Gorée, the island of the slaves
The Island of Gorée, declared Patrimony of the Humanity by UNESCO, is located against the coast of Senegal, country to which belongs, three kilometers of Dakar, the capital. In the past, it belonged to the Portuguese, the Dutch, English and the French.
One became, for more than three centuries, in one of the most important markets of slaves, that they went, mainly, to the United States, to the Caribbean and Brazil. This active commerce of slaves even began before the Portuguese constructed the first House of slaves in 1536 and he stayed until, in 1848, France abolished the slavery.
One calculates that about twenty million men, women and children were kidnapped in their sold villages and to tratantes that settled down in this island.
The architecture of the island shows the subhuman conditions in which the slaves lived until the luxury and the comforts were sold and which the dealers enjoyed.
Towards the 1784, a afro-French built the House of slaves, who UNESCO conserves like museum. This residence had two different and separated zones completely: in the plant superior, with all the luxuries and comforts, the well-off family lived on the dealer; in the dismal cellars, men, women and children hacinaban themselves (up to 50 by room), placed back with back and chained like animal. They only could leave the rooms one hour once to the day.
In the House there was a room for the men; a room to reclaim weight; another one for the adult women; another one for the young women; and one for the children. The tratantes tried at all costs that the weeping of the children were not listened to by their mothers, to avoid that the suffering harmed its state of health and, therefore, their economic value. More of a third of the caught children they died there.
The women had a price superior to the men. The qualities that were valued more in them were the health, the chest and the set of teeth. Also the children were appreciated by their set of teeth and the healthful thing who seemed at the time of the transaction. The men had to weigh 60 kilos at least.
All the slaves were exhibited in the outer perrons of the House of the Slaves. There they were manipulated like animal to examine them and thus to be able to discuss the price. In the part superior of the perrons a balcony exists from where the merchants and tratantes agreed themselves in the price of each person.
Once closed the treatment, the slaves were lead to the place in which they were embarked. The dark and narrow tunnel that they had to cross until arriving at the boats knew with the name of “the place of where it is not returned”.
At the end of the long and sinister gallery it was appraised the light of the sun and the sea. When arriving here, the families saw themselves for the last time.
Later, the members of the family separated and were transferred to different places from America. They raised boats took that them to the boats, moment this one in which the esclavistas, frequently, “made cleaning”, eliminating the slaves who were lost their health that sent to the infested sea of sharks.
UNESCO conserves east place, of great tourist demand, so that the terrible suffering stays in the memory that during centuries human beings were able to cause to others. Then, as he maintains Koïchiro Matsuura, Chief of a main directorate of UNESCO:
” This infamous place is now a universal sanctuary, where all we, from each continent, can come and commemorate, in the pain, the tragedy once inflicted by human beings like us on other individuals of our own species.”
Can pass me that song that they have?