Celebration!

GHANA

From 31 July, 2011

My British friend Hazel bought me a Culture Smart! Essential Guide to Customs & Culture: Ghana.  I haven’t been able to put down this handy dandy little book since I got it.  While doing my daily reading I have also been doing my typical underlining, circling, highlighting, and annotating.  As I sit in the Frankfurt airport awaiting my connecting flight to Accra, I feel compelled to share some of the beautiful things I have learned about my future home. 

CULTURE

“It is primarily the people of Ghana who make the biggest impression.  It is due to their incredible hospitality and love of peace that Ghana has a claim to be the safest and friendliest country in Africa.  Ghanaians are very welcoming to foreign guests, respectful to each other, strong followers of tradition, and have deep familial and communal values”, (Utley, 8). 

“For visitors coming from developed countries with their associated problems of crime, antisocial behavior, family breakdown, disrespectful children, unfriendliness, loneliness, high cost of living, and terrible weather, Ghana comes as a wonderfully refreshing change, with valuable lessons to teach the outside world”, (Utley, 8). 

“Positive character traits inculcated in Ghanaians include probity, patience, fairness, humility, gratitude, temperance, perseverance, trustworthiness, chastity before marriage, and faithfulness in marriage” (50). 

“Westerners are generally viewed as having lower moral standards than Ghanaians.  Social breakdown, warmongering, sexual depravity, marginalization of the older generation, and disrespectful standards of dressing and behavior all contribute to this view” (52). 

GEOGRAPHY, FLORA & FAUNA

“Ghana is a very fertile and rich land, particularly in the south, and is noted for its plentiful supply of yams, cassava, cocoa, rubber, maize, palm products, pineapples, oranges, papayas, avocados, plantains, bananas, and pepper to name but a few”, (Utley, 15). 

“[The Ghanaian flag] consists of red, gold, and green horizontal stripes with a black star in the middle.  Red signifies the blood of those who died in the country’s struggle for independence.  Gold represents Ghana’s great mineral wealth, and green denotes its lush forests and farmland”, (Utley, 21). 

ECONOMY

“Ghana’s main exports are cocoa and cocoa products (highest in Africa), aluminum, gold (second highest in Africa), diamonds, manganese, bauxite, fruits and fruit juices, and timber… Tourism is the third highest earner of foreign exchange and is a rapidly growing industry.  Other major industries include hydroelectricity, brewing, aluminum smelting, furniture making, tuna canning, and chemicals production, but most of the population relies on subsistence agriculture” (38). 

“Major imported materials are machinery and transport equipment, fuel, manufactured goods, chemicals, and food items” (38).  

HISTORY

“Unfortunately, the economic desires of the Europeans did not allow Africa to develop along its own lines, and what we see now is modern African countries that were simply carved out by Europeans (24)… Ghana’s rich natural resources and ease of access for ships meant that the vast majority of [European] forts on the West African coast were built there”, (Utley, 25). 

“The transatlantic slave trade made fortunes for the white slave traders and plantation owners, while brutally stripping Africa of its human resources… Four hundred years and more than 50 million souls suggest… [that] the lucrative triangular trade was lining somebody’s pockets.  It is remarkable that the full story of this horrific trade is only just starting to be told in Western schools.  Worse still, there appears to be no room in the curriculum for this era to be studied at all in Ghanaian schools” (Utley, 26). 

“It is true that it was Africans themselves who sold their countrymen into slavery by trading captives of war, that many (especially the Ashantis) grew rich on this trade, and that local chiefs allowed the Europeans to build their slave castles on the coast”, (Utley, 26). 

“One Ghanaian language even has eight different words for different sorts of slave, showing that slavery was an existing practice before the arrival of the Europeans.  However, these ‘slaves’ were more akin to ‘househelps’ who retained their human rights and ability to become free.  Maltreatment of these servants was not allowed (27).  [Thus], Ghanaians accept the role their own forefathers played in the trade, but some maintain that they would have never participated to such an extent, had they known the terrible fate of the captives”, (Utley, 26). 

[During and after colonization], “Africa was divided up, with no thought given to existing tribal groups, into an unnatural jigsaw with pieces belonging to Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Italy.  Even after independence, these artificial divisions remain and are the cause of many of modern Africa’s problems” (28). 

[Yet], “It cannot be argued that the colonial administration did not do anything to help the local people.  Roads, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure were built, agriculture and industry were developed, opportunities for overseas study were given, and a legacy of economic structures was left in place” (32). 

“Ghana was the first black African country to achieve independence” (33). 

COMMUNAL VALUES AND ATTITUDES

“The secret to Ghana’s peace and friendliness lies in the moral values of its people.  These values derive from the importance they set on social harmony and the well being of others, not just of the individual.  This is manifested in the Ghanaian virtues of hospitality, kindness, compassion, generosity, faithfulness, and truthfulness, and their quest for peace, justice, dignity, and self-respect” (40). 

“Ghanaians recognize the dignity of their fellow human beings and have a deep and abiding concern for human welfare and happiness.  Human relationships are considered the most valuable of possessions.  The human being is more beautiful than gold.  Mutual help, collective responsibility, and reciprocal obligations are regarded as important” (41). 

FAMILY

“A child’s family is much more important than his or her parents and siblings.  As part of a huge extended family, a child has the opportunity to learn from, and be cared for by, dozens of near relatives” (46). 

“A family in Ghana… is far more than the typical Western unit of parent(s) and two children… The language used to describe the family relations describes this strong bond; your sibling’s children can be referred to as your children, your uncle as your father, and your cousins as your brothers and sisters.  So don’t be confused when your friend introduces you to two or more of his fathers!” (91). 

“Parents cherish their children and bring them up to be virtuous, respectful, and responsible” (44). 

“Tradition, religion, and strong familial and communal bonds all work together to give a Ghanaian clear moral guidelines, and the development of a good character is considered vital.  Moral values are instilled in a Ghanaian from birth, and can be divided into those values affecting other people, and those pertaining to oneself.  The ethic of responsibility for others is always put above an individual’s rights.  If you trample on somebody else’s things while looking to find your own, you will never find them” (49). 

More Proverbs:

If one person eats all the honey, he is sure to get a stomach ache (50). 

If you don’t allow your neighbor to count to nine, you will not be able to count to ten (50). 

The person who goes to fetch water does not drink mud (51). 

When someone is crying, your crying helps him (64). 

Just as someone has looked after you when you were growing your teeth, so should you look after them when they are losing theirs (53). 

RESPECT FOR ELDERS

“Older people are accorded massive respect in Ghana.  It is believed that they have reached old age thorough living in harmony both with the ancestral spirits and with natural forces” (52). 

MAKING FRIENDS

“In the friendliest country on the planet, making friends is unavoidable” (72). 

“Social interaction, communality, and friendship are fundamental principles guiding Ghanaian’s lives, and this helps to create a culture of warmth, safety, and peace” (72). 

SOCIALIZING AND TIME OUT

“Ghanaians have a lot of leisure time, love socializing, and do this in a very relaxed and informal way, often just sitting by the roadside and watching life to by, without feeling the need to ‘go out and do something together’ ” (100). 

“Very often, the most enlightening experiences don’t require huge expenditure and travel; it can all happen just on your doorstep” (100). 

“On the whole, Ghanaians are intelligent, well-educated, and sociable people and almost everyone you meet, especially in the professional capacity, will speak very good English” (156). 

CONCLUSION

“Ghana is rapidly developing an excellent reputation among travelers who are looking for a genuine African experience without fear of crime, hassle, underdevelopment, or lack of facilities” (163). 

“It is a beacon of democracy and stability on the continent.  This development is continuing apace, and all the right wheels are in motion in order for it to achieve its goal of becoming a middle-income country with decent education, good health and jobs for all” (163). 

“We have seen that it is the Ghanaians themselves who are responsible for making Ghana the gem that it is.  They have, with reason, been described as the friendliest people in the world” (164). 

Utley, Ian.  Culture Smart! Ghana.  Kuperart publishing of Bravo Ltd. Great Britain, (2011).  

Kokrobité Beach

I am very proud of this photo!   Last weekend we went to Kokrobité Beach, about an hour west of Accra.  These lovely children were selling the best looking tomatoes any of us  had seen in a long time.  I resisted the urge to take a picture when they were up close, for risk of ruining the moment per se.  Also my camera was in the car.  When I peeked at them walking away, though, I made a mad dash for the camera because of just how amazing they looked.  I believe it is something about the red of the fruit against the green haze of the ocean.  Anyway, check out my Picasa albums for a few more shots from that weekend.   Bless     https://picasaweb.google.com/sagealetheia

Pure Love

It was a long Monday.  I stepped out to grab a bottle of wine from the neighborhood corner store.  As I was leaving a small group of children came quickly around the corner.  Before I knew it one of them, about 3 years, had galloped up to me, thrown her arms around me, and held me in a tight embrace.   Without another interaction, or any words exchanged, they were on their way. 

Things like this happen all the time in Ghana!  Sometimes it doesn’t seem possible that an entire country of people could be on such a seemingly uniform positive wavelength.  Yet it happens all the time.  Compliments abound.  Joy is ubiquitous.  People are incredibly friendly. 

I need to schedule in ‘people time’ when going to and fro work.  This morning on my way to work the man selling the papers, whom I pass daily and who often stops me to engage in a small Twi lesson, calmly mentioned, “You are looking gorgeous this morning”.  It’s not just a man thing either.  It can often take me an hour to walk 3 blocks on my way home for having to sit and chat with friends in each of the local shops, where mutual compliments fly. 

Yesterday, stepping out of the weekend getaway beach hotel, two separate ladies on staff both mentioned how beautiful I was looking.  “You are looking so beautiful today”; “You are looking so beautiful and nice”.  This has also happened with random women strangers on the street. 

Again yesterday, when we were driving through a small coastal village a small boy on the side of the street exclaimed, “I LOVE YOU”, as our car passed by.  Minutes later, I still felt awed by the genuine expression of love came so easily from such a small boy, with no pretense and no reward.  It just came bursting out of him. 

We all have a lot to learn from Ghanaians.  I am doing my best, starting with learning how to graciously accept compliments, be thankful, and to send them right back out again.  With a million and one more blog ideas I will sign off now and plan on writing again soon.  And guess what, I love you, I miss you, and you are looking BEAUTIFUL today!