Goree Island -- A resort/tourist Island or a memorial/historical site for the African Diaspora

Goree Island

Each year so many people go to visit Goree Island which is less than 5 miles from Dakar and when you walk into the port at Dakar there is always a sense of excitement.   People have the look of a vacation, a resort or just a day of nice lunch and a swim on the beach.

The Port of Dakar for boarding (Badji and other HU students in the picture) 

But I wonder why I never feel have that feeling nor have I ever felt like that in the many times that I have been  there since 1993.  There is a cost to go to take the ferry to Goree --- 10 dollars round-trip if you are a foreigner and 1 dollar tax to help maintain Goree.  I ain't mad at that because they need income.  The real question is what is so special about Goree and why is more than a storefront.  

When you go to Goree, there are people asking if you want to go to the slave house.   But it is not visible from the shore and hidden back in the cut.  When you arrive you see kids swimming and restaurants and people chilling on the beach.  Merchants buzzing around asking you for a tour of the island and to buy beads, bracelets and clothing.  It does appear to be a resort.  

The beach at Goree

It is only after walking round a bit on the island that you find a inconspicuous place called the Slave house.

President Obama at the House of the enslaved

This one remaining slave house on Goree was preserved by the late Joseph Ndiaye who kept the voices of the ancestors alive by not allowing the history of Goree to be washed away in the history books or by tourism.   Mr. Ndiaye was a force to be respected because of his commitment to the truth and legacy of the enslaved that happened on Goree.   I first had the honor of meeting Mr. Ndiaye in 1993 on my first visit to Senegal.  Up until his untimely death, I always went to Goree and in particular to see the master, Mr. Ndiaye at work.    I continue to visit Goree each year.   

The late Joseph Ndiaye

During the great gathering in 1995 -- the Million Man March in Washington DC, Mr. Joseph Ndiaye was one of the speaker.  That was really special to hear him and I am sure that it was equally special to see the sons of the enslaved ancestors stand before him and listen.

Mr. Joseph Ndiaye's Million March Picture

Upon entrance, you always see a beautiful set of stairs but it is a mysterious door that grabs your attention which opens to the sea.  You have a momentary thought about it,....something fearful about that door.

The Door of No Return 

But you are directed to your left to other rooms in a very short time your heart begins to sink into a place that is dark and fearful where the reality begins to creep in on you as you walk in.   Rooms for children, men, woman, infants and those considered rebels.

Cell for the Recalcitrants 

As you move towards the end of the tour, the place becomes very dark and lonely.  It as if you can feel that each ancestor was afraid and alone.  They approached that final place which would take them to another world or beyond this life if they did not survive the middle passage.

Everything is leading you to slaveships where are docked off of Goree waiting to move human Cargo.  Just one more door.... Been here suffering for the last 90 days and no one to come and save me.

The door of no return

The ancestors think: It is here where our memories will be lost, our hope has finally faded.  Will we be remembered???

Yes, you will be remembered and loved again because Joseph Ndiaye did not let us forget you.

We will not forget you because we will come back.  Yes there will be feelings of sadness, tears and anger but we are grateful because through your sacrifice we are here.  Your life was not in vain.

Those who returned to the door of no return.

Which brings me back to my original statement about should entire island of Goree be a memorial or historical site to the African diaspora -- whether you are from Brazil, Haiti, South Carolina, California, the Bahamas or Barbados?   I was watching CNN the other morning and they were talking about the economic disparities in Brazil at the World Cup 2014.  A foreigner who lived in this neighborhood for 35 years was asked why it was so bad there.  His answer:  The are children of slaves (enslaved).   He is right and the same types of disparities can be seen at many places in the African diaspora. 

Map of where the enslaved were taken to.

When you go south into Gambia, and visit James Island -- Where Kunta Kinte (ROOTS) was captured the island is a uninhabited and the rising sea is going to take it away.  It seems fitting for a place where humans were captured, held and traded for hundreds of years.  

James Island in Gambia

 Slavery on Goree may have begun as early as 1444 by the Portuguese and continued until 1815 (French).  Even if we are being conservative, the slave business was on the island for probably 300 years.  I am told that there were 28 slave houses, which held between 150-300 persons for up to 90 days before they were shipped out.  This is easily several million persons to have been held on this Island over the 300 year period.    It is unclear how many died from sickness and were thrown to the sharks that were known to swim around the island.   So when I am putting my feet in the water at Goree, I frequently think  that Goree  is not like other beaches.  These waters carry something sacred.

I watch the kids have fun and when the boat takes us back to Dakar, the boys are always asking people to throw coins to them in the water.  This practice makes me very angry  and is not respectful because of what happened on this island.  

Boys near the ferry asking for coins to be thrown in the water.

  While it seems like a lot of fun, and the kids are diving off the boat, that nagging feeling about Goree remains.  

Boy Jumping off the Ferry at Goree 

 I know that no matter how many times I go to Goree, there will always be a feeling of sadness and yet hope because I am alive due to someone who survived the middle passage.   Goree is a living memorial because of Joseph Ndiaye.   I am sure that I will ever be able to think of it as a resort.....I am certain of it.

Thanks Mr. Joseph Ndiaye.  Maybe we should begin the dialogue of rebuilding and restoring Goree for what it represents and its connections the rest of the African Diaspora.