via Flickr
The Anse Cafard Slave Memorial is a special treasure to the residents and tourists of the French Caribbean island of Martinique.
Exploring the shores of the town of Le Diamant, you’ll find 20 eight-foot-tall, somber-faced statues intentionally positioned facing the site of an incredible tragedy.
While the importation of new slaves was officially outlawed across the French West Indies in 1815, that didn’t stop illegal trading.
Ships would attempt to port in the dark of night despite being extremely dangerous.
On April 30, 1930, one vessel carrying more than 40 shackled Africans crashed just near Diamond Rock. Anse Cafard was constructed with these lost souls in mind.
There are no chains, gates, or barriers to restrict full access to the monuments.
Visitors are free to walk among their permanent expressions of grief and solemn pain. The pain of the past is still fresh as visitors gaze reverently in the direction of the sea where innocent lives were lost. But alongside the pain there is beauty.
The memorial was built in 1998 by Black sculptor Laurent Valére in celebration of 150 years of emancipation across the French West Indies.
The impression it leaves is one of respect. The Anse Cafard Slave Memorial still stands as one of the most appropriate and dignified tributes to the souls of the enslaved.