The voice of Joe Chialo: Three sentences and a surprising effect

2023-09-08 13:44:26

Culture German colonialism

The three sentences of Joe Chialo

As of: 1:44 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes

Berlin’s Senator for Culture Joe Chialo in his office.

Source: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/archive image

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A wonder! The news that DNA from human skulls in a Berlin museum shows direct matches to citizens from Tanzania is causing a stir. The Berlin Senator for Culture Joe Chialo used surprising words to show what this has to do with his family history.

It’s the news of the week from research: DNA from skulls in the depot of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin has been clearly linked to descendants in Tanzania.

The relatives have not yet been informed, but should find out “promptly” that the remains of their relatives are being kept in Germany, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation reported quite soberly. The news was widely reported. The result was described as a “miracle,” a finding of a needle in a haystack. However, it is hard to imagine what effect it will have if you receive such a message as an affected person.

The Berlin Senator for Culture Joe Chialo, celebrated as an active visionary since his surprising proposal to house a library in the Galeries Lafayette, has now found simple, clear words in this case to make it clear what this attribution means – for the descendants.

He thanked the scientists from Rwanda and Germany and the Berlin Post Colonial Association who made this discovery possible. So much for politicians: “The human bones in question were stolen during the colonial period in the former colony of German East Africa and stored in an unworthy manner in German collections for decades,” writes Chialo and then becomes clear: For him, this is a very serious matter personal story. His family comes from Tanzania. The German-Tanzanian history is therefore also directly his family history.

An event that is as far away for most German citizens as the atomic bombing in Nagasaki is brought closer in one word: “family history”. It is this one word that makes the significance of Chialo’s term understandable – and now brings a completely new tone to the colonialism debate. And it was delivered with the calm and confidence of a man who can rely on an intensive discussion.

A dignified burial

The CDU politician is the author of “The Fight Continues” (the battle cry of the liberation struggle in Mozambique). In his autobiography, the devout Catholic writes about his “family history,” his life, and his everyday life as an “Afropean.” He calls for the abolition of development aid and a change of perspective, a partnership with African countries, which currently rely more on support from Russia and China.

The politician and descendant now wants a dignified burial for the identified skulls and hopes for further success and a good future together. The Berlin Museum of Prehistory and Early History preserves a total of around 7,700 bones that remained unnoticed for almost a century and that are now finally being researched – also due to public and political pressure. A large part comes from the “S collection”, which Felix von Luschan collected from almost all parts of the world around the turn of the century. Other remains are part of the Charité skull collection.

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Even if this success remains unique and the necessary steps were initiated years ago, among others by the then Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters, these short sentences from Joe Chialo show how important his voice is, and not just for people with African roots in Germany , but also as an urgently needed sensitization for those who would prefer to dismiss German colonialism as a triviality.