The Golden Rock and Godet Afrikan burial websites in St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean, shall be acknowledged by UNESCO as important websites tied to the legacies of enslavement.
The St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Floor Alliance initiated an utility for nomination with UNESCO in February 2022. On Wednesday, October 9, UNESCO Paris headquarters will formally announce the nomination in a ceremony.
‘Restore the dignity of our ancestors’
Kenneth Cuvalay, President of the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Floor Alliance, expressed his profound appreciation for the latest designation of the Golden Rock and Godet Afrikan burial grounds as a part of the UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples: “That is unbelievable information for our neighborhood. We now have constantly strived to revive the dignity of our ancestors and improve consciousness about long-marginalized and uncared for sacred websites”.
He acknowledged Annina Van Neel and Peggy King Jorde’s invaluable contributions all through this important course of. “Annina initially introduced this concept to our consideration whereas advocating for the respectful reburial of the ‘Liberated’ Afrikans on St. Helena, a British abroad territory”, Cuvalay added.
Peggy, a key advocate for the New York African Burial Floor and a driving power behind the nationwide memorial for enslaved and free Afrikans, remarked, “That is an empowering second for the Statia neighborhood as we confront historic erasure and cultural devaluation.” Annina and Peggy are featured protagonists within the documentary A Story of Bones.
The Golden Rock and Godet Afrikan burial floor
In 2021, the Golden Rock burial floor drew important media consideration on account of its location in an space marked for sand excavation to facilitate airport improvement. Sadly, questionable archaeological practices led to an outcry by the Statia neighborhood, leading to a halt to excavation efforts. 69 ancestral stays had been excavated, that are at the moment in a depot on the island.
The UNESCO utility additionally contains the Godet website, positioned on the southwest coast of St. Eustatius, along with Golden Rock. Godet has lengthy been a focus for archeological analysis and exploration, with out neighborhood consent or enough significant engagement. The positioning was left in deplorable situation in 2022 after fieldwork by the Analysis Experiences for Undergraduates Archaeology program initiated by Texas State College and sponsored by the Nationwide Science Basis (NSF) of the US.
thirtieth Anniversary of UNESCO’s Routes of Enslaved Peoples Program
The Routes of Enslaved Peoples UNESCO recognition is a major step in direction of acknowledging the historic injustices of the transatlantic trafficking in enslaved Afrikans and selling common values of tolerance, respect, and dignity. By specializing in analysis, schooling, and the documentation of memorial websites, this initiative goals to lift consciousness in regards to the lasting international affect of slavery.
The applying, initiated by the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Floor Alliance in February 2022 and submitted by the UNESCO Committee Netherlands on November 11, 2022, seeks to interrupt the silence surrounding this darkish chapter in historical past.
Obstacles to the reburial of the ancestral stays
Cuvalay continues to voice sturdy issues concerning the native archaeological middle SECAR (St. Eustatius Middle for Archaeological Analysis), the group in command of the contentious airport excavations: “The reburial of our ancestors can not proceed till SECAR supplies the important archaeological report, which incorporates particulars in regards to the excavation and the burial artifacts related to the ancestral stays. Regardless of a number of requests, the report remains to be not supplied. SECAR’s assertion that no human stays had been faraway from the island is additional trigger for fear, as samples of the ancestral stays are identified to be at Leiden College within the Netherlands.” Leiden College, a significant participant in Caribbean archaeology, was within the information in 2023 for severe misconduct by Dutch archaeology professor Corinne Hofman, who has since been fired”.
In response to this ongoing scenario, the Alliance is planning a sequence of neighborhood occasions in November 2024. These gatherings intention to foster dialogue in regards to the reburial course of and to collaborate on a design for a memorial honoring these ancestors. Fostering reconnection to ancestral communities on the Afrikan continent is one other key goal. The occasions are seen as an important alternative for the neighborhood to come back collectively, share views, and advocate for the respectful remedy of their heritage.
