Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Kumasi and Accra, Ghana (August 24, 2005)
In the sprawling second city of Kumasi, we finally developed a clearer understanding of the successes achieved by the Ghanaian people. It is always much easier to discern these differences in a city, since rural areas tend to resemble one another in terms of pace and opportunity. A few things that differentiate Kumasi from every other large African city we have visited so far: scooters and mopeds, the poor man's common mode of transport, have been almost entirely replaced by nice cars; there are very few beggars on the street and none of them are children; even in the dried fish section the market was not overrun with flies; and the quality of the city was more homogenized, better spread throughout its diverse neighborhoods, most of which seemed to receive the necessary infrastructure and the attention of good working roads.
After five days in the bush, we were all waking at dawn and sleeping early; that wasn't much of a problem, since Kumasi is not exceptional for its nightlife. We stayed at the Presbyterian Mission and caught up on article writing. Southern Ghana is heavily Christian and houses of worship are in evidence everywhere—along with establishments like "Fear of God Restaurant", "His Living Waters Barbing Salon", "Blessed Jesus Pharmacy" and "His Guiding Light Chop Shop". Some consider the Muslim north of Ghana to be relatively neglected, a possible reason for our noticing the true measure of Ghana's prosperity only after reaching Kumasi.
Later, in Accra, a businessman and well traveled broadcast journalist sought to chasten our glowing reviews of his country with his conviction of impending tribal warfare and state collapse. "Our people are suffering. This government is more corrupt than its predecessors. There is a new scandal every day." Apparently the Ashantis in power are only looking after their own—a serious issue for this Ewe man—and the government is simply riding high on the intelligent investments of its predecessors. Why aren't the people on the streets? What will it take for them to demand improvements? "The religious people are too forgiving. After a few days [of a newly revealed scandal] they forget." Too much focus on the afterlife; well heeled leaders with a vested interest in the current administration: an old argument and a common situation. So how will there be warfare or state collapse? This man says, all it will take is a quick and misunderstood flash of localized violence. Thousands of people can die after an argument over a chicken goes bad, provided the disputants were from different tribes. Silly Africans? Millions can die when an arbitrary third world nation is provoked into shooting guns at some intrusive thing bearing an American flag. Perhaps it is worse to plan it from the beginning.
In any case, conversations about national stability are a highlight of life in the developing world. Foreign Policy recently published their first ever "Failed States Index." They listed the top sixty least stable countries on the earth as determined by a couple dozen different indicators. Almost every country we intend to visit falls somewhere between the categories of "Failed/Extreme Risk of Collapse" and "Borderline Stability." Political discussions and personal histories tend to be considerably richer contexts like these and citizens tend to be more opinionated, cynical and well-informed.
In the sprawling second city of Kumasi, we finally developed a clearer understanding of the successes achieved by the Ghanaian people. It is always much easier to discern these differences in a city, since rural areas tend to resemble one another in terms of pace and opportunity. A few things that differentiate Kumasi from every other large African city we have visited so far: scooters and mopeds, the poor man's common mode of transport, have been almost entirely replaced by nice cars; there are very few beggars on the street and none of them are children; even in the dried fish section the market was not overrun with flies; and the quality of the city was more homogenized, better spread throughout its diverse neighborhoods, most of which seemed to receive the necessary infrastructure and the attention of good working roads.
After five days in the bush, we were all waking at dawn and sleeping early; that wasn't much of a problem, since Kumasi is not exceptional for its nightlife. We stayed at the Presbyterian Mission and caught up on article writing. Southern Ghana is heavily Christian and houses of worship are in evidence everywhere—along with establishments like "Fear of God Restaurant", "His Living Waters Barbing Salon", "Blessed Jesus Pharmacy" and "His Guiding Light Chop Shop". Some consider the Muslim north of Ghana to be relatively neglected, a possible reason for our noticing the true measure of Ghana's prosperity only after reaching Kumasi.
Later, in Accra, a businessman and well traveled broadcast journalist sought to chasten our glowing reviews of his country with his conviction of impending tribal warfare and state collapse. "Our people are suffering. This government is more corrupt than its predecessors. There is a new scandal every day." Apparently the Ashantis in power are only looking after their own—a serious issue for this Ewe man—and the government is simply riding high on the intelligent investments of its predecessors. Why aren't the people on the streets? What will it take for them to demand improvements? "The religious people are too forgiving. After a few days [of a newly revealed scandal] they forget." Too much focus on the afterlife; well heeled leaders with a vested interest in the current administration: an old argument and a common situation. So how will there be warfare or state collapse? This man says, all it will take is a quick and misunderstood flash of localized violence. Thousands of people can die after an argument over a chicken goes bad, provided the disputants were from different tribes. Silly Africans? Millions can die when an arbitrary third world nation is provoked into shooting guns at some intrusive thing bearing an American flag. Perhaps it is worse to plan it from the beginning.
In any case, conversations about national stability are a highlight of life in the developing world. Foreign Policy recently published their first ever "Failed States Index." They listed the top sixty least stable countries on the earth as determined by a couple dozen different indicators. Almost every country we intend to visit falls somewhere between the categories of "Failed/Extreme Risk of Collapse" and "Borderline Stability." Political discussions and personal histories tend to be considerably richer contexts like these and citizens tend to be more opinionated, cynical and well-informed.
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After spending six weeks in the festering rain forest of Ghana, June-July, 2005, (Bia, Ankasa, Kakum, Cape Three Points), conducting biodiversity surveys of whats left of the forest, eaten alive by the black flies, tsetse flies, mosquitoes, fungal growths and weird rashes, we came across Kumasi, like standing at the gates of heaven, thinking that the antimalarial drug hallucinations had gotten the best of me, stunned by civilization, and a hot shower, this is where I fell in love with Ghana. After returning home, (USA), all I could think about was Ghana, so I returned to Kumasi in Oct. For another month, made many friends, very pleasant stay, can't wait to go back! brent.collins@wku.edu.
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