Obama visits Senegal slave port on first day of Africa tour

US President Barack Obama confronted a dark chapter in America’s past yesterday as he began a weeklong trip to Africa with a visit to an infamous slave port off the Senegalese coast. 

Barack and Michelle Obama look out from the Door of No Return while touring the House of Slaves Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The first US leader of African American ancestry, Mr Obama took his family to Goree Island to visit the House of Slaves, an 18th century fort which was once a notorious embarkation point for those destined for a life of slavery in the Americas.
“This is a testament to, when we’re not vigilant in defence of human rights, what can happen,” Mr Obama said, describing the visit as “a very powerful moment”.
With wife Michelle, who has said she is descended from slaves, he stared out at the Atlantic Ocean through the Door of No Return, the last exit for slaves bound for the New World.
“Obviously, for an African American, an African American president, to be able to visit this site, I think, gives me even greater motivation in terms of human rights around the world,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Obama praised the ailing former South African president Nelson Mandela as “a hero for the world” whose “legacy will linger through the ages”.

 

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