Barbadians saying farewell to the crew of Amistad, the historically significant "freedom schooner" off the Flour Mill, Spring Garden yesterday.

BARBADIANS bade farewell to the historically significant "freedom schooner" Amistad yesterday, with songs, dances, speeches and an exchange of gifts.

Minister of Culture Steve Blackett said during the hour-long farewell ceremony off the Flour Mill, Spring Garden, St Michael that Barbadians needed to avoid simplifying or ignoring the significance of slavery and emancipation.

He urged them to build on what the recreation of the transatlantic journey undertaken by the schooner meant. The Amistad's mission is to educate the public on the history of slavery, discrimination and civil rights.

Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States' Embassy, Clyde Howard, described the schooner as a floating monument representing the triumph of good over evil.

"If by her presence the Amistad challenges us as villages, communities, towns and countries to reflect on our shared past, it should also cause us to see our imperfect present and look to a future where diversity is seen as one of mankind's greatest blessings," he said.

Accept differences

"I would argue that it is only by accepting each other's differences, whether it be in skin colour, nationality, gender or religion, that we ultimately accept ourselves."

Captain Eliza Garfield told the gathering that Barbados, the vessel's lone Caribbean stop, "will stand as a beacon in our experiences".

She spoke of busloads of students visiting the vessel daily "to get a feel or touch" and to ask searching questions before its departure for the United States.

Amistad is a near-replica of a ship of the same name on which a group of African captives revolted in July 1839, triggering a legal case that was a landmark in the history of slavery and emancipation.

The ship is heading to Charleston, South Carolina after having travelled to a number of British ports, Portugal, the Canary Islands and the Cape Verde Islands.

Eventually it will return to Connecticut in the United States.