Emancipation Day celebrated at Assin Manso

A solemn ceremony was held at Assin Manso in the Central Region last Saturday to climax this year’s Emancipation Day celebrations.

The event, which was on the theme:"Our heritage, our strength — Leveraging our resilience: Black lives matter," was without the usual pomp and display due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

A mini durbar was, however, held to mark the day under strict COVID-19 safety protocols after which wreaths were laid on the tombs of three renowned African slaves at the Reverential Garden.

Last Friday night there was a vigil at the Cape Coast Castle in remembrance of the ancestors.

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, proclaimed the celebration on the stroke of midnight and urged people of African descent to be the voice of conscience wherever they found themselves.

Resolve

Mrs Oteng-Gyasi called on the people to deepen their resolve to fight against any form of oppression and injustice persisting in their communities.

She said it was hypocritical to empathise with the sufferings of others and not show similar concerns about prevailing deprivation and poverty situations in some parts of the country.

The minister also observed that the spectre of violence occurring in some parts of the continent as a result of religious extremism and the limitation of state constitutions reinforced prejudices against the African.

She said negative attitudes which depicted Africans as incapable of managing their own affairs must be reversed by working together and creating opportunities for all to prosper and flourish.

Mrs Oteng-Gyasi further said persistent police brutalities and the criminalisation of African-American males, including the recent killing of George Floyd in the US all point to an enduring, pervasive and bigoted world view fuelled by feelings of racial superiority among sections of the Caucasian population.

Relevance

The minister also said the relevance of the event in Ghana and elsewhere might be lost unless the people grasped the full impact of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade on Africa and related struggles and humiliation of slaves in the New World over the three and half centuries.

She said the present state of economic development in Africa was attributable largely to the massive socio-economic destabilisation engendered in the colonial era.

“Tourism, arts and culture can surely contribute to this ideal. This sector of our economy has the potential to create economic opportunities in the country and I will like to urge Nananom and the local government authorities to effectively collaborate with my ministry to develop the tourism industry in this area,” Mrs Oteng-Gyasi said.

Significance

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr Akwasi Agyeman, said Emancipation Day was a moment of rebirth which called for more self-introspection and reconciliation among Ghanaians to support nation-building.

The acting President of the Apimanim Traditional Area, Nana Dr Ohemeng Aware, paid tribute to all black ancestors who died in the fight for freedom.

He also commended the Paramount Chief of Assin Apimanim, Barima Kwame Nkyi VII, for spearheading the celebration of the event.

The Executive Secretary of the PANAFEST Foundation, Rabbi Kohain Halevi, said the impact of the celebrations on the confidence and spirit of African pride and dignity everywhere should not be underestimated.

The Central Regional Minister, Mr Kwamena Duncan, also said the perpetual flame of struggle, resistance and resilience should not be quenched.