5/5 Arban S. 4 years ago on Google
The
House
of
Slaves
on
Gorée
Island,
Senegal
is
just
such
a
place.
The
island
itself,
resting
off
the
coast
of
Dakar,
the
capital
of
Senegal
emits
a
rather
sombre
vibe,
something
that
more
resembles
a
graveyard
than
a
tropical
island.
There
seems
to
be
a
respectful
understanding
that
underneath
the
gentle
sound
of
the
sea
breeze
lurks
the
pain
and
silent
screams
of
its
past.
Acting
as
a
stopover
where
outbound
African
slaves
would
be
processed
and
shipped
away,
the
House
of
Slaves
was
a
market
where
Africans
would
be
shipped
by
middle-men
from
mainland
West
Africa,
and
then
traders
could
visit,
and
purchase
slaves
before
leading
them
through
what
is
now
called
the
“Door
of
No
Return,”
filling
small
boats
before
returning
to
their
main
vessel
stationed
just
off
the
island.
The
island
is
believed
to
have
processed
hundreds,
perhaps
thousands
of
African
slaves,
with
some
estimates
even
suggesting
millions,
however
many
scholars
have
called
the
veracity
of
the
island’s
legacy
and
its
House
of
Slaves
into
question.
Historians
are
yet
to
settle
the
numbers,
but
it
has
been
argued
by
many
that
the
site
was
a
minor
location
in
the
slave
trade,
and
some
have
even
questioned
whether
it
was
a
part
of
it
at
all.
Regardless
of
the
actual
numbers,
most
agree
that
what
matters
is
the
island’s
symbolism,
and
the
House
of
Slaves
is
best
considered
a
memorial
as
opposed
to
a
historic
site.
The
House
of
Slaves
itself
is
now
a
museum.
An
evocative
structure
complete
with
iron
shackles
and
dingy
cells
where
the
slaves
were
said
to
have
been
crushed
together
in
horrifying
darkness,
awaiting
their
inescapable
fate.
The
historical
controversy
aside,
the
site’s
power
as
a
grim
testament
to
one
of
our
species’
darkest
eras
has
garnered
visits
from
such
luminaries
as
Nelson
Mandela
and
Barack
Obama
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