Moctar Kamara [ENG]

What word comes to your mind when you think of the Humboldtforum / Berliner Schloss? Please explain.

I think it’s shameful that in this century these castles are built in Berlin. They glorify times that cannot be glorified. These times are associated with slave trade and also with colonialism. The objects that are supposed to be exhibited there came to Germany through bloody colonial wars. The objects from Benin for example: everyone knows how the British took hold of those objects. After they destroyed the kingdom of Benin and plundered everything, they sold it to London and after that the Germans acquired them. And these kinds of goods are very problematic.

Do you think that Germany should pay reparations to the Herero and Nama communities that were affected by and dispossessed during the genocide from 1904-08? Please elaborate.

The victims of these genocides are the Herero and Nama. Even if Germany is negotiating with the Namibian government today, it’s unacceptable that the victims are not taken into account. They are the victims, they were dispossessed, they were exterminated and Germany should negotiate with the descendants of the victims and pay reparations. Almost 80% of the Herero were exterminated and up to today the genocide shows its effects, because the Herero and Nama are the poorest people in Namibia. And they have lost their land. What people don’t want to say is that also German colonialists settled in Namibia and they still profit from the fruits of this genocide and that is unacceptable.

Do you think that a memorial and information center concerning the topic slavery, colonialism and racism should be built in Berlin? Please elaborate.

This has to be built because of three reasons. Point 1: what we forget is that Germany participated in slave trade and today we only speak of Brandenburg-Prussia. If you would do your research properly you would know that Hamburg was also participating. Because it cannot be that a city with a big harbor like the harbor of Hamburg did not participate. And recently some researchers in Switzerland found out that a lot of people who are very rich today profited from the slave trade. Germany, too profited from the slave trade.

Point 2: the initiative of the Berlin Conference. Bismarck invited all colonialists to Germany to divide up Africa. Germany too had colonies in Africa. Luckily this was not for long but rather a very short time. But in this short time there were a lot of genocides. In Namibia, and one should also not forget the Maji Maji uprising in Tanzania. And this is why we think there should be a memorial in Berlin in remembrance of slavery and colonialism. We argue that Germany had this initiative. Every African who is going to school will tell you about the “Berlin Conference” when you talk about Berlin. You learn that in every school in Africa. And that’s why it is important symbolically that here, at the place where this happened, a memorial is built to remember the African victims of slavery and colonialism.

What’s your take on the many human remains from the Global South that are kept in German museums until today?

It’s hardly conceivable that one still insists that these human remains are kept in Germany. If one knows for which purpose they came to Germany, one knows that during the flourishing times of colonialism they wanted to prove that the Whites are superior. And that the others, the Blacks, have no culture and are inferior. And these human remains came to Germany for racist research purposes. And that’s why we should consider the following things: research should be carried out and the German government should also provide funds so that it can be investigated where those human remains came from so that they can be returned to their homeland. It’s just unbelievable that these objects are still remaining in Germany! And what did a friend tell me? “Those skulls and bones must be returned so that they can come to rest. So that our ancestors can come to rest, as we say.“ That’s why it’s hardly conceivable and inacceptable that these human remains are still kept in German museums and that there’s not a lot of effort put into carrying out provenance research, so that they (human remains) can be returned to their homeland.

According to you, how important is the equal and conceptional contribution of descendants of colonized people to handle the colonial past (i.e. negotiations regarding reparations, museums, exhibitions, representation in schoolbooks, street renaming etc.)?

That’s very important. Firstly I will mention the Durban Declaration. It very clearly states that colonialism and slave trade led to racism. That the people of African descent suffer from racism today is also linked to the many racist ideologies that emerged in the 19th century, whereby Blacks were really not viewed as human beings. And the history books, everything was filled with these ideologies. The schoolbooks, sciences, historical narratives, culture – that’s a whole lot of ideological measures that led to the discrimination of people of African descent and that they became victims of racism. For that reason, if the colonial history should be processed, one should also tell the history from our perspective. For example that people are taught in school that before colonialism savages didn’t inhabit Africa, but that there were flourishing kingdoms. One should know that the African culture was very rich and offered an essential contribution to the culture of humanity. That has to be seen. And we as affected persons can convey this perspective better. It’s just that someone who is affected and knows his/her history can tell this story better than someone who’s uninvolved. That’s why we think it is important and right and it’s also a demand of the international community. Germany signed the Durban Declaration – we shouldn’t forget this. And there’s also a plan of action for measures that should be taken so that people of African descent cease to be victims of racism. There are measures in the Durban Declaration that can help to eliminate racism against Black people. And we would like to implement them. And that’s why it’s very important for us, that people of African descent play a major part in processing the past.