Isaline Attelly arrived in Benin seeking opportunity, but discovered a deeper inheritance written into her family’s forgotten past.
Genealogical records revealed her great-grandmother was born in what is now Benin before being trafficked across the Atlantic during slavery.
The discovery transformed Attelly’s yearlong stay into a homecoming, pulling her toward roots severed centuries earlier by chains and commerce.
Last year, the 28-year-old content creator enrolled in Benin’s “My Afro Origins” programme, which offers citizenship to people of African descent.
The initiative forms part of President Patrice Talon’s effort to spotlight Benin’s historic role in the transatlantic slave trade.
At her naturalisation ceremony, Attelly called the moment a circle completed, saying she was proud to represent her ancestors.
The ceremonies coincide with construction of new memorials in Ouidah, once a major port of departure for enslaved Africans.
They include a new “Door of No Return” and a replica slave ship carrying sculptures of nearly 300 captive figures.
The government also plans to open an International Museum of Memory and Slavery at a former slave trader’s residence this year.
To amplify the programme, Talon has recruited cultural figures, including filmmaker Spike Lee, named ambassador to African-American communities.
American singer Ciara received Beninese citizenship in July 2025 and performed last week at Ouidah’s annual voodoo festival.
Her husband, American football quarterback Russell Wilson, attended the event and said he hoped to gain citizenship soon.
Since the programme launched, around 50 people have received Beninese nationality, with hundreds of applications still under review.
Applicants must be adults, provide documentation or DNA evidence of African ancestry, and hold no other African citizenship.
CARICOM has endorsed a broader “right of return” for descendants of enslaved people, urging former colonial powers to support resettlement.
Benin says its effort seeks to bind Africa and its diaspora through memory, identity, and the promise of shared renewal.
