Ussher Fort Museum Inaugurated

By Stephen K.Effah

Saturday, 17 November 2007

A new museum, that gives a pictorial account of the infamous slave trade in the country between the 15th and 19th century housed in at the Ussher Fort in Accra was inaugurated on Wednesday. Situated along the beach of James Town, the Ussher Fort Museum, tells the story of how slaves were brutally captured, dehumanised and transported to Europe to be used as labour in a pictorial and sequential order. It features a miniature ship which transported the slaves to Europe, different types of shackles and other weapons used in carrying the heinous trade, as well as pictures of some people fought for the abolition of slave trade. The GH¢420,100 project was initiated by the Ministry of Tourism and Dias-poran Relations with support and funds from UNESCO and the European Union respectively. Mr Stephen Asa-moah Boateng, the sector minister, in an address read on his behalf by his special assistant, Abeiku Dickson, said, Ghana’s tourism potential is found among others in its history, culture, ecology and its people. "Our recent history is dominated by the advent of Europeans, the trade in gold, arms, salt and the heinous trafficking of human beings across the Atlantic to the then new world and colonialism," he said. He said the slave trade has been described in certain circles as the "darkest spot" in the development of man, which he said has become the focus of intense research and studies among scholars of history and archeology. The tourism industry has an obligation to let the world experience "whatever relics and monuments we have relating to the search," he said The ministry he said, has for sometime now placed much emphasis on things that strengthen the advantages in the slave trade niche market segment as part of effort to attract more visitors to Ghana. He also urged Ghana Museums and Monuments Board to ensure that the museum is managed well and sustained to achieve its purpose of establishment. Mr.Ceriani Sebregondi, head of the EU delegation in Ghana, pointed out that besides acting as a reminder of Ghana’s past trade-links with Europe and legacy of its colonial past, the Ussher Fort is an important part of the recent history of Ghana. "It was used as a prison until 1985 and I know many Ghanaian political leaders and activists from independence to recent time have been jailed in this structure," he added. He said the EU is fully aware of the importance of cultural heritage and its potential role for local economic development, hence its decision to fund the museum. "Indeed, we agreed on the huge potential of James Town for the development of cultural tourism but regretted that accessibility by tourists was hampered by the deplorable state of the site and the lack of cultural institutions and facilities such as functional museum," he indicated. He said the museum would offer additional opportunity to harness education for cultural heritage development as well as attract tourists to stay in Accra before going anywhere in the country. Mr.Sebregondi said the EU has found some additional money to help to clean up the James Town area to create spaces for boutiques and shops for petty trading in goods and services to aide the improvement of their livelihood. The Organiser of the Museum, Sarah Bucknor, said the Gold Cost played a significant role in the Trans Atlantic trade because of its location on the continent, adding "the real history of Ghana must be told and shown to our young ones and to all who visit our country," "Even though monuments of some political personalities have been erected all around the nation, the history of Ghana is still not complete for those who do not know," she pointed out. For any nation to move on, its citizens must know, appreciate and preserve its history so they can learn from mistakes of their ancestors irrespective of their political affiliations, he said. Mrs.Bucknor said that the slogan ‘never Again’ will have more meaning after one has visited the new museum.