November 23, 2024 06:52 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
'Third World War has begun:' Ex-Ukraine military commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny | UK-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations to resume in early 2024 | UK can arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits country based on ICC warrant | Centre to send over 10,000 additional soldiers to violence-hit Manipur amid fresh violence | Chhattisgarh: 10 Maoists killed during encounter with security forces in Sukma
Students gather at UN to ‘Remember Slavery,’ honour those who suffered brutal slave trade

Students gather at UN to ‘Remember Slavery,’ honour those who suffered brutal slave trade

| @indiablooms | 28 Apr 2018, 07:29 am

New York, Apr 28 (IBNS): Students from around the world joined United Nations and Government officials in New York on Friday to celebrate the contributions made by the people of African descent, beginning from the time they were taken from their countries and forced into generations of servitude.

Speaking to UN News prior to the event, Missouri Sherman-Peter, the Permanent Observer for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to the UN, highlighted the importance of recognizing the heritage of those compelled into slavery, and informing the younger generation of what happened centuries ago.

“Knowledge is power, and you can’t begin to resolve problems, address them or recognize and be proud of what you are unless you have the knowledge,” she said.

“When you bring students to think that way, the problems and differences [among people] become less when everyone understands what happened […] was horrific. But we are moving on and we can only move on with the young people with us.”

For over 400 years, more than 15 million men, women and children have been victims of the tragic transatlantic slave trade, one of the darkest chapters in human history.

Christian Crouch, an Associate Professor of History and Director of American Studies, Bard College outlined the ordeals they faced.

“Five years is the number of years a slave survived in a sugar plantation that was nothing more than a factory in a field,” she told young people at the commemorative event.

Responding to a question from schoolchildren in Tanzania, Crouch explained that the consequences of the transatlantic slave trade continue to reverberate.

“Slavery still flourishes in many places and not only on the African continent. It exists in different forms on every continent of the world,” she said.

The student conference, held as part of the UN Remember Slavery Programme, is organized every year in spring to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

It will be followed by educational activities throughout the year, including roundtable discussions, film screenings, an exhibition and tours, including to the Ark of Return, the Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Commemorative events are also organized around the world by UN offices and Information Centres to raise awareness on the causes, consequences, lessons and legacy of the transatlantic slave trade.

UN News/María Morera

 

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Related Images
Xi Jinping, Putin in Russia 22 Mar 2023, 02:56 pm
Related Videos