From ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar, 6th June 2011 @ 12:00, Total Comments: 0, Hits: 3300
THE Anglican Church in Zanzibar diocese on Monday commemorated its 138th anniversary of the abolition of slave trade in East Africa, with a call to governments to include the day in the national centenary calendar.
"Slave trade was abolished on June 6, 1873 in East Africa including closing down of the Mkunazini slave market in Zanzibar.
"We should collectively remember this day which marked the first freedom of Africans," Mr James Kaleza, assistant secretary of the diocese said on Monday.
Mr Kaleza also said that it was important to educate students in schools about the history of slave trade in the region, as well as boost the number of tourists who visit slave trade sites in the Islands.
Slave chambers have been conserved at Mkunazini area, close to the Church, in the stone town, where slave were kept before auctioning and transported abroad.
However, some historians' disputed this, arguing that the chambers abandoned medical stores and that slaves were only auctioned at the site.
According to Kaleza, most slaves were kept in the small chambers, tormented through hard work and beating, before being sold at the market.
The Anglican Church estimates that 200,000 tourists visit Mkunazini, former slave market annually.
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