Netherlands' Ambassador Opens Slave Route Exhibition

Accra, Aug. 31, GNA - Mr Arie Van Der Wiel, The Royal Netherlands Ambassador, on Monday opened an exhibition of relics of slavery at the National Museum, Accra as part activities marking the ongoing four-day International Conference on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in Accra. The Exhibition exposed the participants to slave routes in Ghana and other parts of the world and the ordeal the slaves went through. The conference is part of the worldwide observation of the "Day of the Slave Trade and its Abolition" the United Nation and it is being sponsored by The Netherlands.

It is being organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City and it is highlighting the horrors of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade with landmarks, legacies and expectations. Mr Wiel said the conference would help create a better awareness about the history of Africa and said he was hopeful that participants would come out with a credible report.

He pledged the support of the Embassy for the publication of the findings of the conference and to develop a curriculum about the slave trade for schools.

Mr Wiel said museums played an important part in the preservation of history, hence the preparedness of The Netherlands to assist the Ghanaian Government to develop its museums.

Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Sector Minister, said the search for the truth by the Africans was to return humanness to those in the Diaspora. He called for the sharing of the findings of conference and expressed his gratitude to the Dutch Government for sponsoring it.