November 22, 6 p.m.

MAREJESHO

Public talk with descendants, community representatives and experts

The exhibition MAREJESHO focuses on the voices of descendants and community members in northern Tanzania who are reclaiming their cultural heritage and demand the repatriation of their ancestors’ remains. During the violent German colonial occupation of East Africa, thousands of body parts and tens of thousands of belongings were sent to Germany. They are held in German institutions to this day.

The public talk is a rare opportunity to meet descendants, community members, experts, and the makers of the exhibition in Berlin. We will give an insight into the research process and the exhibition of MAREJESHO at Kilimanjaro and Meru and talk about the demands of the descendants in the light of the recent DNA match of ancestral remains in Berlin with living relatives. We will also try to contextualise this specific local case within the African movement for repatriation and restitution.

With Mnyaka Sururu Mboro (Berlin Postkolonial, Tanzania/Germany), Anael Moshi Meli (Descendant of Mangi Meli, Tanzania), Joseph Mselle (Chiefs Union, Tanzania), Gabriel Mzei Orio (Old Moshi Cultural Tourism, Tanzania), Dr. Valence Silayo (University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), Prof. Kodzo Gavua (Focal Point of Restitutions, Ghana), Sima Luipert (Technical Committee on the Nama Genocide, Namibia), Dr. Rudo Sithole (Afrimuhere, African Union expert group for restitution, Zimbabwe), Dr. Karamba Diaby (Member of Parliament, Germany), Sarah Imani (ECCHR, Germany), Leokadia Melchior (ECCHR, Germany), Isabelle Reimann (Humboldt University, Germany). Moderation: Konradin Kunze (Flinn Works, Germany)

The public talk is part of the REPATRIATION DAYS 20-24 November 2023 by Decolonize Berlin, ECCHR, Berlin Postkolonial and Flinn Works