Out Of Africa
The fight to return colonial lootings in Europe's museums to Africa
As anti-colonial sentiment continues to rise, there is a push for museums to return artefacts to their home countries. In Paris, activists are demanding the return of treasures taken from Africa.
'No-one has the right to take what belongs to the African people, because it's our heritage', says activist Mwazulu Diyabanza, as he removes an African artefact from its stand in Paris' Quai Branly Museum. It's one of 70,000 items brought to France from Africa during the colonial era. 'For Africans, the fact that these objects will return to the African continent is to give them back some power, their vital power. To give people back their dignity', explains artist and descendant of West African royalty Romeo Mivekannin. Yet not everyone is happy about the prospect of returning historical items: 'If you allow people to come and take back what they want, based on their own feeling, what will be the future of the museum?', asks Emmanuel Kasarherou, president of the Quai Branly museum.
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