AFTER THE JOURNEY, WORKING IN TAMALE

After a short visit to Kumasi, Cape Coast and Elmina, I am back in Tamale.

Being that four friends of mine from Toronto (three in one group and one traveling solo) were all in Ghana, I made the trek south in order enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity. To put that experience into a few sentences would be the ultimate challenge of cutting condensing. There were two many coincidences and ‘what are the chances of that?’ moments to call it anything but destiny. As well, the experience has put my time in Ghana into a grander perspective.

How so?

Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) is based in Canada, with the agenda of partnering Canadian media professionals with African media institutions. In my understanding, it is a proactive step with a realistic intention of reducing human rights abuses, and avoiding human rights crises. When we consider the genocide that is currently happening in the Sudan, and when we consider the terror inflicted upon the populations of Sierra Leonne and Rwanda, the immediate thought is “how is it even possible?”. We have the UN. We have globally renounced such atrocities, being bound to the covenant, “Never Again”. Yet mass murder is still occurring, again and again.

While wide-scale atrocities are the major concern, it is also recognized that it takes a lot of bricks to build a house, meaning that such drastic situations are made up of countless small occurrences. If you get to dealing with human rights abuses on a day to day level, and even in the minds of people before they become actions, a great impact can be made. The media, as JHR suggests, is ideal and critical for that process.

All that said, Canada is considered “a land of opportunity” and – for the most part – enjoys a lot of the amenities that nations across the globe are striving for. To this day, Canada remains a part of the British Commonwealth. Entering the Elmina Castle, the prominent stone image overhead is of the lion that I sported a few weeks ago as I cheered on England in the World Cup of 2006(though Ghana and Trinidad were my first two choices).

Being here in Ghana at this moment, I am connected to that history. My family, on both sides, is mostly English. It is the Commonwealth status of Canada that led to my being Canadian. It is the profitable crimes committed by the British Empire, the monuments of which I was visiting this weekend, that have made it such that I am here in Ghana, rather than Ramadan or Razak or another Ghanian journalist coming to the place that I was born and raised in order to partner with the station I work / volunteer in, and help to build an infrastructure of human rights reporting.

At this point, I would like to add that, over the past few weeks, I have been thinking of the term ‘Abroni’ (and in the north Silminga) which mean ‘White man’ and are terms used to identify most people deemed as foreigners. While, in most cases, it is not meant with malice, my thoughts have turned to the root and history of the word and it’s evolution to the current application it now finds. This historical context is connected to the Elmina and Cape Coast Castles, to the location known as ‘the last bath’, and the shadowy colonial legacy of what was called the Gold Coast. There is no opposite of those words in the major Ghanian languages. You can find descriptive words that say ‘white skin’ and ‘black skin’, there are words to note ‘person of a different tribe’ which can be specified with the suffix of the relevant nation, but there is not equivalent to the word that was birthed with the contact that soon gave way to centuries of colonization, enslavement, exploiation and imperialism, leading to a current state that can be described as neo-liberalism (a politically correct and saavy, and much more subtle, form of imperialism). Currently, the main use of such terms is applied to tourists and to NGO’s.

In the coming months leading up to February, thoughts will be on the 50th Anniversary of Africa’s first independent nation of the post-colonial era (Ghana). Kwame Nkrumah’s famous inaugural speech where he declared that Ghana has ‘fought a long and hard battle’ and is now ‘free forever’ will be played in its entirety numerous times. His assertion that Ghanian independence will be in vain until all Africans, everywhere, are free is also a major part of that speech and sits at the foundation of Pan-Africanist thought and aspirations.

I wonder, given the role that the WTO, IMF, World Bank, G8, UN Security Council, foreign private interests, and NGO’s play in Ghana and throughout the diaspora...what would Nkrumah now say? Would he stand on the declaration that Ghana is free? What about his criteria of the rest of the African Diaspora?

Traveling to the coast and seeing the monuments of what is called ‘the evil trade’ has brought many of these thoughts to the forefront of my mind. Having made visits to those sites with two friends, both born in Jamaica and raised in Canada, added to this. There were moments where my friends expressed that it was hard to be there with me; not because I am difficult to get along with, or hard to travel with, but because of race and realities of history and present conditions beyond my control.

I am not concerned about such issues with my colleagues, I am just exporing these elements and growing more conscious of what it all means. While, ‘what it all means’ is the destination, I am still on that journey.

Looking out of my office window in Tamale makes more sense to me now than it did a couple of weeks. I understand more of where this country is situated in history and in the globe. I look out and I see more of where this city is situated in the country also. I know that there is a major reluctance to looking at historical factors (I have heard a number of people from Tamale respond to the journey I returned from noting, they prefer not deal with those things...too sad...too angry). I can hear people thinking, “all that may be true, but what does that have to do with the job you are there to do?” which is...contribute to editorial meetings, conduct informal workshops, and partner with local journalists on stories related to human rights issues (from the planning to completion).

I want to share an anecdote that might answer this. I was at the bus stop with Ramadan (he was helping me to get a ticket to Kumasi). We were speaking about the history of the colonial presence in Ghana while standing in line at the bus station. It came up as we spoke of my intention to visit Cape Coast as part of the trip south. Of the subject, he shared that he prefers not to think about it. At first I accepted his initial comment without question, but then I asked him, ‘why?’. His response was enlightening. He said, “when the Europeans first came, we didn’t know what they were really doing. By the time we figured it out, it was too late?”. He then added that “If we didn’t see it before, maybe they’re here now with another agenda that we are not seeing, and that we won’t until it’s too late”, pausing to continue saying, “I don’t want to look at things like that, so I don’t think of that history”.

While there is no Trojan horse in the coiffeurs of JHR, Ramadan’s logic is fair – and in a number of supposedly well-meaning instances – would be acutely accurate.

Again, I hear the thoughts of some readers, ‘if there is no issue in the agenda of JHR, then what does that have to JHR?’. I return to the experience of two of my friends having moments where they felt uncomfortable with my presence. These are two people that have known me in a few contexts. The one friend who knew me better actually felt the discomfort stronger. It was not focused on a particular issue with me, as this is not a particular issue with JHR (I would add that JHR being a young organization benefits from the hindsight evaluations of NGO’s that revealed some key problems that arose in otherwise well meaning endeavours e.g. lack of infrastructure left behind, creating dependence, etc, and has been able to avoid some trappings). In the case with my friends, it was an issue connected to broader associations; and so to is it the case with JHR.

It is something I am thinking about. Something I am growingly aware of. I feel greatly privileged to be in Ghana, working in the field that I love, living quite comfortably, with the mobility to return to Canada, and – quite possibly – continue to travel if I choose to do so. That privilege is drastically contrasted with the reality of my colleagues and the people that make up the city that I am living in. If I felt like I deserved more than someone else, I would not question it. I am grateful for the blessings in my life (blessings that I count in ABUNDANCE), but it is something that I am thinking about.