The British Museum is facing a growing and urgent pressure to return a massive moai statue to Easter Island, where it belongs and where it is revered. The pressure comes from a social media campaign that is led by Chilean activists, who are raising awareness and support for the cause of the islanders, who have been asking for the statue’s repatriation for decades.
Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui in the indigenous language and Isla de Pascua in Spanish, is a remote and isolated island in the Pacific Ocean that is part of Chile. The island is famous for its moai statues, which are giant stone sculptures of human heads that were carved and erected by the islanders between the 13th and the 16th centuries. The moai statues are not only impressive and unique works of art, but also sacred and symbolic objects that represent the ancestors and the culture of the islanders.
One of the most remarkable and important moai statues is Hoa Hakananai’a, which means “lost or stolen friend” in Rapa Nui. The statue, which is made of basalt and stands at 8 feet tall, is believed to be one of the oldest and most powerful moai statues on the island. The statue, which has intricate carvings and markings on its back and its base, is thought to have a special and spiritual significance for the islanders, who consider it as a guardian and a protector of their land and their people.
However, the statue was taken away from the island without the consent or the knowledge of the islanders in 1868, by a British naval captain, Richard Powell, who was visiting the island as part of a scientific expedition. The statue was then given as a gift to Queen Victoria, who later donated it to the British Museum, where it has been on display ever since. The statue, which is one of the most popular and prized exhibits in the museum, has been seen and admired by millions of visitors, but also has been subjected to damage and disrespect by some of them.
The islanders, who have never forgotten or forgiven the loss of their statue, have been requesting and demanding its return for decades, arguing that it is part of their heritage and their identity, and that it belongs to their island and their community. The islanders, who have been supported and assisted by the Chilean government and other international organisations, have been negotiating and petitioning with the British Museum and the British government, but have been met with resistance and refusal, citing legal and logistical obstacles and challenges.
The campaign, which is led by Chilean activists, who are also members of the Rapa Nui community, is a new and innovative attempt to put pressure and influence on the British Museum and the British government, and to mobilise and rally the public and the media, to support and join the cause of the islanders, and to urge and demand the return of the statue. The campaign, which is spearheaded by Mike Milfort, a social media influencer who has 7.5 million followers on TikTok, is using and leveraging the power and the reach of social media platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, to spread and share the message and the meaning of the statue, and to expose and challenge the injustice and the disrespect of the British Museum.
The campaign, which has been launched and running since August 2021, has been posting and sharing a number of videos and photos of the statue, both at the British Museum and at Easter Island, and of the islanders and the activists, who are expressing and explaining their views and feelings, and their hopes and dreams, about the statue and its return. The campaign, which has been using and creating hashtags, such as #ReturnHoaHakananaia, #MoaiBelongsToRapaNui, and #JusticeForEasterIsland, has been attracting and engaging thousands of followers and supporters, who are liking and commenting on the posts, and who are also creating and contributing their own posts and content, to show and demonstrate their solidarity and their sympathy for the islanders and their cause.
The campaign, which has also been contacting and collaborating with other influencers and celebrities, who have large and loyal fan bases, such as Dwayne Johnson, Jason Momoa, and Chris Hemsworth, who have all visited and loved Easter Island and its moai statues, has been gaining and increasing its visibility and its impact, and has been catching and drawing the attention and the interest of the mainstream and the alternative media, who have been covering and reporting on the campaign and its objectives and outcomes.
The campaign, which has also been reaching and appealing to the British Museum and the British government, who have been receiving and responding to the posts and the messages from the campaign and its followers, has been challenging and inviting them to listen and to understand, to respect and to acknowledge, to dialogue and to negotiate, and to act and to decide, on the issue and the request of the return of the statue, and to do the right and the honourable thing, for the sake of the islanders and their statue, and for the sake of the history and the culture, and for the sake of the justice and the respect.
