But here’s the deeper truth:

• Not all locals were complicit. Many people in coastal communities were themselves enslaved, especially in inter-tribal wars or through betrayal and debt slavery.

• The trade was complex and coercive. While some local elites gained wealth and power, many were caught in a system created and fueled by European demand and violence.

• The European forts could not function without local cooperation, but they were also sites of exploitation, including of local workers.

The “Irony” Is Also an Opportunity

Rather than being a contradiction, this situation reveals:

• How deep and tangled the legacy of slavery truly is

• That both victimhood and complicity existed on African soil

• That the descendants of both sides now have a chance to meet, acknowledge the past, and heal together

This is not about blame, but about honesty.
It’s about reclaiming narratives, restoring memory, and repairing relationships — across oceans and centuries.

Final Reflection:

The fact that Ghana — particularly its former slave-trading coasts — is now the global center for African diaspora reconnection is not just ironic.
It is symbolic.
It’s a circle coming full, an opportunity for shared reckoning, and a powerful gesture toward redemption.