An Experience of Humility

Yesterday our group took a field trip to Elmina Castle - the slave castle the stands in Cape Coast. It was the most intense experience I have had in Ghana yet. I wanted to cry the whole time but I didn't because I wasn't sure if they were my tears to shed. I also just read "The Book of Negroes" which happened to be about the slave trade in the 18th century from the Gold Coast to the US so it was all just too surreal. You could feel the evil that lay in the air of that place, it gave me goosebumps. It occurred to me that as white people, we were lucky to even be allowed into the castle to learn about history. I also wondered how much blood was beneath the white paint, considering 8 million African people died there or on the ship to America. The ocean is beautiful, but as I was looking out at it I could only imagine it as a large, unmarked grave. It has swallowed so many individuals quietly, only a few hundred years ago.

I learned a lot through the silent tour that we took. I remembered why I am here and why I am in International Development Studies. There's nothing I can do with the knowledge that I acquire here except mourn the past and do what I can about the present.

We were all so tired after the trip we fell asleep without brushing our teeth. I would recommend the Book of Negroes to anyone who will listen - it is remarkable and tragic and informative.