PARIS — Senegal's president on Sunday called for Africa to make room for victims of Haiti's earthquake to restart their lives on the continent from where their ancestors were snatched as slaves.

"The repeated calamities that befall Haiti prompt me to propose a radical solution -- to take measures to create somewhere in Africa,  the conditions for Haitians to return," President Abdoulaye Wade told France Info radio.

"They did not choose to go to that island," he added, referring to the mass deportation of African slaves to Haiti, then a French colony, from the 16th century.

"It is our duty to recognise their right to come back to the land of their ancestors."


His spokesman Mamadou Bamba Ndiaye gave further details of the proposals.

"If it is just a few people, we will offer them a roof and a patch of land," he told the radio station. "If they come in large numbers, we will give them a whole region."

A massive earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving more than a million others homeless, according to the Haitian government. The island is also often hit by deadly hurricanes and floods.

"It wouldn't be the first time that former slaves or their descendants were brought back to Africa," said Wade, citing similar measures taken in Liberia.

"Now the problem is to know how, and who will bear the cost."


Folks, what do think?[i][/i]

What an idea . From frying pan to fire. There's noo way itz workable. It would only cause more rife in whatever African nation(s) they relocate to, because they'd always be considered as outsiders. Haiti is their home, they should try and rebuild it. Yes, even from the ashes, some good can come.

Are the haitians asking toi be resettled or something?

Kobojunkie:

Are the haitians asking toi be resettled or something?

Not at all, but trust politicians to use it for their public appeal.

Did the haitians ask to be resettled somewhere else?

I praise President Abdoulaye Wade for considering the wider African diaspora as family, because they are.
That is true African hospitality.

Good point but the big questions are; will they agree? Who will foot the bill?