America
Monument to victims of slave trade unveiled with Indian contribution
United Nations, March 26
India paid tributes to
the human rights defenders who fought to abolish slavery and indentured
labour at the unveiling at the UN headquarters in New York Wednesday of
a monument to the victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and
slavery. India, which contributed $260,000, was the main donor to the
Permanent Memorial Trust Fund for monument.
Delivering the
opening remarks at the unveiling of the monument, India's Permanent
Representative Asoke Kumar Mukerji recalled the work of the human rights
defenders who waged a sustained campaign to end slave trade. "The
vigilance of these activists ensured that other laws passed to
circumvent the banning of slavery, such as the use of indentured labour,
with Mahatma Gandhi called 'a remmnant of slaver,' were similarly
repealed," he said.
Mukerji noted the symbolism of locating the
monument in New York not far from the Statue of Liberty, the icon of
freedom and democracy. "The Ark of Return unveiled here today is in many
ways a counterpoint to the Statue of Liberty" he said. "Each memorial
illuminates the meaning of the other."
Called The Ark of Return,
the multifaceted white marble monument, has a motif of triangles with a
sculpture of an African person at its center and a waterfall
representing the tears of the 15 million men, women and children who
were sent across the Atlantic as slaves.
The monument was formally inaugurated by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and General Assembly President Sam Kutesa.
"I
hope descendants of the Transatlantic Slave Trade will feel empowered
as they remember those who overcame this brutal system and passed their
rich cultural heritage from Africa on to their children," Ban said.
The
monument was itself designed by one such person, Rodney Leon,a
descendant of slaves taken from Africa to Haiti. "It makes me feel
extremely proud that I can play a role and a part in the commemoration
of such an important and historic day," he was quoted in a UN report.
The American architect won the design competition from among the 310
contestants from 83 countries.
"The majority of the victims of
this brutal, primitive trade in human beings remain unnamed and
unknown," Kutesa said. It is "an opportunity to celebrate the legacy of
those unknown and unnamed enslaved Africans and honour their proud
contribution to our societies, our institutions and our world."
Slavery
has not entirely disappeared and persists with 21 million people now
trapped in forced labour, he said "We have an obligation to stop modern
slavery in whatever form it may be disguised."
Absent from the
dais at the unveiling were representatives of the US, Britain and other
European nations that participated in the slave trade.
(Arul Louis can be contacted at [email protected])