24 April, 2008

Zainu Bassie, Bunce Island

Bunce Island to become Tourist Spot

A good number of African Americans are believed to have come from Sierra Leone, especially from Bunce Island after DNA results revealed that majority of the black community in South Carolina and Atlanta are descendants of Sierra Leoneans.

When I spoke to John Smith, a Sierra Leonean who now carries United States passport, he said that their history can be traced as far back as 1670 when tens of thousands of African captives were exported to North America and the West Indies until 1808.

He further said that many of the captives were taken from the Gullah tribe in Bunce Island and this was more so because of their rice growing expertise. Mr. John said the Gullah is the largest black community in South Carolina and Georgia. He noted that in the recent years the Gullah people have made two well publicized visits to Bunce Island to rediscover their roots. Mr. Smith noted that, in 1989, a man called Emory Campbell who is the Director of Penn Centre at St. Helena Island, South Carolina, led a group of people to Bunce Island and this was followed by another visit of Mary Moran and her family.

Another Sierra Leonean who also carries a United State passport by the name of Michael Rogers quiet recently in Bo told this paper that the preservation of the island is immense and this includes creating jobs for the local people and making the island a national historic site that will attract thousands of tourists world wide.

Mr. Rogers noted that a management team from the United State Park Services visited the island about three years ago where discussions were held with prominent officials from the past government but that noting has yet materialised from those discussions. He noted that the united State Park Services was expected to undertake construction work of the island to make it more habitable for tourists.

It is expected that this exercise will increase the number of tourists visiting the place and bring in more foreign exchange for the country.  The island's profile is currently being highlighted in many parts of the United States, Mr. Rogers concluded.

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