On 21 August 2024, Flaubert Djateng, coordinator of the Cameroonian NGO Zenü Network, presented the Civil Society Declaration on the return of looted cultural heritage to his country at Möckernkiez Forum in Berlin. The Declaration is the outcome of a meeting co-organised with ESPERANZA-CADE on 18 July 2024 in Yaoundé. The Berlin meeting was attended by members of the African diaspora, scholars, activists, media, provenance researchers as well as staff from parliament, a political foundation and a museum.
Authentic statement from Cameroon
Participants of the meeting were highly appreciative of the Declaration. Often, German government officials make the point that restitution concerns are cooked up by German and/or diaspora activists and that there is no interest in the countries of origin. The authentic civil society statement from Cameroon repudiates this criticism and demonstrates the urgency of the issue in former colonies. Critical views were directed at the position of Cameroon’s government which is seen by some as stalling the process and pulling back communities.
Criticism of German government
Policies of the German government were also seen in a highly critical perspective. It was noted that Germany’s ruling coalition has expressed its intent to address colonial legacies. However, there is no law or binding regulation regarding „collections from colonial contexts“. There was a general understanding in the meeting that restitution should be embedded in a broad process of decolonization and heritage issues in order to provide a sound basis for new ethical relations between former colonizing and colonized societies. However, everybody needs to realize that this endeavour is highly complex, involves many actors and needs patience on all sides. Cameroonian-German relations are, indeed, moving forward, yet progress will only come in small steps. The discussion then centred on the following specific issues:
Role of Cameroon’s government
Cameroon’s government has set up an Interministerial Committee for Restitution at the political level, supported by a Technical Committee. The Committee has entered into conversation with German institutions and arranged mutual visits of official delegations. Apparently, Cameroon’s government wants to facilitate an initial round of restitutions for some cultural belongings from four major regions of the country. Civil society groups believe that they can be of service to government by sharing their knowledge on colonial history and cultural heritage. They might also be supportive for the government in positioning itself in the international arena.
Networking within civil society
The government has declared that it is ready to cooperate with traditional authorities and civil society. How exactly this will happen is unclear at this point. The official restitution strategy presented last December did not come about as a concrete collaborative effort with non-state actors. Civil society groups see the need to network among themselves and to connect with local communities, traditional authorities and religious organizations. Thus, their voices towards their own government but also towards foreign governments and societies could become more vocal and effective.
Identifying original owners
While Cameroonian government representatives have expressed the intent to pass on cultural heritage returned from Germany to communities of origin, the details of such transfers still need to be worked out. With the help of the „Atlas of Absence“ (see below), the origins of the majority of „objects“ in museums in Germany have been established. However, in some cases it may be difficult or near to impossible to identify the original owners of the artefacts. Certain community boundaries and locations may have shifted over time, making connections with historical events more difficult. It was mentioned that German actors should not get involved in deciding to whom the artefacts would be returned.
Communities of origin
Communities of origin have different opinions about the restitution of cultural heritage. Although some communities know exactly what heritage they are asking to be returned, other communities today are not aware of translocated artefacts held abroad. They may even lack deeper knowledge of historical experiences linked to German colonialism. Sometimes, colonial violence has caused a rupture of community structures, for example when leaders were deported and their descendants had lost track of historical continuities after returning home. This gap can be filled with more research.
Collective remembrance and identity building
Some community voices reject any idea of welcoming and re-integrating former belongings and may prefer that the National Museum keeps them as guardian. Or that German institutions should continue to exhibit them and share the revenues with them. One reason for this reluctance could be that the „objects“ carry buried memories of suffering and defeat that they do not want to see re-activated. Possibly, civil society groups could play a helpful role here by mediating the painful process of collective remembrance and identity building. Others are suspicious of government institutions and stay determined in their fight for return, particularly referring to „objects“ representing the power of traditional leadership as well as carrying spiritual and cultural significance.
Outreach in Cameroon
The recently started second three-year phase of the collaborative research project „Atlas of Absence“ focuses on outreach to communities, traditional leaders and youth in Cameroon to familiarize them with facts about colonialism and cultural heritage held in Germany. This should support communities and traditional leadership to prepare for the eventual return. Participants of the meeting reflected on the potential of regional and local cultural institutions in Cameroon to accommodate returning belongings, thus directly benefiting their communities.
Survey with traditional rulers
In July 2024, Zenü Network initiated a survey with traditional rulers. They are asked to specify what role they want to play in the restitution of cultural heritage and what they want from civil society groups in this regard. The results will be presented at the October conference on the „Atlas of Absence“ in Yaoundé.
Knowledge gaps
Civil society groups in Cameroon emphasize the need for close cooperation with academia to explore the full extent of German colonialism in the country and identify the origins and present locations of looted cultural artefacts. In this context, the repatriation of ancestral remains from Germany and other countries takes on high priority. The collaborative research by a joint team of Cameroonian and German scholars under the leadership of Albert Gouaffo (University of Dschang) and Bénédicte Savoy (Technical University Berlin) has led to the impressive „Atlas of Absence“ which has identified more than 40.000 artefacts from Cameroon presently in German public institutions. This number does not include the holdings by missionary societies and private households.
Definitions
Concepts and designations are not clearly defined and language varies: return, restitution, transfer, etc. designate complex processes. Also, artefacts, objects, looted belongings, cultural heritage, spiritual vessels, representations of ancestors include a broad spectrum of “items” from spiritual statues and artefacts influencing people’s identities and daily lives necessary for the concerned communities to art representing history and knowledge to be displayed for a large public. It is obvious that every case has to be looked at and solved in its specificity.
Media
Civil society groups in Cameroon realize that, in general, the level of knowledge of media regarding colonial facts and translocated cultural heritage is quite low. Participants identified the same problem in Germany. This calls for special efforts to inform and train media representatives on the issues. This would include the promotion of a comprehensive understanding of colonial legacies, sometimes still having an impact today. Stronger awareness by the media could amplify the advocacy of civil society groups towards the government.
Relationship between Cameroon and Germany
Both governments, from Cameroon as well as Germany, emphasize that they want to be the central actors for any negotiation and eventual agreement on restitution. On the German side, political representatives at the national, state and municipals levels seem to be ready for comprehensive action on return of colonial loot to Cameroon. Since they represent the owners of public museums, German holding institutions will act once political decisions have been reached. However, this will only happen after national governments, Cameroon and Germany, have agreed on the modalities of a bilateral strategy for return. In Germany’s multi-level system, such agreement would need to include relevant state governments. On the Cameroonian side, restitution is considered an integral part of addressing historical injustice and colonial violence, including the issue of reparation and financial compensation.
Steps on the German side
While political decision-makers in Germany have declared their readiness to move forward on the return of colonial loot, they have not yet set up an effective restitution governance. The distribution of responsibilities among state actors at the national level and their interaction with other administrative levels of Germany’s federal system have not been determined. At present, there are no financial instruments available on the German side which would support communities in their efforts to identify and relocate cultural belongings. German museums have begun to network and prepare for comprehensive returns to Cameroon. Altogether eleven museums hold at least 500 artefacts from Cameroon. Their work is coordinated by Linden-Museum in Stuttgart which has by far the largest collection from this country.
Flaubert Djateng, Christiane Kayser, Thomas Fues
(Berlin, 2 September 2024)