Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Today I visited the two castles in the area, Cape Coast and Elmina. Elmina (was originally called St. Georges) was built by the Portuguese in 1482 as a trading fort, initially for goods like gold and ivory, but then eventually for slaves. It was then overtaken by the Dutch in 1637 and then sold to the British in 1872, who used it for administrative purposes (their slave housing facility was Cape Coast) as well as for training police and military (local blacks) until Ghana’s liberation in 1957.
As I mentioned, Cape Coast Castle was Britain's slave dungeons as well as, with Elmina, housed, in the upper levels, their administrators (i.e. governors), military men, clergymen (for the Castle's church and even school for the raped slaves mixed children) and any European visitors (most of the wives of those stationed here did not visit due to fear of illness, hence the proclivity to raping slaves). It was astounding to think of the Europeans having "ordinary" lives above, while thousands of slaves were below (and the more rebellious, close by, on the main level, in deadly solitary confinement cells, experiencing slow death lacking food, water, light and air) corralled like cattle in dark dungeons below, wallowing in their own vomit, waste, dead, and the occasional food matter or water thrown in from above through holes in the walls).
I was surprised to hear today (I shouldn't have been though) that the kings of warring regions would kidnap and turn over the opposing region's people as slaves to their allied European trade partners so they served as supporters of the slave trade themselves!
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| The steep stairwell female slaves were forced down from the dungeons to the corridor to the door of no return |
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| The final corridor and last piece African homeland "soil" |
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| Slaves stepped through this door (or, in Elmina, a slim gap in the wall) to the awaiting ships or boats |
It was such a gut wrenching experience both figuratively and literally. The guide for Elmina “pulled no punches”, telling it exactly as it was and the images this brought to my mind were excruciatingly vivid accompanied by the lingering smells in the dungeons, made for an emotional experience. I cannot believe we can do such things to one another and yet, even today similar atrocities are happening. I spoke at length to the guide (who is involved in politics and had interesting views, ending his tour telling us to spread the word and awareness about atrocities such as this) at Cape Coast Castle about Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leon and the Congo about the child soldier and labour issues among others, like the corruption and the pitting of Nigerian against Nigerian over oil. 
When you stand back and look at all of the world’s issues, from environmental devastation to conflict, corruption and cruelty through our human ignorance or immaturity, I do fear that we are at a place of “too little too late” with the baby steps of positive initiatives like Adumasa Link, Rotary, Joyce’s Nutri-Health International, environmental conservation and protection projects, those of us who are live according to reducing our environmental impact etc.. The cynical side of me looks at whole countries like Ghana or large industries pumping out toxins into our environment daily and thinking the individual environmental efforts of people, like me, make virtually no difference and the charities like Adumasa Link are necessary because of the lack of support of their own privileged people and ineffective and corrupt governments. What will become of us I wonder? What more devastation will we wreak in the meantime? What of 2012? I had hoped it was the culmination or turning point of our enlightenment as a species, but at times like this, I find myself doubting this possibility. Elephants and giraffes used to roam these areas, monkeys and hundreds of bird species filled the trees, (now relegated to minute patches of reserve land) and now you look around and see only people (and too many children), their garbage, chickens, goats and magpies.Only a few border crossings to the east, there are Nigerians burning their countrymen villages down (and murdering and raping their people) to free the land for oil exploitation (for Shell), and, to the west, child slaves and soldiers being kidnapped from their families. I do have to wonder and do, indeed, find myself doubting our capability to turn this boat around (an appropriate metaphor).
An interesting, uplifting note: I was walking up the stairs after leaving the female slaves dungeon today at Elmina Castle, feeling very emotional, and found a tiny black feather. I stuck it in my notebook. While at the Cape Coast Castle, in the male slave dungeon, I found a tiny white feather. Hmmm.. Freedom? Unity in diversity? Contrast? Light and dark? I do love the symbolism and the serendipity and, thankfully, this serves to strengthen my tenuous grasp on hope and faith.
Now for a little light banter: I noted today that there is no red dust coating everything here, that the packed dirt ground is more of a beige than the red of the Asante region (a geologist could explain I’m sure) and that, I gather, it is not nearly as dry as we are on the Coast. I don’t return home feeling like I am caked with dirt, which is nice.
My kindly taxi driver drove me to a stand in town after the tours for me to get a cheap bowl of rice and sauce for my supper and I splurged and bought myself a beer (Gulder) at the Lodge’s bar before heading up to my room for a quiet dinner and drink.
By the way, they speak Fanti here, which is quite similar to Twi, but not exact. I also find that most people speak English here and well, compared to those in Kumasi, again, another example of the impact of this being a port city, greatly impacted by its long-standing history of trade with the Europeans.
Tomorrow I will most likely go to Kakum National Park (far larger than those I've visited thus far at 350km2) about 45 minutes north of here and then spend late afternoon and early evening hanging out at a recommended beach, listen and maybe dance to some African drumming, amid a holiday kind of beach frolic atmosphere… oh yeah. Nice way to spend my last day. Thursday I will sleep in, take my time getting organized, maybe take a walk on the beach and then take an afternoon bus to Accra.
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