By Makutu Manneh
Under the stewardship of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and in collaboration with its stakeholders, the 200th anniversary of the repatriation of liberated slaves to Janjangbureh was commemorated between 4 and 7 January 2024 at Janjangbureh Island.
The theme of this year’s festival and bicentenary commemoration was: “celebrating homecoming and our heritage”.
The event was celebrated in grand style and involved divergent cultural and traditional displays, symposia and a trade fair called ‘Senegambia Lumo’ or Senegambia Weekly market, among other activities.
The aim of the festival is to bring together Africans, African descendants, Gambians at home and abroad and well-wishers, to healingand reconciliation through shared history and heritage.It is also to celebrate the bicentenary of the return of the first freed slaves from the West, strengthen cultural revival and build a robust tourism product for the Gambia.
Speaking at the event, President Adama Barrow said the country will seize the opportunity presented by the McCarthy Island bicentenary celebration by using her diplomatic, intellectual and cultural advantage to promote a reparation agenda. He said Africans have been forced to demand reparations from those who took part in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, adding that it is a welcome development that the African Union, the United Nations and some African countries, have already started to ask for reparations.
“We are in this historic town to celebrate its bicentenary on an Island where hope was restored for captured Africans who were unjustly seized, maltreated and removed from their homeland and families without any regard for their rights and dignity. On account of these, it is with mix feelings that we have organized this historic festival to remember the event of the mid 19th centuries, because of the cruel act of that dark era,” President Barrow said.
The president said he has observed last October that it is rewarding for a nation to reflect on her past in order to chart a way forward for a better future.He said his government is aware of the roles that their heritage and culture can play in job creation and the economic wellbeing of the youth, noting that they will build upon the lessons and success stories of the bicentenary, and further promote the heritage and artistic sectors for the gainful employment of the country’s youth.
President Barrow said the Island of Janjangbureh would continue to receive the attention of the Gambia Tourism Board so that all important heritage sites and cultural products will be fully upgraded to generate jobs through heritage tourism, and foster national unity by projecting a positive image of the people.
Hamat N.K. Bah, the Minister of Tourism on his part, thanked the president and all those who contributed to the success of the festival.
Ousman Bah, the Governor of Central River Region (CRR), said they are celebrating culture and history because Janjangbureh become the home of the ‘Kankurang’ masquerade and is home to the first Government School in rural Gambia, and was the capital of the protectorate for a certain period.
Governor Bah said Janjangbureh and CRR have been blessed to host the great and historic event when the Island and Region is the attraction of the entire West African sub-region.
“Now it is our duty to pick up the many opportunities that this celebration has created such as the new infrastructure, and the contacts and networks created to take this Island and region into a tourism hub for job creation,” he said.
Rt. Hon Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary General called on everyone to march forward together with strong hearts and clear eyes to a future build on equality, dignity, love and bond by connections that will echo through the ages. She said all should resolve to ensure that their children inherit a world which honors the sacrifices their ancestors made.
Brief History:
Janjangbureh Island was founded in 1823 as a British Colony and was a vibrant multi-cultural trade centre. The Island is blessed with a diverse array of historical sites such as the old colonial cemetery, the Freedom Triangle, old river wharf, bird and animal life and Armitage High School, which was established in 1927.
The Island is the birth place of the ‘Kankurang’ masquerade and has a variety of attractions which include a‘Kankurang’ center and museum.
