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CRIMES : L’ENGAGISME ENFIN REPRESENTÉ AUX CÔTÉS DE L’ESCLAVAGE

CRIMES : L’ENGAGISME ENFIN REPRESENTÉ AUX CÔTÉS DE L’ESCLAVAGE

{S’il est un fait injuste dans nos sociétés, plurielles par les origines, et que l’on veut bien prétendre unies par le devenir, c’est que les expositions, émissions, films, nombreux sites internet et ouvrages consacrés aux cultures caribéennes et à l’esclavage omettent sciemment de mentionner le crime qui lui a succédé dans les colonies : l’engagisme.

Les minorities qui, à côté de l’esclave nègre, ont trimé aussi restent savamment ignorées... Pourtant la Loi Taubira fait mention de cette traite de main d’œuvre dans son article premier…

John Budhram, notre correspondant à Londres, a visité l’exposition consacrée à l’esclavage qui se tient au Docklands Museum de Londres et qui, fait nouveau, présente une section consacrée à l’engagisme, aux Jahajis (les gens du bateau).{{} J.S.Sahaï.}}

{{JAHAJIS FINALLY MENTIONED IN SLAVERY EXHIBITIONS}}

I visited the Docklands Museum in East London yesterday to view the new Exhibition on Slavery.

The Exhibition is well put together and is very interesting although it was very busy yesterday as it was a free entry weekend but it will probably be empty again today.

There is lots of exhibits - whips, log books, shackles and chains, fine china and silverware from the Planters etc. and lost of information boards with pictures and a few video presentations.

I was very interested to find a board on Indentured labour which showed a map of the World with arrows from India to the Caribbean showing movement and the routes taken of Indentured Servants along with a few short explanations and a figure chart.

You are probably familiar with the figures but here they again :

_ Mauritius 450,000
_ British Guiana 239,000
_ Trinidad 144,000
_ Natal 152,000
_ Jamaica 36,500
_ Suriname 34,000
_ East Africa 32,000
_ Fiji 61,000

This is some of the words it mainly said :

Soon after the abolition of Slavery the British Government found a new source of cheap labour in India.

Faced with growing poverty and hardship at home many Indian labourers where cajoled or tricked into signing up and then transported to the Colonies to labour at rates of low pay.

From 1834 onwards many were transported to the Caribbean or elsewhere where they suffered from extreme conditions and poor treatment.

About 1,500,000 Indians were bonded by the system, most of these who came later became citizens of the Caribbean Nations.

So finally, Indentured Servants have got a mention as they are normally left out of any Exhibitions like this.

I think they are planning for it to be permanent so if so it will get bigger so maybe the Indentured part may expand in the future.

There is a comments board where visitors can leave their thoughts and i added my card and read the others but was quite shocked in that about 50% of those who left their comments felt the Exhibition was inaccurate and made the British out to be wicked and that it wasn't as harsh as it is made out to be !

Most of the other 50% and rightly so showed abhorrence for Slavery and commended the Museum for a excellent Exhibition, a small number of that 50% although showing abhorrence for Slavery also felt that it wasn't enough and that it had held back from showing some of the full horrors and was a bit politically correct in it's interpretation.

Indeed it did leave out some of the more atrocious events such as raping Women, branding Slaves and Slaves been forced to urinate or deficate in the mouths of other Slaves who were being punished but i felt on the whole had covered Slavery quite well.

It was after all a Family exhibition so they probably didn't wish to give Children nightmares but i agree that it should be mentioned and perhaps the admission age raised.

Those who after looking through the exhibits came up with comments about it being over the top and that Slavery wasn't so bad mirrored comments made to Doctor Robert Beckford after his Documentary "the Empire pays back" and defies logic, I suppose the same people deny the Holocaust ever happened !

I am very astonished that so many hold such views in the modern age and obviously weren't moved in any way by the Exhibition.

Some of the 50% who abhorred Slavery were Black as they noted this in their comments and were happy that someone had covered their History as many mentioned there was little interest in Society in general for their History and this is the only place with such a Exhibition (they weren't aware there was a Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum which may still be there, i am not sure) so wished for it to be permanent so that others can come and view it.

It is well worth visiting, the normal admission is GBP 5-00 but allows you to make a additional visits for free as it is a Annual admission fee.

One of the information boards was a transcription of the Slave Ships that left London from 1795 to 1799 with details of the Ships, their Captains and Owners and where they went to.

I wrote down the details of the Ships that went to Guyana so if anyone is interested please let me know.

Hey, i might even have appeared on TV as there was a TV crew standing broadcasting right next to me as i was writing down the details even though they were Arab and it is probably being shown somewhere in the Middle east where they are wondering who the oddball on the left is ! LOL

They also have their own private Archives which can be visited by appointment, i was told that i could visit and told about the Holdings they have though the person i spoke to wasn't sure whether the transcription mentioned above was from their Holdings or from the National Archives, Caird Library or elsewhere.

I had also planned to visit the Museum of London but it took me so long to get there i didn't have time to fit another Museum in so perhaps another day.

London is full of Museums and Galleries so I recommend them to anyone that lives nearby as most of them are also free and stay open late 7 days a week.

Over the years i have visited many of them a number of times and sometimes do research while I am there, other times I just enjoy the exhibits, many years ago when I was a teenager I went on a guided tour of the British Museum and put my hand up to answer every question the Guide asked and pointed out a number of things they didn't mention much to their annoyance as they joked that maybe I should be the Guide and they will take a break ! LOL

It would be nice if there was a dedicated Museum for the minorities. But there isn't and it is unlikely there ever will be, so a few Exhibitions are the next best thing.

Regards

{{Jonathan Budhram}}, London.

Commentaires

mo1mo1 | 25/11/2007 - 10:21 :
Il faut traduire ce texte pour qu'on puisse débattre. Atoute je rappelle le peuple Guadeloupe est certes composé de plusieurs strates au forcep par le pouvoir immonde colonial français qui n'a pas et n'aura JAMAIS NOTRE SYMPATHIE. A PART LES DESCEBDABTS DES TAINOS VERITABLES PROPRIETAIRE DE SUR CETTE TERRE DES TAINOS LES AUTRES COMMUNAUTES DOIVENT SE DIRE QU'ILS NE SONT QUE DES LOCATAIRES A TITRE PRECAIRE DE CE TERRITOIRE VIOLE et VOLE PAR LE COLONIALISME FRANCAIS! ON ATTEND UN TEST ADN QUI VA DEMONTRER DANS CE PAYS QU' IL Y A DES DESCENDANTS DES TAINOS. BIEN SUR LES AFRICAINS ONT ETE CAPTURES POUR OCCUPER CE TERRITOIRE , LES HINDOUX ONT ETE ABUSES CAR ILS ONT SIGNES UN CONTRAT OU ON LES A FORCE A LE SIGNER .SUR CE POINT ON DOIT AVOIR UNE EXPLICATION POUR UNE MEILLEUR COMMUNICATION ENTRE LES COMPOSANTES DE NOTRE GUADELOUPE.IL VA S'EN DIRE CHAQUE COMPOSANTE DOIT OBSSERVER UN JOUR DE DEUIL POUR LES TAINOS CAR IL Y A 5 VOLCANS QUI NOUS GUETTENT.....

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