Ile de Gorée

Today we went to an island twenty minutes by ferry from Dakar. It was a hub and stronghold for the slave trade in West Africa.

The ferry was packed with people heading out for a day at the beach, and tourists (Toubabs and Senegalese alike) going to visit and remember the past. I lost the two other volunteers in the rush to get a seat, so I ended up standing at the back alone. Next to me was an elderly man, from Dakar, who was accompanying a young family member visiting from elsewhere. The man was briefly explaining the history of the island and the nature of the slave trade. I plunged into my book. He started speaking louder as the conversation got heated but I continued to read...

I looked up right as he was concluding: "mais bon, c'est pas pour cela qu'il faut tuer les blanc. Non, c'est pas bien de les tuer."
What?! I had clearly missed an interesting conversation.
He then leans over and says to me chuckling: "T'es pas ancienne colonisatrice toi, hein?"
Non.
Awkward.

On the island we visited La maison des esclaves, built in 1776. Slaves were kept there temporarily until they were auctioned (which occured only when they had been engraissés to the minimum weight of 60kg). At that point they walked through "la porte du voyage sans retour" and embarked, usually for the Americas.

(ran out of time. to be continued...)