Saint Martin pays tribute to the victims of slavery
On Sunday 10 May, elected representatives, government officials and local residents gathered at Marigot Cemetery to pay tribute to the victims of the slave trade and slavery. The ceremony featured performances by young people from Saint Martin.
Dancing, chanting and reciting, the young people of Saint Martin came together on 10 May to honour the memory of the victims of slavery. It was a solemn occasion, taking place twenty-five years after the adoption of the Taubira Law, which recognises the slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity. The Prefect of Saint-Barthélémy and Saint-Martin, Cyrille Le Vély, recalled that “Four million people were victims of these atrocities for over two centuries in the French colonial empire”.
To commemorate those who suffered, resisted and fought for their freedom, the ceremony featured several key moments. First, three pupils from Mont des Accords secondary school paid tribute to Auguste François Perrinon. Born in 1812 in Saint-Pierre, Martinique, and died in 1861 in Saint Martin, he was the first mixed-race Martinique native to attend the École Polytechnique. The pupils then retraced his life, recalling his commitment to the abolitionist cause, his condemnation of the injustice of slavery and his fight for the dignity of people of colour.
Young people keeping the memory alive
Following this presentation, a pupil from Robert Weinum High School recited Sonia Fleming’s poem “Prayer of a Slave”. This was followed by a traditional dance to continue the tribute. Young girls then wove the flagpole of liberty and equality using blue, white and red ribbons. Finally, a procession and the laying of wreaths on the grave of Auguste François Perrinon brought the ceremony to a close. A moment of reflection to honour the courage of those who refused oppression, but also to urge future generations never to forget them.
