Our Cape Coast Weekend (June 9, 2007)

by Charles Bergeron

- Cape Coast… Where is that?

- It is located in the Central Region, in Ghana. It is actually the capital city of this region. It once was the capital city of Ghana.

- I see… Is there a beach over there?

- Even though it is called “Cape Coast” this city isn’t a destination of choice for beach tourism. It is mostly well known for the unfortunate role it has played in History. In fact, Cape Coast was a major departing point for the African slaves captured in all West Africa.

- So why were you all so excited to go spend a weekend over there?

- Mainly for two reasons:
1) Because I think it is important to educate yourself about the history of the country you visit, in order to improve your understanding of its contemporary culture. I think this is even more relevant when it comes to major historical facts that have left their marks in your own country, in your own culture, and that still effect or at least shade your contemporary social climate. I believe that everybody in the Western World should concern themselves with the history of slavery, whether you’re Black or White. So for me there was no way I would be in Ghana and not go to Cape Coast!
2) The second reason why I was excited to go is articulated on a totally different level: we had decided that this place would be our meeting point with the Denu team, for a mid-term reunion! So I was very excited to share my stories of Konongo with my friends from Denu, and vice versa.

Oh believe me! I had so much fun in Cape Coast, despite my constant consciousness of its history. In fact, everything here reminds you of History. The European architecture, the Castle, the Fort up the hill… even people’s last names like Robinson, Johnson or Van Dyck. Even our meeting point with the Denu team says it all: we met at the Cape Coast Castle Restaurant. Was it because of its historical background or because of the natural group forming process, as soon as we met the other team, many of us felt the need to confide in our friends of the other team, about emotions regarding our respective group dynamics. I naturally came to compare our group dynamics, and I could find many similarities between them, even though we had been working and living in two totally different contexts. This is when I realized how accurate the group-forming theory is! You know? Forming, storming, norming and performing. Just for that reason, this group reunion has definitely been a relieving experience for me, a way to let go some of my stress and launch the norming-to-performing process!

The highlight of my stay in Cape Coast has definitely been my visit of Elmina Castle. Just like one of us said, how ironic and contrasting it is that such a beautiful architecture has been build for the slave trade, such a horrible business! The guided tour was very emotional. I would like to transcribe these emotions here, in this blog entry, but I’m not I writer and also writing in my second language is already a challenge for me, so I will restrain myself to a very basic descriptive tone. With a little imagination, I’m sure you can imagine feel how terrible it was. We visited the donjons starting with the female donjon. We have been told how bad the conditions of life were in that dark and humid room, when 400 women were packed in there at the time, without any facilities to wash themselves, to dispose of bodily fluids… and to hide from their guardians’ hatred. In fact, we have told that it was common for the Portuguese and then the British soldiers working over there to choose, once in a while, a female slave to be raped. Any form of refusal would be punished by being enchained to shackles and exposed to the sun, without any food or drink, for a whole day. On the contrary, “consenting” to be raped would be rewarded by being provided with a washing bucket and some extra food. We also visited this small room called the Point of No-Return or the Door of No-Return. Imagine again a dark and humid room, that you enter by a door so low that you need to bend to pass through it, and that you exit by another door so narrow, that only one person can pass through it at the time. This exit door leads to ocean, to the boats that would ship the slaves in different parts of the world. This room was the last place an African slave would see of his or her home continent before being humiliated for the rest of his or her life in some random and unknown part of the world. Some flowers were lying in there on the ground, brought by visitors, in remembrance. I guess people leave flowers in this room because they can speak for you, in a place where anyone suddenly becomes speechless. They say: “I hope this will never happen again.”