Qiyaastii lix 'rocas' oo Suudaan iyo Principe ah ayaa UNESCO aqoonsatay

Aqoonsiga UNESCO wuxuu xoojinayaa dadaallada lagu ilaalinayo dhaxalka taariikhiga ah ee beeralayda gumeysiga.

Lix 'rocas' oo ah dhul-beereedka Suudaan iyo Principe ayaa lagu daray liiska Dhaxalka Adduunka ee UNESCO. Dhismayaashani waxay ka samaysnaayeen addoonsi iyo shaqo qasab ah, waxaana aasaasay gumaystayaashii Boortaqiiska badhtamihii dambe ee qarnigii 19-aad.

Asalka Taariikhiga ah ee 'Rocas'

Beeralayda 'rocas' waxaa markii hore shaqaaleysiiyay addoonsatay, kuwaas oo markii dambe lagu beddelay shaqaale qandaraas ah. Ka dib markii Boortaqiisku baabi'iyay addoonsiga 1869-kii, shaqaalihii waxay noqdeen kuwo 'qandaraas' ah oo laga keenay gumeysigii kale ee Boortaqiiska iyo quruumo Afrikaan ah.

Dhismayaasha 'rocas' waxay lahaayeen dhul-beereed, kaabayaasha warshadaha, aagagga la dego iyo xarumo bulsho. UNESCO waxay sheegtay inay muujinayaan 'hawlgalka nidaam beero-warshadeed oo gumaysi baaxad weyn leh, oo ku salaysan tahriib iyo shaqo qasab ah' laga soo bilaabo dabayaaqadii qarnigii 19-aad ilaa bartamihii qarnigii 20-aad.

Dadaallada Dayactirka iyo Maalgashiga

Suudaan iyo Principe waxay bilaabeen qorshe 10-sano ah oo lagu soo celinayo dhismayaasha xaalad-xumahooda iyo sidii loo heli lahaa adeegsi cusub. Aqoonsiga UNESCO ayaa la filayaa inuu naf cusub ku shubo dadaallada ilaalinaya dhaxalka taariikhiga ah.

Shirkadda hudheelada leh waxay leedahay laba 'rocas' oo hore ee Principe, halka guri-dugsiyeedkii hore ee mulkiilaha beeralayda uu mar hore u beddelay hudheel shan-xiddigood ah. Inta badan 'rocas' waa la dayacay, taasoo caqabad weyn ku ah ilaalinta.

Mustaqbalka iyo Dhaxalka

Weli waxaa jira qiyaastii boqol 'rocas', waxaana la saadaalinayaa in shan ilaa 10 sano gudahood ay 10 'rocas' oo dheeraad ah ku biiri karaan liiska UNESCO. Boa Morte wuxuu ku adkaystay in maalgashi cusub uusan 'tirtiri doonin taariikhda'.

Wuxuu intaa ku daray in 'sheekada 'rocas' aanay tahay in la sheekeeyo. Waxaa jiri doona isku-dhaf, midnimo udhaxaysa wixii hore iyo wixii hadda'. Dhismayaashu waxay 'ilaalinayaan xusuusta wadajirka ah ee Suudaan iyo Principe laga soo bilaabo xilligii gumaysiga ilaa maantadan'.

Six historic plantation estates, known as 'rocas', in Sao Tome and Principe have been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, a move expected to galvanise restoration work on crumbling colonial-era buildings that once relied on enslaved and forced labour.

A Dark Colonial Legacy

Established by Portuguese colonists in the second half of the 19th century, the plantations initially relied on enslaved people before shifting to contracted labourers brought from other Portuguese colonies and African nations after slavery was abolished in 1869. The estates cultivated sugar cane, cocoa and coffee across agricultural land, industrial infrastructure and residential areas, illustrating the operation of a large-scale colonial agro-industrial system based on forced migration and labour from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.

Sao Tome, off Africa's west coast, served as the last staging post on the slave trade route before ships departed for the Americas, with a steady supply of enslaved people passing through. Today, around a hundred 'rocas' remain, though many have been abandoned, merged or disappeared since colonial times, leaving behind run-down, unsanitary structures overgrown with weeds that present a major preservation challenge for the small Gulf of Guinea archipelago.

Investors and Descendants See Opportunity

Private investment has already begun transforming the sites, with the old plantation owner's mansion converted into a five-star hotel and workers' houses set to become additional bedrooms once renovations are complete. HBD (Here Be Dragons), an investment fund founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, owns two former 'rocas' on Principe and is renovating the Sundy plantation, where Conceicao Moreno, a 46-year-old National Assembly member and descendant of contracted workers, says he has a strong cultural connection to the land where his grandmother, father and he were all born.

Egbert Bloemsma, CEO of HBD Hotels, said the group is creating beautiful hotels where hundreds of people can work, noting that the new use of the 'rocas' is so important that nobody was using them in the way they were supposed to be used in the old days. The hotel group insists that new investment will not erase the history, but instead create a union between the past and the present, preserving the collective memory of Sao Tome and Principe from the colonial era to the present day.

A National Restoration Plan Takes Shape

UNESCO recognition is expected to breathe new life into preservation efforts, with the culture ministry saying it is mobilising almost the entire population of Sao Tome to restore the buildings from their state of disrepair and find new uses for them. Emir Boa Morte, the country's culture chief, said whoever visits the 'rocas' will see a change since they were elevated to the status of World Heritage of Humanity, and that in five to 10 years, 10 more 'rocas' could join the UNESCO list.

The government has launched a 10-year plan to restore the buildings and repurpose them, though Boa Morte insists that new investment will not erase the history. He emphasised that the story of these 'rocas' must be told, and that there will be a combination, a union between the past and the present, ensuring the heritage is preserved while adapting to modern needs.