Fist at Fort Delgrès: “The last cry of innocence and despair for the entire universe” by Louis Delgrès
A 4-meter bronze statue representing a raised fist. It was inaugurated yesterday at Fort Delgrès during the official ceremony commemorating the abolition of slavery. The end of the long day commemorating May 27, 2023 but also the beginning of a new look at those battles of the past that are still resurfacing today.
•
From this rich end of an afternoon at Fort Delgrès there will probably remain words, those said by some in this forum, and those also written there to give a new reading of the struggles celebrated 175 years later.
But above all, there will be this fist, inaugurated in this castle, a work of art created by Dimitri Fajbuhun Al-Benini: a bronze statue of 4 meters high, representing a raised fist. A common and even universal symbol, but here it will have its own translation and its own message.
It was the administration that entrusted the work, a bequest to its president at the time, Josette Borrell Linkreter, whose successor, very elegantly, wanted to relate it to the present moment.
Besides local political figures, there was Jean-Marc Ayrault, former prime minister and current president of the Slavery Memory Foundation. According to him, a powerful message in the symbol and above all, a call to mobilize not only the overseas territories interested in the history of slavery but also all of France that owes so much to this time that it chose not to forget it. Blame yourself.
Last but not least, youth. Many of them were present at this celebration. Like a life-size history lesson from which they have preserved what, in their opinion, is necessary today.
“Unapologetic pop culture trailblazer. Freelance troublemaker. Food guru. Alcohol fanatic. Gamer. Explorer. Thinker.”