Sierra Leone: Remembering the Days of Slavery

Concord Times (Freetown)

1 January 2008
Posted to the web 3 January 2008

Pel Koroma

Banana Island, the Isle of Remembrance of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade has won the hearts of the Carlton- Carew EP Foundation by giving the historic Island a Museum Site and a temporary library, on land that was provided by the inhabitants for construction, that was laid by the Honorable Minister of Lands and Country Planning, Retired Captain Benjamin O. Davies.

Also recognized on that day was the mass grave (dumped hole), of the unfortunate African Slaves who lost their lives while in transit at Banana Island and, giving equipments and drugs to the poorly equipped lone Community Health center on the Island Vice Chair Person of the Carlton- Carew EP Foundation Cynthia Jarrett- Thorpe said she visited the Slave Island last year and felt the need to help the people of Banana Island.

Present at the ceremony were African -Americans whose ancestors happened to be slaves transported along the Atlantic Coast. At the mass grave site (dumped hole), tears roll down as people especially the African-Americans felt equally the pains the ancestors went through in the hands of their slave masters. The old Slave Fort is to be preserved. So also were the cannons still found on the Island that were used to protect their slave business against other slave invaders The African- Americans led by Al Maader on board the symbolic Amistad Boat arrived in Sierra Leone recently to trace their origin, which they believed was Sierra Leone.

According to Al Maader, Sengbe Pieh was the first Human Right activist on the soil of America.

He was the Sierra Leanean slave that fought his way to freedom by rebelling onboard the Amistad Slave ship on the Atlantic Ocean.

Banana Island has an inhabitant of 250 people, mostly farmers and fishermen. The Carlton- Carew EP Foundation got triggered to help with the poor conditions of the people on the Island. The Island badly needed medical facility to augment their ailing circumstance. The Oldest man on the Island Mr. Emeric OReilly, 92 expressed gratitude to the Carlton -Carew EP Foundation for helping his village community. He said they will make proper use of the drugs. Before now, they used to painstakingly take sick people across the sea and most times the people die along the way.

Cynthia Jarrett- Thorpe said that it is good for people to know their origins. She said as Creoles, they should know that slavery is their origin and should explore avenues to maintain their history and heritage.

This idea pushed them to return to the Slave Island of Banana whose inhabitants are impoverished out of neglect and the need to up hold the slave historic sites on the Island. The Carlton-Carew EP Foundation will appreciate well wishers willing to help the people of Banana Island and the efforts of erecting a Museum, Library and Community Center and protecting the Mass grave Site of their Slave Ancestors on the Island.

The Deputy Minister of Health, Hon. Sheku Koroma officially opened the health center.

The Foundation is calling on everyone to purchase a stone in the name of his or her ancestor to rebuild the Fort.