Conservationists want ‘sacred’ slave threshold salvaged
By Pauline Waruguru
Nevis Reporter- SKNVibes.com
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| Excavated site before covered by an unidentified private developer |
CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – BLACK History month in Nevis is being celebrated at the behest of complaints by conservationists that an excavated heritage site has been covered by an unidentified private developer.
The heritage site, found next to Unella’s restaurant in Charlestown, is the location where all slaves arriving in British ships were offloaded before dispatched to other islands in the Caribbean and to the USA.
A banner that was placed by the Nevis Historic Conservation Society (NHCS) to identify the site was removed, and by sheer chance the Executive Director of the Society, John Guilbert, salvaged it as he was driving past the site. “I found a person placing the banner in a bucket.”
At the Society’s Annual General Meeting held last week Wednesday at the Red Cross Building, Chapel Street, Guilbert informed the members that the site had been covered up by an unidentified developer acting on behalf of an absentee owner residing overseas. Investigations by SKNVibes revealed that ownership has changed hands over the years.
“This is a very sacred place,” Guilbert said. “It was the first solid ground that slaves set their foot on after the middle passage.” The
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Site after covered by an unidentified private developer
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society has had plans to preserve the site by planting grass, trees and placing benches so that people can visit and reflect on what happened 500 years ago to their ancestors.
Proprietor of GMP Marketing and Printing Greg Phillip, who was the feature speaker at an event held at Nite Moves, Garden Club Restaurant and Bar, Charlestown, Nevis, said a higher level of consciousness about the need to preserve sites is required. The restaurant, Brimstone Hill Fortress Society, National Bank, NHCS and Choice FM 105.3 FM, sponsored the event.
He said this year’s NHCS Black History month’s theme, “Celebrating Our Religious Heritage Religion”, should go a long way in sensitising Nevisians to reflect on their heritage as this would influence them to revere heritage sites. Phillip told guests it was important for Nevisians to celebrate remnants of their past: “These places are historic and have a lot to do with our religious heritage.”
“If we cared enough to celebrate our remnants, we would not have witnessed the reburial of the site next to Unella where every African slave landed,” Phillip said. He said the site that has been covered up should be as significant as Ellis Island where the Statue of Liberty is located.
~~Adz:Left~~ Ellis Island is located on a 27.5-acre site just minutes off the southern tip of Manhattan Island, New York. According to website reports, the site is likely to connect with more of the American population than any other spot in the country. It has been estimated that nearly half of all Americans today can trace their family history to at least one person who passed through the Port of New York at Ellis Island. Now, nearly a century since the peak years of immigration, Ellis Island is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the National Park Service.
“This site has to be considered as significant as Ellis Island! Why should it be buried under the soil?” Phillip asked.
Preliminary investigations by SKNVibes revealed that the unidentified developer gave instructions for the site to be covered up following complaints by the business community that it was harbouring rats and overgrown vegetation was a threat to the businesses following a break-in of one of the business houses.
The legal firm that manages the piece of land on behalf of the private developer who they confirmed is overseas said the developer has no ulterior motive of destroying the site. His attorney who chose anonymity said the developer was open to discussions.
Greg Phillip is convinced that when people are educated on the significance of their heritage they would automatically protect sites. In his address, he noted that Nevis had chosen Celebrating Religion as theme for 2008 Black History Month because Christianity, which is the religion embraced by the majority of Caribbean nationals, is Nevisians’ religious heritage.
Guilbert noted that sustainable consciousness has to include a search for identity. He said a visiting speaker told students last week that Africa was the tree from which West Indies was cut off, but some students did not wish to identify with their ancestry.
Guilbert said the focus on religion had been chosen because Wesleyan Holiness Church was celebrating 100 years since its introduction to the Caribbean. Phillip holds the conviction that consciousness by Caribbean nationals of African descent cannot alienate Christianity. He also said Christianity in the Caribbean is flavoured by traditions inherited from ancestors who were “abducted” from Africa.
He believes heritage preservation goes hand in hand with spiritual experience. Phillip told guests that embracing Christianity as a heritage could build a sustainable level of consciousness. “We may be reluctant to accept Christianity because we were forced to accept it, but Christianity is our heritage. It was not handed to us in the best of forms because we got it from people who stole us, but Christianity is our religious heritage… Every single slave has something to do with our religious heritage.”
“After the brutal middle passage, after the most humble event in their lives, it must have been a good feeling for our ancestors to set foot on solid ground,” Phillip said. He was referring to the solid ground that conservationists say has been covered up by a private developer.
Phillip explained that the Holy Bible is the true word of God and noted there were events recorded in it that Caribbean people of African descent could identify with, and which could raise their level of consciousness. He likened the emancipation of slaves to the plight of the children of Israel who left Egypt following years of persecution. “Christianity must be celebrated. The same God who freed Israelites is the same One who freed Africans just like He freed Hebrew people,” Phillip said.
Conservationists in Nevis are also convinced that protection of heritage sites on Nevis will not be sustainable unless there is legislation that allows the existence of a National Trust. “A National Trust would become the owner of heritage sites,” Guilbert said in an interview. NHCS is seeking a meeting with the Nevis Cabinet to discuss the trust. Such trusts have been established in several Caribbean countries and among them are St. Lucia, Bermuda, Barbados, Jamaica and Grenada.
Another ambitious project that is hoped to offer sustainable educational programmes when established is the envisaged Nevis Heritage Centre.
According to Halsted ‘Sooty’ Byron, Special Advisor, Nevis Island Administration (NIA) Ministry of Culture, sustainable consciousness could not be achieved unless there are grassroots activities through which students and communities are educated about the importance of their heritage. He called on Nevisians to enlist as members of the NHCS.
