On the night of 22-23 August 1791, an uprising began in Saint Domingue, now the Republic of Haiti, which would be of great importance for the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
In commemoration of that date, August 23 of each year was established as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, which was celebrated for the first time in several countries, notably in Haiti, on August 23, 1998, and in Gorée Island, Senegal, on August 23, 1999.
The purpose of this commemoration is to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples and to install a collective reflection on the historical causes, methods and consequences, and to analyze the interactions to which it has given rise between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.
The slave trade was a legal but illegitimate trade, as well as inhuman, reprehensible and execrable, with which the most powerful nations filled themselves with wealth while decimating entire populations in Africa.
It also took place in Brazil and parts of the American continent for more than 400 years. During that period, more than 15 million men, women and children were sold like cattle, to be subjected to the hardest work, sexual exploitation and inhumane living conditions.
To commemorate this date, UNESCO developed the intercultural project called The Slave Route, with the aim of raising awareness about this harsh reality that affected entire generations of black people, whose descendants were also enslaved and those who are now free still bear the stigma of being considered inferior and discriminated against because of their skin color.
Attending symposiums on this day, learning about the harsh exploitation to which human beings like us were subjected, reflecting on the brutal indifference with which they were treated, are some ways to join and contribute to this commemoration.
It should also be stressed that human trafficking, although considered a crime today, has not disappeared, it has simply taken other forms, but the unacceptable business continues.
Let us be aware of this and do our part, from every place, to safeguard human dignity.
