00:00They are yearning to connect with their ancestors.
00:03Shamim, John and Marion are the descendants of enslaved Africans.
00:08Born in the Caribbean, they have come from New York to northern Togo.
00:13We can get the scent of our ancestors after all these years.
00:20It's mind-boggling.
00:23Knock is the place where the Moabah people took refuge from the Chocoses.
00:28There were slave readers pursuing their neighbours to sell them to European merchants.
00:34Shamim is from Trinidad. For her, it is an overwhelming reunion.
00:40I'm a witness of what occurred. I accept, I understand, and I'm not going to be silent.
00:49I'm here, and I'm here for a reason.
00:53I'm here to let my ancestors know, even in the spirit realm, that I do appreciate.
01:01And they're not alone.
01:06The battle is not won, but the fight has begun, and that the world knows that we are a people, and we have an origin, and we are entitled.
01:18That's our right to be who we are supposed to be.
01:23To find out more, I have come to Selga, a northern town with a history of trade.
01:32It's long been famous for commerce selling things like salt, colonists, and human beings.
01:44Africans who were abducted from communities around Knock were enslaved after their capture and forced to march in chains for days to the slave market in Selga.
01:56Those who died on the way were cast aside, whilst those who survived the journey were paraded like animals for European and American merchants to select.
02:07Chains, shackles, and Danish guns are relics of slavery kept by residents in this modest museum.
02:17Slavery was only abolished here, in the late 19th century, after British colonies invaded.
02:23So if you were wanting slaves or wanting a slave to buy, and of course a stronger slave to buy, you needed to come to Selga.
02:31If you closely observe the tattoos or the marks, you see that they are coming from different areas.
02:40Outside of Selga town, oral tradition says historic slave wells are another relic of the trade.
02:48They were used to wash slaves who had been brought to the Selga slave market.
02:53The wells were renovated by the Ghana Tourism Authority in 2024.
03:00Some even drink from them, and say they connect to the souls of their ancestors who got divided by the brutal slave trade.
03:09Slavery started the division among Africans, if you think carefully.
03:15They were living together as kingdoms and united better.
03:19Now, it's difficult for people to trace their ancestors because they've been separated from their roots for generations.
03:29But decades later, the descendants of slaves are finding their way home.
03:33Now Panduri is one of the communities that was decimated by slave raiding.
03:38John Francis feels he has been reunited with his bloodline, and he has photographs to prove it.
03:46This is a picture of my grandfather.
03:49And when I see my grandfather, and I see you and your brother Conlon, you will look like my uncles.
04:02For many routineers, DNA analysis has confirmed the close affinity they feel.
04:07Cori Lewis is from Trinidad.
04:10Her results suggest a clear link back to her roots in Africa.
04:16My daughter actually did a DNA analysis, and it proved that we were 78% African.
04:26It even went down to, it went on to break down the regions that we were from.
04:37And in 2019, I had the opportunity to come to Ghana, and I felt like this was home.
04:44This was where I came from. This was my beginning.
04:48A long journey back to the Cape of Nook, where the descendants of enslaved Africans can finally feel a closeness with their ancestors.
04:59For them, it is a relief, a restoration after years of loss.
05:04The손 of hooks.
05:05There were no means.
05:06Of course, theonid hese who is being driven by his foie.
05:07It was a long journey because a cross multiplayer was something that was moving those decades.
05:12Theonid hese who is a shepherd, a warrior.
05:13For them, these two people are trying to stay 20 years old.
05:15They were trying to stay 20 years old.
05:20So they're trying to stay 28 years old.
05:21So they had to stay in front and be the same.
05:22And now, they felt like a supreme.
05:23They're and they're trying to stay at home.
05:25They were trying to stay four years old.
05:27They did not stay.
05:29They were trying to stay together.
05:30They were trying to stay up there.
05:31It was a forgiveness and all happened.
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