President John Dramani Mahama recounted the harrowing experiences of Africans during the transatlantic slave trade, highlighting how the system was designed to erase their humanity.
Speaking at the United Nations in New York, Mahama described the horrific conditions faced by enslaved Africans.
He emphasized that upon arrival, the enslaved were treated as property, inspected and sold to the highest bidder, their identity and dignity stripped away.
“They were forced, with their limbs chained and shackled, onto the cargo hold of a ship. They remained naked, packed like sardines, during the months-long journey through the Middle Passage. Not all those who were loaded onto the ships survived the voyage.”
“They were inspected and appraised, like livestock. They were then placed on an auction block in front of an audience of potential buyers and sold to the highest bidder.”
“This systematic dehumanization was intended to erase African humanity,” Mahama said, stressing that the world must acknowledge the full scope of the suffering inflicted during the slave trade.
Mahama called on the international community to confront this historical injustice and recognize the enduring impact of the slave trade on African societies, urging that its legacy of human suffering not be forgotten.
