戈雷岛“奴隶堡”的院落中有两道独具特色、同时通往二楼的楼梯，楼梯下方站着一名导游，正在解说这座18世纪晚期建筑的历史。奴隶堡曾主要用作奴隶囚禁中心，囚禁于此的奴隶之后都会被强制运往美洲。导游身边有大概15名游客正静静倾听他的叙说，其他游客则在参观囚禁妇女、男性和儿童的牢房。“奴隶们挤在如此狭小且黑暗的牢房里，让我感到极为愤慨。看到我们的祖先曾有着如此不堪的经历，我心碎不已，”一名14岁的塞内加尔学生对此表示。他与同班同学一起参加了学校组织的这次出游。
© 尼古拉·洛·卡尔佐（Nicola Lo Calzo）前往戈雷岛（塞内加尔）渡轮上的游客。
全球认可
戈雷岛距离达喀尔海岸不到四公里，已成为跨大西洋奴隶贸易的标志性地点。岛上的奴隶堡是塞内加尔游客量最大的目的地，每天都要接待数百名游客。
“奴隶堡是塞内加尔游客量最大的目的地，
每天都要接待数百名游客”
朝圣之地
“来自非洲大陆其他国家的游客数量
呈上升趋势”
这些年来，戈雷岛采取了多项措施，不仅旨在保护遗址、改善其条件，还旨在吸引越来越多的游客，并推出多样化的行程路线。在塞内加尔政府和福特基金会的支持下，戈雷岛推出了一项振兴计划，宗旨是应对海岸侵蚀，开辟一条连接奴隶堡和维多利亚阿尔比斯之家（Maison Victoria Albis）的参观路线，后者的内部目前有一座展示奴隶贸易和新型奴隶制的博物馆。“维多利亚阿尔比斯之家也是与奴隶贸易相关的解读与文献记录中心，在开展研究的同时还提供培训。我们希望打造一个数字图书馆，用于保存相关的研究。”卡巴·拉耶表示。
联合国教科文组织自2017年起还与当地的石匠合作，开展了一个修复岛上部分建筑的初步项目。项目二期于2020年启动，内容是以保护戈雷岛为宗旨设计旅游产品，并对导游进行培训，从而进一步开发这处遗址。
宾图和伊萨来到戈雷岛
双胞胎宾图（Bintou）和伊萨（Issa）来到达喀尔度假，顺路参观了戈雷岛。他们沿途了解了跨大西洋奴隶贸易的悲惨往事，学习了奴隶贸易在歧视和种族主义问题上造成的长期影响。
这套丛书共七册，由联合国教科文组织策划，摩洛哥南方语言出版社合作出版，面向五到九岁的儿童读者。丛书是联合国教科文组织“被奴役人民之路”项目的一项内容，目的是帮助年轻一代了解奴隶制的历史、与奴隶贸易有关的重要人物和纪念地，以及被奴役人民争取废除奴隶制的斗争。这套丛书以儿童视角书写，书中还特别强调了非洲后裔为现代社会做出的贡献，特别是对现代文化的贡献。
“被奴役人民之路”项目链接：https://www.unesco.org/en/routes-enslaved-peoples
Gorée, island of memory
Clémence Cluzel
Journalist in Dakar, Senegal
At the foot of the distinctive double flight of stairs in the courtyard of the House of Slaves in Gorée, a guide explains the history of this late 18th century building, used notably as a holding centre for slaves before their forced embarkation for the Americas. Facing him, around fifteen visitors listen in silence while others explore the cells where women, men and children were held captive. “I’m shocked at how small and dark the rooms are into which the slaves were crammed. It breaks my heart to see the conditions imposed on our ancestors,” comments Mohamed, a 14-year-old Senegalese pupil, visiting with his class as part of a school trip.
On the ground floor, at the end of a long, dark corridor, the “Door of No Return” opens directly onto the sea, at the very point where the slaves were taken before their crossing to the West Indies, Brazil, Cuba, the United States or Haiti, among other places. This is one of the most intense moments of the tour. While some people take photos of themselves in front of this emblematic site, others are too overwhelmed by the powerful emotions it arouses.
“The House of Slaves is the most visited site in Senegal, receiving
several hundred visitors every day”
This worldwide recognition owes a great deal to the site’s first curator, Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye, who spared no effort to raise awareness of the history of Gorée, even if the central role of the island in the history of the transatlantic slave trade is now debated. Since independence, the Senegalese authorities have been developing safeguarding and promotion policies to make the island a public place of remembrance.
The inscription of the Island of Gorée on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1978 marked a turning point. According to the description of the site, “for the universal conscience, this ‘memory island’ is the symbol of the slave trade with its cortege of suffering, tears and death”. Visits by a host of celebrities, including South African President Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II and US President Barack Obama, have also contributed to the island’s celebrity.
A place of pilgrimage
“Gorée is at the centre of a veritable pilgrimage celebrating the diaspora of Afro-descendants. The significance and place of the island in the minds of the black diaspora enables us to measure the impact of this community, in search of a lost identity, in the crystallisation around Gorée of a memory of the Atlantic slave trade,” explain historians Hamady Bocoum and Bernard Toulier in their book La fabrication du patrimoine: l'exemple de Gorée, published in 2013.
Travel agencies have understood this. “African-Americans who want to retrace the steps of their ancestors make up a large part of our clientele,” explains Mamadou Diagne, Director of the Revina Tours travel agency in Dakar. As a partner of the Harlem Tourism Board, based in New York, he plans to offer his clients a tour of the memorial sites linked to the slave trade in Senegal, Gambia and Ghana.
“More and more visitors are coming from the African continent”
A reference for other memorial sites
The success of the Senegalese island has made it a model for others. “It’s clear that Gorée has influenced other memorial sites that have undertaken the work of remembrance,” observe historians Hamady Bocoum and Bernard Toulier. This is particularly true of Benin and Ghana, which are seeking to develop interest in their own sites of Ouidah and Elmina.
However, there are those who regret that the economic spin-offs are of little benefit to the island’s population. “It’s mainly a question of tourists passing through, staying for a few hours and then leaving again,” laments Lamine Gueye, coordinator of the tourist office.
Some also feel that the tourist routes neglect certain assets of the island, such as its colonial architecture, or institutions like the Musée historique de Gorée, or the Museum of the Sea. “Yet they provide essential knowledge for the history of Senegal and for scientific research,” insists Mamadou Seck, curator of the Museum of the Sea in Gorée. To attract a greater diversity of visitors and extend their stay on the island, a number of initiatives have been taken, including the Gorée Diaspora Festival and Regards sur Cours (Open Courtyards), an event where local residents open up their courtyards and gardens to artists.
Over the years, Gorée has established itself not only as a symbol of the tragedy of slavery, but also as a key place for passing on this painful history. However, there are still two major challenges to be faced if this position is to be maintained – the rapid deterioration of certain historic buildings, and erosion, which is inexorably eating away at the island’s coastline.
Bintou and Issa on the Island of Gorée
While on holiday in Dakar, twins Bintou and Issa visit the Island of Gorée. During their visit they learn about the tragedy of the transatlantic slave trade and its long-term effects in terms of discrimination and racism.
Targeted to children aged 5 to 9 years, this album is one of a series of seven publications initiated by UNESCO, in partnership with Moroccan publishers, Langages du Sud. Published as part of UNESCO’s Routes of Enslaved Peoples programme, the series is designed to raise the younger generation’s awareness of the history of slavery, the significant figures and places of memory associated with the slave trade, and the fight of enslaved people for its abolition. Written at a child’s level, these books also highlight the contributions made by people of African descent to modern society, particularly in the field of culture.
Link for Routes of Enslaved Peoples:
https://www.unesco.org/en/routes-enslaved-peoples
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