"Portugal needs to have the pride and boldness and historical responsibility of not wanting to be last" and of being at the "vanguard of this historical process, of recognizing a crime committed in the past, a crime against humanity and therefore establishing justice, a restorative justice for that past", Professor Dagoberto José Fonseca, a professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Letters of the São Paulo State University of Araraquara (FCLAr/UNESP) and responsible for the project, told Lusa.
"I have always said that Portugal has a moral duty, an ethical duty and a civilizational duty," he stressed.
Entitled "The Great Crossing: the Return, the Reunion, the Recognition, the Reparation", the vessel leaves the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on December 5th, heading to Luanda with around 2000 Brazilians from various sectors of society.
There will be seven days going, seven days present in Angola and seven days returning.
In Angola, the 2000 Brazilians will carry out actions focused on research and cultural tourism, with special emphasis on Afrotourism, which aims to rescue and revisit African history in different parts of Angola.
"If Portugal were to tell us, in this project, Portuguese society, the Portuguese State, were to tell us, at this moment, Portugal does not have a ship that can hold 2000 people, but we have a ship for 800 people and we want to give you this ship to make this crossing in complete comfort, this would already be a sign that Portugal would be opening a door to this path of reparation, this restorative justice", considered the Brazilian professor.
In his opinion, Portugal's support would be "an unequivocal sign that the country wants to talk and dialogue and restore its own past".
"Portugal can tell the world that it is reconciling with its past and, therefore, is making a first gesture of reparation," he considered.
For now, the trip will be paid for by the Brazilian public and private sectors and will have full logistical support from Angola as soon as the boat docks in the country.
"We need to make our way back through the Atlantic Ocean to learn about the history that our people made and also to recover those who were thrown into the Atlantic Ocean," said the professor, pointing out that around two and a half million people were thrown into the ocean along this journey from the 16th to the 19th centuries, just those who came from Angola to Brazil.
In addition to this number, it is estimated that five million Africans arrived in Brazil during the Portuguese colonial era.
"We are the same family, separated by a history of trafficking, a history of the process of enslavement and this Portuguese colonialism, and so we are the same family, separated by the Atlantic and divided by a cruel history, which was 'slavery', and this transatlantic trade of people subjected to 'slavery'", said the professor.
