Angola accepts root communities

24 August - Angola would not stop at merely accepting its root communities and descendents from Angolan natives overseas, it is now developing a new form of solidarity with them, Angolan Minister of Culture, Boaventura Cardoso, spills the beans.

Minister Cardoso, who addressed the abolition of slavery day in the capital Luanda on Thursday believes this will enable the gathering of data on the route of Angolans shipped abroad as slaves.

United Nations for Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) set aside 23 August as the World Day on Slavery Abolition celebration.

According to historians, a revolt by slaves in the Santo Domingo island (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) on 23 August, 1791, was a turning point in the abolition of trans-atlantic slave trade.

The Angolan Minister said so many Angolan descendents are living overseas in countries such as Argentina, Panamá, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Describing the day as a true reflection of memory for humanity, the Angolan Minister therefore exhorted Angolans to recognise day's importance.

He challenged Angolan specialists to conduct research on slave trade so that its economic, social and cultural impact on the development of their country could be known.

Hundred of thousands of Africans were captured and shipped to the United States [the new world] where they were forced to work on plantations. Most of the slaves lost their countries of origin and descendents.

By staff writer

Good luck in their quest because I think they'll surely need it.

I've always found it a bit unfair how all these 'back to Africa' programs seemingly IGNORE the fact that most people of African descent STILL LIVE IN Africa and instead spend too much time 'sending out invitations" to everyone OUTSIDE OF AFRICA- despite the fact that many of these people could give a rat's ass about Africa or their own African blood.