After visiting the museum, our group took a walk through the center of Point-à-pitre and met several wonderful people. We chatted with the fishermen about their trade, with Madame Paulette and her husband about the spices of Guadeloupe and the differences between the Netherlands and Guadeloupe, with a very friendly young man who is a student of the local college about his school, we had a friendly conversation with a gentleman who was on his way home and, while enjoying a piece of cake, told us about his city a little further away and why he was here.

 

Today I learned (gotten reaffirmed again) that if you approach someone (from another culture) with respect, openness and kindness, it always makes the world a better place.

 

The visit to the Memorial ACTe was deeply painful. I have visited some other museums and monuments built to preserve the memory of those that suffered during slavery. I always leave the place with the same feeling of sickness. However, they need to be built, people need to visit, read, hear, feel what happened, this is the way to prevent such an abominable thing from happening again. 

Our role as teachers should be that of ensuring the incorporation of multicultural education. “To know, to care and to act”. Teachers ought to do these three things and teach pupils to do them, as well. First, we need knowledge, then we need to care, and then it will be the moment to act. In that way we can transform ourselves and the world.