Dakar, Senegal (AP) – US singer Ciara is one of the first figures in society to become a Benin citizen under a recent law established by the small Western African country to grant citizenship to the offspring of enslaved people.
The winner of Grammy has acquired citizenship during the ceremony on Saturday in Cotonou is a wider part of the Benin initiative to attract the black diaspora, to recognize the country’s role in transatlantic slave sales and to promote tourism, focusing on slaves related to memorials.
“By legally recognizing these African children, Benin heals the historical wound. It is also an act of belonging and hope,” said Minister of Justice Yvon Détchénou at the ceremony.
Here’s what to know about Benin’s efforts to congratulate the offspring of enslaved people:
Benin Afro-Descendent Citizenship Act
In September, Benin passed a law to citizenship for those who could trace their origins for slave trade.
It is open to anyone over 18 years of age who has no other African citizenship and can prove that the ancestor has been deported through slave trade from any African to the south of the Sahara. Benin’s authorities accept DNA tests, authenticated testimonies and family records.
Last week, the government started my Afro Origins, a digital platform that processes programs.
Although Benin is not the first country to give citizenship to the offspring of enslaved people, the law of its citizenship has additional significance, partly due to the role he played in the transatlantic slave trade.
National calculation with its role in slave trade
European merchants deported about 1.5 million enslaved people from Benin-Region, which contains today Benin, Togas and Nigerian parts-America.
The Kings of Benin were actively involved in capturing and selling enslaved people to Portuguese, French and British merchants. Former kingdoms and communities they were raising still exist as tribal networks.
For a long time, Benin tried to reconcile with the legacy of his accomplice. She openly acknowledged her role in the slave trade – a position that many other African nations who participated in the African were not shared.
In the 1990s, she held an international conference aimed at investigating how and where enslaved people were sold. 1999 The then President Mathieu Kérékou apologized to the African -American visit to the Baltimore church.
“Memorial Tourism”
In addition to this national calculation, “Memorial Tourism” around slave trade legacy became a major point of view of the Benin government to attract Afrokendants.
Remembrance is usually Ouidah, one of the most active African slave trading ports in the 18th-19th centuries. They include a slave route that was a path to the enslaved last trip to the ships and did not return the door to persecute the door, which last opened to the Atlantic Ocean where they left Africa and their families.
The head of the Benin State Tourism Agency, Sindé Chekete, said these sites give Afro-decelers the opportunity to learn about their ancestral battles and resistance.
“It can encourage some people to say, ‘I want to go back to Africa and choose Benin to understand this story,” said Cheket.
After his citizenship ceremony, Ciara looked at the historic city, where he went on the slave road at the door of the rest.
“I experienced a deep return between emotions, reflections and heritage to what really matters,” she said.
Ciara is best known for being like “goodness” and “upward”, its dynamic choreography and work in fashion and philanthropy.
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