Rethinking slavery

A visit to the museum and conversations made me think of slavery again. You cannot escape the theme in Ghana. West Africa might have been the worst hit by slavery. I still need to go to Cape coast to see the gates of no return but I am coming to a better understanding already.

Slavery already existed in Africa, way before the westerners began dabbling in it. The Arabs sold slaves from West Africa to East Africans. The argument is that this trading was a lot more humane than what the Europeans did. Possibly.

A few months back I watched many documentaries of Cattle herders. The Tibetans were really gentle and cared, the Iranians cared less but they did care. The children carried lambs in their arms while migrating. But the westerners cared very little. The lambs would be dragged around by feet and there was no personal connection with the animals.

Yes the scale of trade matters. But to treat people like commodities was a crime in humanity but justified even in many religious texts. I would say that we must treat every living thing with a lot more respect because at a later day our actions will turn around to haunt us.