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My fight for the reburial of enslaved Africans on St Helena

Annina van Neel fought to give a proper burial to the 200-year-old remains of thousands of formerly enslaved Africans following their discovery on the island of St Helena.

Fresh out of university in 2012, Annina van Neel sought employment and adventure. She found both when she was hired as an environmental officer for an aiport construction project on the tiny South Atlantic island of St Helena. Like many doing a first job out of university, Annina was eager to be helpful. But when excavators uncovered the remains of more than three hundred formerly enslaved Africans, victims of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, she fought for a worthy memorial for all formerly enslaved Africans buried on the island - more than 8000 in total. It was a campaign that would force her to reassess her relationship to her own heritage.

Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Eric Mugaju

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

Photo: Annina van Neel in A Story of Bones Credit: Joseph Curran and Dominic De Ver

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41 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Tue 14 May 2024 11:06GMT
  • Tue 14 May 2024 17:06GMT
  • Tue 14 May 2024 21:06GMT
  • Wed 15 May 2024 02:06GMT

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