The First Reactions to the Report on Restitution of Looted Art

Title: The First Reactions to the Report on Restitution of Looted Art
Author: Eric Otieno
Media Outlet: ContemporaryAnd
Publish Date: December 6, 2018

“(…) A paradoxical experience awaits African readers. On the one hand one might be happy to see that heritage has been preserved and documented so well. On the other hand, it is easy to feel anger at the audacity of the French, to feel patronized at the realization that one really has no idea about the wealth and depth of one’s own history. One is simultaneously in awe of the intricacy of the colonial machine, and resentful of its violent arrogance. One feels duped and excited, sad and hopeful, scorned and elevated, all at the same time. Few pieces of literature juggle reparative claims, policy recommendations and ontological gaps as profoundly as Savoy and Sarr do in their report. It comes just in time (a few Africans who might remember the loss are still alive) and is long overdue (formal decolonization happened six decades ago).”