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Apple rejects Dutch educational game about slavery from the App Store for being 'libelous and insulting'

No path to freedom

Apple rejects Dutch educational game about slavery from the App Store for being 'libelous and insulting'

Apple has rejected a free educational game from the App Store called Weg naar Vrijheid (Path to Freedom) that's designed to teach children about slavery.

Path to Freedom takes place in 1723 and let's you play as a slave called Jacob or Amba. You are taken to Elmina Castle in Ghana where you're bought to work on a sugar plantation in Suriname.

From there, you're able to escape slavery and live among a village of rebels, or you can remain at the plantation. The latter involves scenes in which you're whipped by a black slave driver.

Path to Freedom

No matter what path you take, the slave will get married and have children. Both scenarios are considered a happy life and historically accurate by its developers.

According to Volksrant, Apple rejected the game from its App Store stating that its "contents are slanderous and insulting and can count on complaints from a large group of people."

It seems that Apple is correct to think that, too.

Protests

You see, Path to Freedom was developed by Dutch studio Pepergroen over a six-month period. Once finished, it was available to play on the website Slavernij & Jij (Slavery & You).

It had remained on the website since February until a backlash from the Afro-Surinamese community last Friday, reports Parool.

This sudden reaction incited the Dutch Institute for Slavery and Heritage (NiNsee) to order it to be taken down.

NiNsee had commissioned the game for the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. It was also paid for by Amsterdam city council subsidies.

Path to Freedom

NiNsee then issued a statement on its website to apologize to those offended by the game. Below is the relevant sections of the statement as translated by Google.

"NiNsee itself is well aware that the history of slavery is sensitive and that there are differing opinions about interpretation and processing."

"NiNsee regrets the negative reactions to the game "Journey to Freedom" but also feels encouraged by the encouragements to the history of slavery to the youth accessible."

NiNsee is now in talks with Pepergroen and those protesting Path to Freedom to find a solution to the problem.

It seems that it won't be attempting to re-submit the game to Apple for now.

Dutch News
Chris Priestman
Chris Priestman
Anything eccentric, macabre, or just plain weird, is what Chris is all about. He turns the spotlight on the games that fly under the radar.