I do not know of the other African countries, but with the exception of South Africa,
I do not know of the other African countries, but with the exception of South Africa,
isn't it funny how we have preserved (somewhat) places of historical importance associated with colonialism but virtually erased all those involved with the periods of active fight for independence? We have castles, colonial mansions, etc now turned into museums or hotels but still well preserved with their accompanying history. We have parks and places that the colonialists had fun well preserved. But when it comes to where their discomfort was put into practise, we have none. South Africa at least has the Robben Island Museum et al to showcase where their heroes suffered. Here in Kenya, despite the Mau Mau war of independence being one of the major shocks for the British Empire, we have erased all traces of the detention camps. We have no official programme to tour the war sites. The camps where the freedom fighters were in, were erased. The jails too. One of the central figures in the fight, Dedan Kimathi, his grave has never been identified despite the official documentation of his hanging. In other countries, memories of pain are never forgotten. We have Auschwitz, Normandy , The Cenotaph in Whitehall Central London.... The Europeans preserve what is crucial to their history even if it is pain at the hands of others.
isn't it funny how we have preserved (somewhat) places of historical importance associated with colonialism but virtually erased all those involved with the periods of active fight for independence? We have castles, colonial mansions, etc now turned into museums or hotels but still well preserved with their accompanying history. We have parks and places that the colonialists had fun well preserved. But when it comes to where their discomfort was put into practise, we have none. South Africa at least has the Robben Island Museum et al to showcase where their heroes suffered. Here in Kenya, despite the Mau Mau war of independence being one of the major shocks for the British Empire, we have erased all traces of the detention camps. We have no official programme to tour the war sites. The camps where the freedom fighters were in, were erased. The jails too. One of the central figures in the fight, Dedan Kimathi, his grave has never been identified despite the official documentation of his hanging. In other countries, memories of pain are never forgotten. We have Auschwitz, Normandy , The Cenotaph in Whitehall Central London.... The Europeans preserve what is crucial to their history even if it is pain at the hands of others.
The pic below is the only official memorial dedicated to the Mau Mau independence war, called ‘The Memorial to the Victims of Torture and Ill-Treatment in the Colonial Era, 1952-1960’. It was put up in 2015, almost 50 years after independence! The memorial, placed in our central park in Nairobi , is ironically funded by the British as part of an out-of-court settlement reached between the British government and the Mau Mau freedom fighters who had sued the British over torture in the freedom fight.
Is it that Africans are not keen in preserving sites associated with the fight for freedom? How is it in your countries?

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