WORLD HERITAGE SITES
Providence Island, Liberia Providence Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was a former trade post and one of the first places where freed American Slaves arrived to build a new life in West Africa in 1822 and subsequently founded the nation known today as Liberia. Providence Island served as a station of departure and point of no return for those who were forcibly removed from their homes and enslaved in the Americas. Centuries afterwards, some of their descendants returned to the very place their ancestors were sacrificed and sold as slaves. The 250-yearold Cotton Tree still stands to this day as a testament of hope for humanity and the journey that led to Liberia’s national identity. Visitors will also see a palaver hut modelled on the buildings that settlers would have lived in at the time. Beyond this, Providence Island remains a place of reconciliation, forgiveness and social cohesion after many years of internal strife in Liberia. A metal tree stands on the island as a symbol for peace, freedom and the nation’s ability to resolve conflicts as a nation. U.S. Congressional delegation visits Providence Island, Providence Baptist Church to Commemorate Historic U.S.-Liberian ties The U.S. Congressional delegation to Liberia led by Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Monday, Feb. 21, visited Providence Island and Providence Baptist Church to commemorate the historic relationship between the United States and Liberia. Representative Meeks, who represents a congressional district in New York, was joined by Representatives Ami Bera of California, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Joyce Beatty of Ohio, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, Brenda Lawrence of Michigan, and Troy Carter of Louisiana. 60 | ABA Publications | Africa TRAVEL | March 2022
