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UN highlights human cost of transatlantic slave trade — Global Issues


In a celebratory event in the General Assembly Hall that included speeches by Member States from around the world, top United Nations officials condemned racism and discrimination .

In his opening speech, President of the General AssemblyAbdulla Shahid, calling greater commitment to social justice and the honor of all communitiesregardless of caste, creed or skin color.

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He also spoke personally about his visit to the island of GoréeTurn off The coast of Senegal was, from the 15th to the 19th centuries, the largest center of the slave trade in Africa.

Solidarity with victims is the least we can do,” said President Shahid. “We must act to address these inequalities. ”

Secretary General António Guterres also talk about obstacles are faced by people of African descent, who are “often among the last” to quality health care, education, justice and other opportunities.

He noted that ending racism is imperative for justice, adding that “This imperative concerns all of us – we all have a responsibility to stand up and speak out in solidarity against racism wherever, whenever we face it. ”

Story of courage

The theme of this year’s anniversary event is Stories of Courage: Against Slavery and Solidarity Against Racism.

Some of them were narrated by Nikole Hannah-Jones, keynote speaker at the event, and creator of The New York Times’ Project 1619, which aims to address the consequences of slavery in the United States, and the contributions of black Americans. , more at the heart of the national narrative.

A descendant of slaves whose families turned sharers in the southern United States, Hannah-Jones tells how her grandmother ran away to “sow the seeds of a freedom she herself would never see”.

Hannah-Jones notes that “As we remember our brutal subjugation by those who consider themselves civilized, we must remember the fierce tradition of black resistance.. ”

She notes Zumbi dos Palmares in Brazil, the Queen Maroons’ nanny in Jamaica and the independence of Haiti as some examples, noting that “protestation remains the legacy of slavery”.

Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times and creator of Project 1619, speaks at the United Nations General Assembly commemoration meeting marking International Day of Remembrance for Victims slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

UN photo / Manuel Elias

Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times and creator of Project 1619, speaks at the United Nations General Assembly commemoration meeting marking International Day of Remembrance for Victims slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

Equiano.Stories

Resistance is also the subject of Equiano.Stories, a film based on the memoirs of Olaudah Equiano, who, after decades of slavery, was able to buy her freedom. He wrote about his life in Interesting life story of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African.

His story is told through first-person video, still images, and text, as if Equiano had a cell phone in 1756. The result was an Instagram feed of a big boy. Raised in a village in West Africa, then kidnapped and sold. become a slave.

Equiano stories connect us with the past in a way that is often difficult for us to achieveespecially when we often see the past as something long, distant and hard to recognize,” said President Shahid.

The film was introduced by producer Mati Kochavi during a special event organized by the Office of the President of the General Assembly, with the participation of the Permanent Delegs of Israel, Jamaica, Senegal, the United States of America and the European Union. Fly.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams attended the event, in his first visit to United Nations Headquarters since taking office in January 2022.

Addressing participants, Mayor Adams drew parallels between the evils in the film and today’s global evils, such as accelerating climate change, hunger and conflict.

Urging multilateral action, he said, “The UN is not a symbolic building, it should be a rallying cry.”



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