The Inhumanity of Humanity

The year 2007 is the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in England. Yesterday, I took in an exhibition that tries to educate, make amends, and raise awareness about issues of modern-day slavery.

The Zong is an 18th-century replica slave ship that has been used for films (including the upcoming Amazing Grace) and exhibitions. After a perusal through some documents about the slave trade and a short film, we were taken by tender out to the Zong, anchored in the Thames River near the Tower of London.

The real thing would've been half again as large, but, even knowing that, I was still struck by the smallness of it. The on-deck area seemed very tiny compared to what I expected. Despite the fact that I was supposed to be learning about the horrors of slavery (and I did), I was also fascinated by the rigging, ropes, spars, masts, and other 18th-century sailing ship paraphernalia.

Upon descending into the hold, the impact of the small size and cramped conditions became profoundly clear. A ship like this would carry over 300 captured Africans, literally stacked together like so much cordwood, stuck into "shelves" no more than 2'7" in height, for a transatlantic voyage that took an average of 2-3 months to complete. The stench of illness, human waste, and psychological distress is unimaginable; the torture and inhumane treatment are true testaments to the need to understand and confront man's capacity for inhumanity to his fellow man. It must be remembered that black Africans were treated no differently than animals -- the slave traders (mostly white Europeans) did not view them as part of the human species. Hundreds were thrown overboard to drown, simply because a carrier's insurance policy wouldn't cover loss due to illness or death.

The issue of modern-day slavery brings up some "hmmm...." moments for me. I guess the anthropologist in me looks at the topic somewhat critically and I questioned some of the approaches implemented. But the numbers are positively frightening. According to the information presented, some NGOs estimate that up to 200 million people are enslaved in today's world. The question that arises in my mind is: How exactly do you define "slavery"?

You can read more about the Free At Last Exhibition here.

Listening to: Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones).
Celebrating: Two essays down, one to go. (*small sigh*)