Steel Pan Opens United Nations Observance

New York, United Nations Headquarters – In what will surely be regarded as one of the most significant historical moments and actions in the history of the United Nations, the steelpan instrument took front and center as a steel pan troupe with its members hailing originally from the Caribbean island of Antigua – City South Steel Orchestra (pictured below) – opened the first annual worldwide commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The United Nations officially observed this inaugural occasion, on the heels of last year’s adoption by member states of the General Assembly, of a resolution annually designating 25 March as the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  Tuesday's event was a collaboration among the African Union, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the United States Mission and the United Nations’ Department of Public Information. 

The International Day for the Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary [March 25, 2007] of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade was also recognized.  It was additionally heralded this year because of the fruits of the efforts of Congressman Donald M. Payne of the United States House of Representatives, one of the panelists at the observance held at the United Nations.  Congressman Payne was the architect of a bill introduced in 2007 to establish a commission to plan activities commemorating that 200th anniversary of the United States’ abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.  And in February 5 of this year, President Bush signed that bill, known as the Commission on the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Act, into law.

The steelpan instrument that was part of the opening ceremony of this auspicious gathering, is one of the greatest musical inventions the world has ever known.  It’s special status is merited not only because its invention is uniquely innovative,  but also because of its exclusive history.  Originally invented in the Caribbean island of Trinidad by the descendants of those slaves who survived the transatlantic slave trade, this amazing musical instrument has taken the world by storm.  The steelpan instrument can now be found on every continent on the globe.  Moreover, the steelpan instrument is a living tribute to the survival, brilliance, intelligence and legacy of the people who were enslaved and impacted by this dastardly and inhumane period in human history.  It is only apropos that the sounds of the steelpan instruments would open this momentous occasion.

Interestingly the steelpan, like the descendants of those enslaved, is still stigmatized by some in society.  The struggle for recognition and respect by people of color remains ongoing around the world, and one which is faced in many a scenario.  And the steelpan, as magnificent an instrument it is when brought to life in the hands of a single soloist, or in a thunderous orchestra of one hundred twenty-plus musicians, still is disparaged by many.  Its players sometimes find themselves regarded with disapproval or worse for their choice of musical instrument.  In this regard, the link between the people of color who invented the steelpan, their fellow descendants of slaves all around the world, and the similar fate of periodic nonacceptance of the steelpan as a bona fide musical instrument, is not one that can be dismissed.

In addition to City South Steel Orchestra, the event was punctuated with artistic performances of drumming and dancing by the Mangue Sylla Group and Ms. Webb, and a presentation by spiritual singer Juanita Flemming.

Host for the ceremony was Kiyotaka Akasaka, Under–Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, who presided over a plenary which included UN Secretary–General Ban Ki-moon, Ambassador Hamid Al Bayati, Acting President of the UN General Assembly, and Harry Belafonte – performer, human rights activist and Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF – and who delivered the keynote address on “The 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the United States.”  Other panelists and speakers included but were not limited to:  Congressman Payne, H.E. Augustine Mahiga – Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania and current Chair of the African Union (AU), and H.E. Christopher Hackett, Permanent Representative of Barbados and current Chair of the Caucus of the Permanent Representatives of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to the United Nations.

Ambassador Al Bayati delivered the first formal statement and within it set the tone for what would be reiterated by all the speakers for the duration of the event.  In part he said  “Last year, we came together to hold a special commemoration to celebrate 200 years since the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.  That day marked the beginning of the end for the transatlantic traffic in human beings.  The forced removal from Africa of twenty-five million between 1500 to 1900 had a significant effect on the continent.  This was a crime against humanity.  This day of remembrance offers us all a chance to acknowledge how profoundly shameful the colonial slave trade was, and to remember the millions who suffered.   It also gives us the opportunity to pay tribute to the courage and moral conviction of all those who campaigned for abolition.  However, while coming to terms with past injustices, we also need to recognize the unspeakable cruelty that persists today.”

The Secretary-General in his address to the audience called the observance a “solemn remembrance of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade, one of the greatest atrocities in history.”  He added that “This unparalleled global tragedy claimed untold millions of lives over four centuries, and left a terrible legacy that continues to dehumanize and oppress people around the world to this day.”

Describing as ‘reprehensible’ that chapter in history because ‘the trade yielded significant prosperity in countries where slavery was perpetrated under colour of law,’ he drew further attention to what he termed the ‘shocking complicity of nations that participated in [the slave trade in] the name of ‘commerce’ for 400 years,’ and the ‘terrible cost incurred, especially in entrenched racism still battled to this day.’ 

In his speech, Chairman of the African Union, Ambassador Mahiga, reminded all of the AU’s decision that recognizes the Diaspora as the sixth sub-region of Africa.  He spoke of the ‘resilience, creativity of those who survived enslavement, and also [that of] their descendants,’ and of their contribution to ‘the prosperity and cultural richness of the new world, and by default, the continent of Africa.’ 

Ambassador Mahiga reflected on the bonds between the descendants of slaves – now designated Africans of the Diaspora – and the Africans of the continent of Africa.  He highlighted the upcoming Sullivan Summit taking place from June 2 — 6, 2008 which will serve as a continuing bridge, one of many, between the Africans of the Diaspora, and their African brothers and sisters on the continent. 

In addition to the focus on the transatlantic slave trade and its victims, the presenters all touched on modern-day slavery, extant in a myriad of forms such as human trafficking, forced labor, child soldiers, so-called migrant labor and more.  Speakers following included Congressman Payne, who expressed similar solemnity and incorporated in his statement, details about the bill he piloted, and the need for United States history to honor the memory of slaves, and officially acknowledge important historical facts, such as the use of slave labor to construct its Capitol Hill building.   Ambassador Hackett ensured that the issue of reparations was not sidelined in the event’s proceedings.

At the appropriate time, host Under–Secretary-General Akasaka asked all present in the chamber to stand up and observe a moment of silence, as a Sierra Leonan crew member of Amistad, the freedom schooner, rang the ship's bell – a single toll – in memory of the millions who perished while making the journey across the Middle Passage from Africa to the Americas.  The schooner sails around the world to educate people about the 1839 Amistad revolt.  It retraced the infamous Middle Passage, and was returning from West Africa to the Caribbean as part of its international tour.  Earlier, the ship paused in that leg of its journey, and hooked up to the United Nations’ March 25 event via satellite for the commemorative tolling of the ship’s bell.

UNICEF spokesperson Harry Belafonte began what would be a hard–hitting keynote address, and in his opening words described his subject as “A global issue of singular importance – the role of the transatlantic slave trade and  slavery in the shaping of the modern world...”  He paid tribute to the UN:  “For almost two decades, the United Nations has played a leading role in tearing away the cloak of silence and indifference that has shadowed the truth about the transatlantic slave trade, and slavery in building the modern world.” 

He continued eloquently, including within his discourse, information on UNESCO's creation of the Slave Route Project, which has brought worldwide attention via media, international forums and education, to the issue of slavery, a ‘highly important chapter in human history.’ 

Activist Harry Belafonte delivers keynote address

There was a lot to digest in Belafonte’s address.  “Estimates of the total number of African lives lost, or impaired, by the process of warfare, capture and enslavement from the African continent, range from fifty, to one hundred million people, over the more than three hundred and fifty-year history of the slave trade.”  He added “it was impossible to disrupt the lives of this number of people in Africa, without disrupting the economic, political and social character of the continent and it's people.”

Belafonte also drew on Durban's 2001 World Conference against Racism, reminding all of the resolution coming out of that meeting which affirmed the criminal nature of slavery and the slave trade, and that it had been labeled ‘a crime against humanity.’  Like his predecessors, he urged that today’s contemporary global slave trade – numbering in excess of twenty-seven million – in all its forms, be opposed just as vigorously.  He added that the modern-day slave trade produces the staggering figure of more than fifteen billion annually in revenue.

After the main event, the related press conference on the International Day of Remembrance was held later on in the afternoon.  Under–Secretary-General Akasaka oversaw the proceedings.  Present were Harry Belafonte; Congressman Payne; and Ambassadors Christopher Hackett and Augustine Mahiga.

Highlights of the session which included a brief question–and–answer segment were: Mr. Hackett expression of appreciation that the CARICOM initiative for designating an annual International Day of Remembrance had become a reality. 

Mr. Mahiga articulated his hope that this Day would additionally focus on the opportunity for the continuance of the African Diaspora and the people of the African continent coming together.  The upcoming Sullivan Summit is regarded as a key component in this process.

In part, Mr. Belafonte’s well–chosen words served up a reminder that “The symbols that had once identified slavery were long since gone, but ‘slavery is still with us.’  It has been codified and driven underground, but it still exists under new names...The fact that people are not actually shackled, as they had been in the slave trade days, does not diminish the fact that the slave mentality and mechanisms are still very much part of our lives. In that context, words like ‘globalization’ and ‘free trade’ describe, in fact, a free-for-all for the very rich to exploit the very poor. It is necessary to talk very seriously and deeply about that phenomenon.”

Mr. Hackett had the opportunity to address the issue of reparations more in depth at the press conference, calling it an ‘important, yet sensitive issue,’ while noting that some United States companies were dealing with the issue of reparations “on their own” in Chicago and other parts of the country.

The International Day of Remembrance marked the beginning of a week of related activities at the United Nations headquarters in New York.  The schedule included the opening of an exhibition focusing on the historic Amistad and the struggle of its survivors, a display of drawings entitled The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo, and more.  The week culminated on Friday March 28 with a student video conference.

 
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