Witness   /     Sarah Baartman's 200-year journey back home

Description

In August 2002, the remains of an indigenous South African woman called Sarah Baartman were returned to South Africa after almost 200 years away. Sarah died in Paris in 1815 after being forced to perform in European 'freak shows' where people considered to be biological rarities were paraded for entertainment. She had been subjected to racist and degrading treatment and her remains were exhibited at a French museum until 1976. When Nelson Mandela became the president of South Africa in 1994, he requested that Sarah's remains be returned to her homeland. However, by 1998 that had not happened. Poet Diana Ferrus decided to write about Sarah’s limbo. Her poem became so popular that it was noticed by politicians in France. Diana shares her memories of that time with Matt Pintus.This programme contains discriminatory language.(Photo: Sarah Baartman likeness at French museum. Credit: Getty Images)

Subtitle
The campaign to return Sarah Baartman to South Africa nearly 200 years after her death
Duration
653
Publishing date
2024-04-24 09:00
Link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct5ypd
Contributors
  BBC World Service
author  
Enclosures
http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-low/proto/http/vpid/p0ht2x7y.mp3
audio/mpeg