What is the Maafa?
Problem Alternatives

Genocide

One alternative translation of the Maafa that is also used is that of the "African Genocide". However the definition of genocide is typically; "the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group".

Whilst this works on several levels it only implies the death of African people without reference to their forced enslavement and commercial exploitation. It also doesn’t match the criteria of being historically unique on a global scale. Many news sources refer to the Rwandan massacre as the African genocide and this association therefore risks diminishing the horror and scale of the Maafa, which encompasses the events that lead to the Rwandan conflict.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

'The Transatlantic Slave Trade' is a commonly used eurocentric definition which attempts to turn the enslavement of African people into one of commerce in an attempt to diminish and avoid addressing the barbarism and immorality of the Maafa. The so called 'slave' mentioned in the trade was an enslaved African. The traded 'property' implied by the definition did not give consent for their labour to be sold. Therefore the transaction described in the 'trade' element was illegal in that they were stolen 'property' and represented theft by the Transatlantic partners from Mama Africa.

Whilst this may legally be considered a crime against humanity now, at the time it was not recognised as such because whilst the perpetrators were acting inhumanly they were still human and following the collective will and immoral laws of their respective democratically formed governments and religious leaders.

The enslavement of Africa has to be recognised as an unprovoked war, waged specifically and deliberately against Africa by nations of inhumane people. It remains an open injustice against Africa that must be addressed. No person should ever use the terms 'slave trade' or 'crime against humanity' without qualifying them in this wider historical context.

Maangamizi

Another definition that has been proposed in reference to the Maafa is the Kiswahilli word maangamizi. The word is derived from the verb angamiza which means destroy or vanquish. The rationale behind the proposed use of this word is that whilst 'maafa' refers to a great tragedy, it omits the intentionality of the act and could be misinterpreted as an accident.

However, when translated to English the word 'maafa' is also used to define the words 'menace', 'threats', 'terror' and most importantly 'injustice'. These words fully encapsulate the threat of the invading arabic and european forces which terrorised Mama Africa and perpetrated a great injustice upon her land, resources, culture and children. The capitalisation of Maafa accentuates the magnitude of the injustice committed against Mama Africa.

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