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| Writings on the wall of Slavery Museum at Stonetown |
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Jan 8 Monday, '13
Learning the way of freedom in the Lord via the visit to Zanzibar, an island near Dar Es Salaam.
At the outset of the African Directors Conference 2013, Missionary Timothy Chung took the podium and said to the African directors, "Let us pray that Tanzania be changed from the the sad history of Bagamoyo to Missionary Sending Nation".
As I mentioned in my previous blog post Bagamoyo means "I leave my soul here." Prior to being exported to slave grounds in foreign lands like Saudi Arabia, India (under the British Rule), or Europe, looking back towards the mother land for the last moment, slaves said, "Bagamoyo."
The slaves then were brought to an island Zanzibar. (Zanzibar is a combination of two words:'zan' meaning 'black' and 'zibar' meaning 'island'.) There they were locked up in a prison which is a cave dug underground. They were stacked up there for two or three days, until the day of auction. On the day of auction, they were brought out to an open field, put on display on a stage. They were tied to trees (one of the trees called Jojoba used to tie up slaves is still standing on the frontyard where now a Catholic church is standing), and whipped. The beatings took palce for the sellers to demonstrate to the buyers the strength of the slaves being sold, for primarily the value of the slaves were determined by theeir 'strength' (labor value). The prices per slave ranged from $20 on the low side to $40 on the high side - the price of New York Steak!
After acquring the title the tradesman ships the slaves from Zanzibar to overseas countries. It took about one month and 2 weeks for the slaves to arrive at a foreign land where they were resold to retailors.
At 7:00 a.m. we left Dar Es Salaam for Zanzibar via Ferry.
The underground prison for slaves and the auction place were located at a town called "Stonetown", a place designated as a UNESCO Heritage site.
As I was visiting the sites, I asked myself a question, "How did this evil (slave trade) begin? Why did the slavery take place to the Africans? Who is liable for the sin of slavery? The Africans or the 'invaders' who invaded the lands with artilleries? Or both?"
We find the answer to the question in Galathians 5:1. Note the expression 'Do not let..', especially the word 'let'. Do not let yourself be burdened by the yoke of slavery!
It is you who 'let' it happen to you if it happens to you! The sin of slavery began first with the Africans. Slave traders were used only as an instrument.
Well, in the first place, slave traders are already in slavery, perhaps on a grander scale, - enslaved to the power of sin and Satan. That is why they end up invading an otherwise peaceful land and commit sins as horrible as slave trade. While John Newton was enslaved by the power of sin and Satan, he submitted himself to greed, so he made a living out of slave trade. But thanks to the influence of William Wilberforce (his shepherd so to speak), he met Jesus. He was set free from the bondage to the power of sin and death. And he fought for the abolishment of slave trade.
It is said the slave trade in Zanzibar began in 1801 and came to a close in 1873 but behind the cessation there is the history of the British Empire passing the law prohibiting slave trade as 'illegal', and for this many like John Newton, who found the true freedom in Jesus Christ, fought for the cessation of the slave trade
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Notice the word 'again'. What does 'again' mean? Again means 'again'. This word indicates that people repeat the same mistake again and again. Yes. You are born free, but you 'let' yourself be burdened by slavery again. Becasue you let it happen, things happen the way 'you' [decided to] let them happen, like out of nowhere, invaders land at the beach of Zanzibar or Dar Es Salaam. They shoot artillery, and they hold you up.
So do not let it happen. And it is you who hold the key.
Did the people of Tanzania or Zanzibar learn the lesson? What about you? or Me? Am I a Christian? Was I born free? And am I free in the true sense of being free?
How did the Africans 'let' themselves burdened by the yoke of slavery?
According to Moses Yoon who was in the visiting group, slave traders did not actually go out to the African villages and nab slaves. Fellow Africans caught fellow Africans as slaves. They handed fellow Africans to the slave traders. In Africa there used to be mutual hatred among tribes. They kept fighting against each other. The long history of tribal conficts resulted in them suffering from such horrible consequences as slavery. The slave traders took advantage of the situation. So all that the slave traders had to do was to give guns and rifles to one tribe, so as the tribes fight each other, the tribe that borrowed guns and artillry from the British, win the battle against the other, so the winning tribe turns in their captives to the hands of the slave traders who in turn sold the captives as slaves.
Written on the wall of the slavery museum at the Stonetown is 'None of us is as strong as all of us.' Does this writing ring anything to you?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhonepe, looking at the mother land for the last moment, they said, "Bagamoyo."
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