As painful as the walk down
one of the old slave routes in Africa may be, the incredible amount of history and knowledge one could gain from such an
experience is worth any number of potential tears the walk may evoke. For many, Africa is a country painted with images
of poverty, AIDS, bushmen, tribes, and fierce lions found on safaris. For many, not all African-Americans, much of what
they know about their ancestors is like a horrid nightmare. Mothers, fathers, and children ripped from each other and
from their land to be deported across the transatlantic and sold. French historian Jean-Michel Deveau calls the slave
trade "the greatest tragedy in the history of humanity in terms of scale and duration." UNESCO has a great intercultural piece on the slave route in
addition to info on the ‘International
Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23.’
Right now I’d like to turn your
attention to one of many places you can walk the slave route and visit museums filled with stories and detailed
accounts of what times where like in Guinea
during the time of slave trade. Most of the slaves taken from Guinea made their way to South Carolina where they were
shipped to help with the country’s rice industry. According to this online African Travel mag, there is an old slave fort in Boké
Village which features abandoned holding cells, underground passages and hideouts where slaves kept out of general
view. This particular travel website is one of the better resources for helping plan your Guinea cultural and
historical outing.
Guinea is a west African country bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Guinea-Bissau
and Sierra Leone. Additional web sources include Lonely Planet and Travel Notes.