Ghana Is losing Its Coastline And Parts Of Its Slave Trade History  Due To Climate Change

Ghana is losing its coastline and parts of its slave trade history to climate change where by thick walls once held thousands enslaved Africans before their journey to Atlantic

 

 

The salty wind blows across the ruins of Ghana’s Fort Prinzenstein, where thick walls once held thousands of enslaved Africans before their journey across the Atlantic.

For centuries, Ghana’s coastline has borne the brunt of history. Today it is being consumed by nature and neglect as climate change

, rising sea levels and unchecked human activity eat away at the 550-kilometre Villages are vanishing, and with them, centuries-old heritage.

 

The modern economy is also at risk. A few metres away from the fort, Ernestina Gavor cleans a glass behind a bar.

Fort Prinzenstein, once a Danish slave fort and now a Unesco World Heritage site, is among the most threatened sites on Ghana’s coast.

The coast used to be about seven kilo Metres  from the fort, he said. The village he was born in has been swept away; his family packed up and left in 1984.

Today, only 10 per cent of the original fort survives. The dungeons that once held enslaved women are still visible, but the men’s quarters have been swallowed by the waves.

Ghana’s castles and forts – particularly Elmina Castle – attract thousands of visitors each year, mostly African-Americans seeking to reconnect with their ancestral past.

Yet the destruction of Fort – stone of the prince in the Danish language – is particularly poignant because of its role in the slave trade.

recounted how enslaved people from modern-day Benin, Nigeria and Togo were branded, sorted and shipped from the fort, even after Britain outlawed the slave trade

At Cape Coast Castle, a tour guide warned of a similar fate people from the diaspora come here and cry in these dungeons,” requesting anonymity since he was not Authorised to speak to the media.

believes the core problem is not erosion, but lack of care. “If there had been regular maintenance, we wouldn’t witness the severe deterioration.

These were buildings meant to last centuries. But neglect, urban development and vandalism have destroyed many.

They must come as a matter of urgency, restore this fort to boost visitation, so that our brothers in the diaspora will not lose their roots.

Compiled by

World Travel News, Gorilla Trekking Uganda and Gorilla Trekking Rwanda