Plant of Hope (27. 09. 2024)

We, at the Sufi Zentrum Rabbaniyya , are delighted and honored to be given the opportunity to contribute to and participate in such a significant and distinctive Global Cultural Assembly. It is important to recognize that indigenous peoples and cultural communities have more than just historical ties to the collections housed in ethnological museums worldwide. They are the very creators and owners of these collections and maintain personal, traditional, and spiritual connections to them. As the cultures of origin, they should rightfully play a pivotal role in shaping their shared present and future.

The plant of hope

By Augustine Moukodi

This plant encased in glass embodies the silent but implacable struggle against the invisible chains of colonization. It reminds us of a baobab, that giant of the savannahs, a symbol of resilience and grandeur, here reduced to an inert curiosity, a mere exhibition object, imprisoned in a glass bell jar. Its roots, which should spread freely in the fertile soil of its native land, writhe painfully in this confined space, desperately trying to free themselves from its grip. The metaphor of our imprisoned plant resonates with the history of entities torn from their original context and locked away in Western museums. These entities, silent witnesses to a painful past, are held captive behind glass, deprived of their living essence and their role within their communities. Like this plant, they aspire to break through these walls of glass and concrete, to regain their freedom and reintegrate into the cultural fabric from which they have been extracted. Our plant's ambition to break through the glass that holds it captive is an immense desire for freedom. This desire for freedom, deeply rooted in her being, symbolizes the quest of formerly colonized peoples for restitution and justice. It is convinced, as we are, that the birth of the GCA institution and its collaboration with the Humboldt Forum will gradually weaken this glass, and one day its roots will fracture this barrier, liberating not only the plant, but also the condition of the entities, and the spirit of those fighting for decolonization. The symbolism of our plant's quest for freedom reminds us that the vestiges of colonization are not just physical, but also psychological and cultural. So decolonization is not just about restoring objects and entities, because colonization left deep and lasting marks on the societies and individuals that we all are.

By freeing itself, the plant is ushering in a new era, the era of a new way of working together. Only in this way can we take a step towards collective healing and the rebirth of an autonomous and respected cultural identity. It is the promise of the possible tomorrow that we must achieve together, hand in hand, forgetting race and making our differences an indestructible force that will take us towards our common goal - the one that will bring us together around the decision-making table for a henceforth sincere exchange that will lead to equitable decisions.

Inauguration of the Global Cultural Assembly's Room at the Humboldt Forum, 25.09.2024

Urheberrecht:

Photos: Frank Sperling

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