El Mina Castle

Yusuf Adamu

The inhumanity of man to man
Mercilessness and hopelessness
Treachery and cruelty of the highest order
Was displayed in the brutality of El-mina

I wept and bled profusely in my heart
I shed unquantifiable tears of agony
When I saw how African peoples had been
Dehumanized and abused with impunity

I was at the male and female dungeons
A point of no return, a point of despair
They are hot, stuffy and suffocating prisons
Congested in an unhygienic manner

How on Earth can any sensible human
Treat a fellow human in this unkind manner?
Slave masters are indeed raw brutes
They are horrible monsters and murderers

Africa and Africans have been cheated
Today, slave masters have turned away their heads
Should we just lament and complain each day
Or should we demand for reparation?

Accra: April 6, 2012

Elmina Castle, also known as St George's Castle, is the oldest building of European construction in sub-Saharan Africa. It was built by the Portugese as early as 1492. It later became a key post on the slave trade.


Main Location:

Elmina Castle, Ghana

The ramparts of St George's Castle, Elmina, Ghana