach Yemen so far this year to 264.

"We are horrified by this latest tragedy," said Erika Feller, the UNHCR's assistant high commissioner for protection.

The victims are people "who are desperate to escape persecution, violence and poverty in the Horn of Africa," she said.

A similar incident occurred on Saturday, when smugglers forced 140 people into the water elsewhere along the coast. All the migrants were believed to have been rescued, Yemeni officials said. Two other boats carrying 330 Somalis and Ethiopians arrived in Yemen on Saturday, but no casualties were reported, the UNHCR said.

Since January 2006 at least 30,000 people have fled violence and hardship in Somalia and Ethiopia for Yemen, according to UNHCR. About 500 people have died and at least 300 are missing and believed dead.

Out of 88,000 registered refugees in Yemen, about 84,000 are Somali, UNHCR said.