Benin and Slavery

Our bus from Niamey to Benin was eventful. After receiving a Visa that was only good for 48 hours - instead of the 1 month Visa we were expecting - we were forced to head all the way to Cotonou, on the coast, in order to get a proper Visa. The bus wound up being 16.5 hours (instead of the 9 had our Visa allowed us to stop where we had planned). The buses in Africa sit 5 people across, do not have air-con, stop for prayer, and everbody seems to have three or four carry-ons (kind of like you, Mom, when you get on a plane). Obviously, this creates a disgusting amount of heat that cannot be escaped. All in all, it was probably the longest day of the trip. Even the pinasse trip offered bright spots during the course of each day. As a result, our plans changed and we took the few days we needed for our Visas to be ready to head for Ouidah, a town that was an important slave-trading port.

On the first day we visited the musuem in Ouidah (in what was once the Portuguese fort), where we were shown how the slave-trade was conducted from this now peaceful town. The next day we walked from the old Portuguese fort down "La Route des Esclaves" ('The route of the slaves') - a 4km walk that ends at the Atlantic Ocean. As we came through the bush to the shore, I was taken aback by the angry sound of the water. The waves crashed down on the shore with such a vengence that I believe it is aware of the past atrocities commited on it's shoreline. I then realised how daunting the scene would have been for the slaves - many of whom would have never before seen the Ocean - as they were led in chains onto a ship bigger than any they had seen before, as it rested on what must have appeared as the ends of the Earth. Add to this the inhumane treatment of the slaves and the seperation of their families, and you might be able to have a glimpse into the sense of despair upon these people as they were lead away from the only land they knew (but probably not). How any human-being could have rationalized this treatment of another is incomprehensible to me. May the souls of those involved - the slaves and those who exploited them - find peace in death.

I do not know what else to say about Ouidah and this experience, so I will take what a wise man (aka my Father) pointed out to me and elaborate with thoughts of my own: 20 years ago white people in South Africa hardly blinked before killing blacks and they were rarely, if ever, prosecuted for it. 45 years ago in the USA blacks were targeted with water hoses and dogs while fighting for their civil rights (the same 'God-given' rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence). Thankfully, South Africa is making strides towards improvement, and the United States has a man of African descent running for the Presidency... While the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr, is far from being realized (if it ever truly can be), change is possible, and we must hold onto - and fight for - our dreams.