• Thursday, May 17, 2012
• Inter Press Service

'Get Up, Stand Up, Stand up for your right', a line from the song, Get up, Stand up by Bob Marley and also a phrase UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon uses at the end of his speech, which was displayed via video message to a concert audience last Tuesday at the 2012 Annual Gala Concert in support of a Permanent Memorial to the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave trade.

Ambassador Raymond Wolfe of Jamaica, chairman of the permanent memorial committee spoke at the event, along with Maher Nasser the acting Head of the Department of Public Information, the Permanent Representative of Angola and chairman of the Group of African States for May 2012, Ismael Abraão Gaspar Martins, and Sheila Walker, a Cultural Anthropologist and Executive Director of Afrodiaspora Inc.

Each speaker delved into their own story about honouring the heroes and survivors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which according to the programme took place 'over a period of more than 400 years, (when) it is estimated that between 15 and 20 million Africans were uprooted from their homes and sold as slaves, a tragedy of immense scope and human suffering'.

The concert, as well as other events were meant to engage people throughout the year in fighting against the 'lingering consequences of bigotry, racism and prejudice' that have started to develop in society.

Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti , Brazil's representative to the permanent memorial committee, referenced this sentiment on the memorial website : 'Brazil strongly believes that racism is amongst the worst manifestations of intolerance. is incompatible with the promotion, protection and the full enjoyment of human rights'.

The concert was aimed at raising funds for the permanent memorial to honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave trade . In 2007, the UN General Assembly created an annual observance day devoted to remembering slavery and its victims, which is now celebrated on March 25 and is called the International Day of Remembrance of The Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

This Year's theme is honouring the Heroes, Resisters and Survivors. The master of ceremonies for the event was April Sutton and the performers included: Third World Band from Jamaica, Mbaye Dieye Faye and Sing Sing Rhythm from Senegal, Chen Lo and the Lo Frequency Band from the United States and Rachelle Jeanty from Haiti and Canada.

© Inter Press Service (2012) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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