You know, as African-Americans, the first thing you’re seen as is black, so you’re always assessing what the environment is: Who are my allies?

How am I going to navigate? What do I need to do to fit in? It’s a different feel here; and then there’s just a sense of ease like, okay, we’re all the same, and no one’s judging you.

Opportunities

We immediately saw the opportunity: to bring our skill set and all the people that we know we want to have them have the same sense of ease and opportunity that we feel is here: that same kind of excitement to have people feel welcomed and especially being welcomed in our community as theatre actors, producers, writers and creators.

I think there’s a tremendous opportunity here; and also music and art, so we’re making connections.

We’re going to come back; we plan to be here; we want to do a festival hosted by black theatre united.

I wish every African-American high school kid could come and learn.

I would hope that there be programmes in place and airlines to discount rates for more groups to come and have the experience that we had in just five days which is amazing.

I will never complain about anything ever again and the appreciation of the survival of our ancestors through this horrific journey and struggle and the fact that we were able to make it through.

Church in slave castles

Within the castle there is a church that was built by the Portuguese.

First, it was not a slave castle and then I found out it was a Catholic priest who gave them the idea that trading goods is one thing but trading humans would be more beneficial.

As a Catholic I was horrified.

It was stunning that that was a suggestion from a religion that I grew up with.

That blew me away: the juxtaposition of having a normal life up at the castle while you’ve got moaning people in pain, shackled, pregnant and stacked in a tiny room.

It was horrifying going through these tiny little doorways to get to where the ship would have been waiting for you: to see whether you could even survive the journey or not, after you’ve been there for three months having the ones that were defiant rot right next to you.

It was horrifying! The other aspect was the governor’s bedroom – to come down and walk across a balcony where the women’s chambers were, and be able to pick who he wanted to rape, drag them up a secret staircase, and then if they got pregnant to be separated from their child.

It’s unbelievable!

So, I don’t want to seem like this was such a horrible exchange just coming back to connect with the sorrow that our ancestors felt.

I also had a joyous time here – not only partying at Afrochella, yes; and we’re going to Purple Pub tonight.

We’ve been at the Labadi Beach.

We’ve done yoga at Bella Beach as well, and I went to Shai Hills.

I thank my ancestors for having me here and I thank them for their guidance.

I know they’re always with me for sure.

E-mail: anishaffar@gmail.com