By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Paga-Nania (U/E), July 3, GNA – Mrs Carol Ammons, Illinois State Representative for the 103rd District of the United States, has called for restoration and reparative justice for Africa, arguing that the continent’s wealth and resources were systematically plundered through slavery and colonial exploitation.
She said the transatlantic slave trade and colonial system enriched European powers at the expense of Africa, and the historical injustices could not be allowed to remain unaddressed.
“The plundering of Africa and her resources must be restored. It built the wealth of the European powers, and we cannot allow it to go unchecked,” Mrs Ammons stated.
She made the remarks at a durbar held in her honour at the historic Pikworo Slave Camp at Nania, in Paga in the Upper East Region, after DNA ancestry research traced her roots to the community.
The event, held under the theme: “Family Reunion: Claiming Our Roots, Restoring Our Bonds,” formed part of efforts to reconnect descendants of enslaved Africans with their ancestral families and communities in Ghana.
Ms Ammons’ return to Nania followed years of DNA ancestry research led by Dr Lakisha David, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois and Director of the DNA Family Roots Project.
The project, which began in 2018, tested the DNA of residents in the Nania community to identify descendants of enslaved Africans scattered across the diaspora.
Through the research, Mrs Ammons discovered that her ancestral roots traced directly to the Nania community in Paga, making her homecoming both a scientific confirmation and a deeply personal reunion with relatives separated by the transatlantic slave trade centuries ago.
Mrs Ammons described slavery in the western hemisphere as inhumane, unjust and exploitative, stressing that Africans on both sides of the Atlantic continued to bear the consequences of centuries of oppression.
She noted that African Americans had endured 244 years of bondage during America’s 250-year history and were stripped of their identities, history, and humanity through the ideology of white supremacy.
“They told us that we had no names, that we had no people, that we had no history, that we were not worthy of humanity. But we are the very humanity that they have hailed from,” she said.
The legislator commended the Government of Ghana for championing the adoption of a United Nations resolution recognising the transatlantic trafficking and enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.
She also praised the 2019 “Year of Return” initiative, saying it inspired many African Americans to reconnect with their ancestral homeland, while advances in DNA research were now making it possible for many to identify their specific communities of origin.
Mrs Ammons pledged to use her position in the Illinois State Legislature to advocate greater support for initiatives that reconnect descendants of enslaved Africans with their roots.
Mrs Ammons further pledged to dedicate the remainder of her life to ensuring that the history of the slave trade was accurately told, emphasising that the trafficking of enslaved Africans began long before they reached the coastal slave castles.
“I intend to spend the remainder of my years making sure people know that the trafficking didn’t start at the Cape; it didn’t start at the dungeon. It started right here,” she said.
The chiefs and peopled welcomed her back home and she received a native name “Alorisongo” by Pe Charles Awiah Awampaga II, Paramount Chief of the Paga Traditional Area.
Dr David explained that the research had identified more than 6,000 diaspora relatives from DNA samples collected from just 35 people in the community.
She said the initiative sought to reconnect descendants of enslaved Africans with their ancestral families, languages and cultural heritage, describing the reunion as part of efforts to repair one of history’s greatest crimes against humanity.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Anthony Adongo ApubeoÂ
[email protected]Â