(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Some Personal Thoughts on Ghana on the 4th of July [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-07-04

I have been trying to write an update on Ghana and the activities of my friend John on Tuesdays of every week but this is (American) Independence Day and I’m sure Kos members who live in the US have other things on their minds.

Also things have been more or less on hold there because of john’s illness and his current homeless status so I don’t have a lot to report. He is not living in the Buduburam Refugee Camp right now. He is still in contact with most of the people we have been talking about but he isn’t having direct personal interactions with them just at present.

And I feel very constrained in what I can say these days. I have received some criticism because I cannot verify my reports by some third person and I may be getting some of the details wrong (which I certainly grant; they are second- or third-person from a source who is not a native English speaker).

And of course, it has been suggested that John may be a liar and a fraud preying on my innocence. I am not that innocent, but to document and footnote every detail I write would make these stories so long (and dull) that no one would bother to read them. These are brief summaries., not in-depth studies for academic publication.

So I am trying not to write the truly horrible parts of the stories. If that makes them sound overly bright and chipper then I guess that is the price of presenting them in this kind of format.

At any rate, it’s Tuesday and I am a creature of habit, so I thought I would write down a few of my observations of the people I have met (online, admittedly) in Ghana. These are not meant to say anything about Ghana itself or the people there as a whole (anecdote and not data) but I thought some might find them interesting.

Also aside from John’s doctor I have not chatted with anyone who is not very poor, even by Ghanaian standards, so that would inevitably slant my impressions.

So taking that all into account….

In the first place, about half of the people I have met are Muslim, the other half Christian and some follow local beliefs. And from what I can see they all get along. John told me once that when the kids organize teams to play soccer/football in the streets they make up teams of Muslim kids versus Christian kids but it’s not in an aggressive way, just a way to pair off.

John’s father-in-law was raised to be a priest in a tribal shrine but when he was a child a Christian minister scared him by threatening him with hell and he ran away. That is a story in itself, really.

Anyway, this sort of difference seems not to be an issue, perhaps because the people are too busy just trying to stay alive. But it reflects well on them.

Second, they are all trying their best in a very hard situation. They are tough, most of them are ambitious. They are trying to survive and to better themselves in a situation where hope is just a word.

They love their kids. They love their families. They care about each other, even when they cannot help.

They are hard, proud, and take no guff. Combative and belligerent, sometimes to excess.

They are patriotic. John bragged to me that he voted on election day there and sent me a photo of his finger, dyed to prove he had voted.

They truly do respect the US. They believe that we are all rich here. I think they believe that we would save them from the hell they are living in if only we knew. ( wish that were true.)

They are human. Not animals, not savages, not angels, not exhibits in a zoo.

They are our brothers and sisters worthy of respect.

I guess that about sums it up.

Happy Independence Day for those who celebrate today.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/4/2179276/-Some-Personal-Thoughts-on-Ghana-on-the-4th-of-July

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/