Emotional journey marks Emancipation Day, African in diaspora urged to invest in homeland
A line-up of traditional rulers, political leaders, diasporan tourists and others, on Thursday, relived the tortuous narrative of slave trade in an emotional depiction of cruelty on humanity.
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On this leg of the Emancipation Day celebration, they walked the path of no-return, said to have seen the last footprints of Ghanaians that suffered the ill fate of slave shipment from the country to the Americas.
That path at Assin Manso in the Central Region has become an iconic site to remember one of humanity's worst actions.
For years, it has been preserved not just as a focal centre for the annual celebration of Emancipation Day, but as a useful reference for even academic work.
It was at this site that a colourful traditional durbar of chiefs and Africans in the diaspora climaxed the Emancipation Day celebrations, with a call on Africans in the diaspora to come back to the continent and invest to help push it towards economic freedom.
Traditional chiefs from the area in their colourful regalia graced the occasion.
There was a cultural dance display by the Assin Manso Senior High School, while other individuals performed dances and poetry recitals that added excitement to the ceremony.
The Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, said the event had been the celebration of the African spirit, and must be solidified to totally emancipate individuals and communities towards prosperity.
This year's celebration was on the theme: "Unity and resilience: Building a stronger community for a brighter future".
He said it was essential to strengthen the African family, rewrite the narrative of our history and stimulate energies towards development and prosperity.
He said the Beyond the Return celebration instituted towards building bridges between Africans in the diaspora and those on the continent had been immensely successful, adding that the ministry would work with the relevant stakeholders towards improving tourism facilities to further promote Emancipation Day celebrations and tourism in general.
To that end, Mr Mercer added that, the ministry would initiate efforts towards consolidating the Emancipation Day with the Pan African Historical Festival into an annual programme to further promote tourism.
The minister, who is himself a lawyer, called for resilience towards any forms of oppression and injustice in Ghanaian communities.
Brighter future partnerships
In a speech read on her behalf, the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan, said the celebration should be used for partnerships for a brighter future for the global African family.
"On this soil here in Assin Manso that we stand, we can always recount the dark history of what our ancestors went through. But we will not let that slow us down. We can renew our minds and come together to forge a brighter future for the global African family," she stated.
"That is why we are gathered, that ‘yes we remember the past, but we are looking forward to the future of possibilities and a brighter future for the global Africa family’," she added.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin South Constituency, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, said it was essential to promote unity towards economic emancipation.
He said the ills of the rather unfortunate trans-Atlantic slave trade had helped to shape the lives of the people of the continent, as Africans in the diaspora continued to make iconic contributions to global development.
Rev. Fordjour urged Africans in the diaspora to take on African names and to come back to invest in the continent.
He said the slave trade saw over 12.5 million Africans taken across the oceans under inhumane conditions to destinations unknown, and stripped of their rights.
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Rev. Fordjour also paid tribute to those who perished on the journeys across the oceans as well to Nana Kwame Nkyi of the Assin Apimanim Traditional Area and his people for their support for the Emancipation Day celebrations.
Gateway to homeland
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Akwasi Agyeman, said Ghana's claim to be the gateway to the homeland was grounded on the fact that the country was the major exit point for the slave trade.
He stated that the theme for the celebration was indicative of Ghana's commitment to the liberation of all sons and daughters of African descent everywhere.
Mr Agyeman said as the present generation celebrated and acknowledged the unity and resilience of the ancestors, the same unity must propel them to bounce back from challenges in order to emerge stronger.
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The GTA CEO added that the same unity must be channeled into the energies towards building stronger communities, renewing commitment to the principles of freedom, justice and equity which the ancestors fought for.
The GTA boss said that must propel the leadership of the continent to seek skills for the youth to enhance socio-economic development.
He said it was a relief that the Atlantic Ocean was not a barrier between those on the continent and in the diaspora.
Mr Agyeman urged the youth to promote peace as the nation went to the polls in December.
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The Omanhene of the Apimanim Traditional Area, Barima Kwame Nkyi, called for reinforcement of local traditional values which identified the people as Africans.
He also called for respect for the country's natural resources, including the forests and water bodies.
Wreaths were laid at the tombs of two persons of African descent at the memorial gardens at Assin Manso.