Records of French Slaves Inscribed on UN World Heritage Register

French President Emmanuel Macron (2-R) visits the Chateau de Joux during a ceremony marking the 175th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in France, in La Cluze-et-Mijoux, near Besancon, eastern France, on April 27, 2023. (AFP)

16:15-23 May 2023 AD ـ 04 Thul-Qi’dah 1444 AH

Records of French Slaves Inscribed on UN World Heritage Register

Several hundred documents and items revealing the names and other details of victims of slavery in France’s colonial empire is being added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World register.

This latest addition, which the UN cultural agency approved last week, marks the first time that France has pushed for the inscription of documents on the UNESCO register that were previously archived in France's present-day overseas territories.

The Memory of the World register was set up in 1992 "to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, decay over time," according to UNESCO.

The documents date from between the 17th and 19th centuries, from places including the modern-day nations of Haiti, Mauritius and Senegal and the French overseas territories of Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Mayotte, Martinique and Reunion.

They represent just a fraction of some 4 million people "enslaved in the French colonial empire, whether victims of trafficking or born locally into a status of servitude," according to the French Foundation for the Memory of Slavery that lobbied for the inscription.

"These generations of women, men and children lived there without civil status, but not without traces," the foundation said Tuesday in a statement.

The records include documents in the administrative, fiscal or religious sphere that feature the victim's name, age, sex, professional skills, and sometimes his or her physical characteristics.

The records have for years been kept by the Territorial Archives of Martinique and French Guiana, the Departmental Archives of Guadeloupe, Reunion, the Overseas National Archives and the National Archives of Haiti.

Murakami Tells Alma Mater He Was a ‘Terrible Student'

This picture taken on June 29, 2024 shows Japanese author Haruki Murakami posing during a photo call following a performance entitled the “Haruki Murakami produce Murakami JAM vol.3 – A hot and gentle fusion night”, at the Sumida Triphony Hall in Tokyo. (AFP)

17:04-17 December 2024 AD ـ 16 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1446 AH

Murakami Tells Alma Mater He Was a ‘Terrible Student'

Publicity-shy Japanese author Haruki Murakami told his alma mater Tuesday that he was far from being a model scholar, as he collected an honorary degree in a rare public appearance.

"It feels kind of strange being given the award, considering what a terrible student I was," said Murakami to laughter from the audience at Waseda University.

"I would skip classes and forget about studying. I was just doing whatever I wanted and causing loads of trouble to the university," the 75-year-old said.

The degree is therefore a "pretty generous gesture on Waseda's part," the novelist, dressed in academic regalia, told the rapturous audience of hundreds of admiring fans and Waseda students.

Awarding the honorary doctorate, Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University hailed the "cosmopolitan atmosphere" of Murakami's work and his ability "freewheelingly to zigzag between the real and the surreal".

The author of "Norwegian Wood" and "Kafka on the Shore" is known for his intricate tales of the absurdity and loneliness of modern life, which have been translated into about 50 languages.

Perennially tipped for a Nobel prize, Murakami is a reclusive figure and famously media-shy.

Readers of his works are drawn into the "Murakami world" where giant frogs challenge office workers in battle and mackerel rain down from the sky.

"The City and Its Uncertain Walls", his first full-length novel in six years, hit shelves in Japan last year, and copies of its English translation were released in November.

In his short, self-deprecating speech, Murakami said he had "gained absolutely nothing" from his previous six honorary doctorates -- all awarded by universities abroad -- calling them "useless".

"It's not like they come with pension money... And just because you have honorary doctorates doesn't mean your books sell," he quipped to another bout of laughter.

This is not to say, he added, that he is not grateful to his alma mater.

"Had I not enrolled in Waseda, I might have not pursued the career as a novelist at all," Murakami said, calling the award a milestone in his "life cycle".

Typical of his taciturn style, Murakami offered no clue as to what his next project will be, but he ended his speech on a bright note.

"I want to keep writing good novels," he said.

Records of French Slaves Inscribed on UN World Heritage Register

Records of French Slaves Inscribed on UN World Heritage Register

Most Viewed

Murakami Tells Alma Mater He Was a ‘Terrible Student'

Murakami Tells Alma Mater He Was a ‘Terrible Student'

لم تشترك بعد