Thinking at 6 a.m.

Thunder Cat
FEB 27TH UPDATE

some thoughts at 6 a.m

its 6 a.m, monday morning and i am sitting here at my computer sweating! i just run along the beach road, on the world map this is the ghanaian section of the west african coast along the gulf of guinea. It is a very busy road even at 5 in the am. They say here that Osu, my hood, never sleeps. Its true. But if Osu never sleeps, me thinks it is becasuse folks travelling across the country and indeed across the sub-region along said beach road, like to stop and hang out in the hood. That plus the fact that Osu just never sleeps ! ;-)

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. Maybe its cos i am 6 deep into my research, but i've been thinking. About this continent, about development, socialization, HIV/AIDS, the girl-child, the boy-child, Foreign Aid, the Domestic Vioelnce bill still sitting in parliment, democracy... the whole gamut. I love it here. At the risk of sounding corny, i feel an almost visceral connection to this place. Its like a lil' girl who has got you wrapped around her lil' finger so tighlty you find yourself doing everything in your power for her to be safe, to feel loved, to be nurtured and heard, to make sure she grows into the strong,multi-dimensional dazzling woman you see ever so clearly in her twinkling, trusting, laughing eyes. I feel the same way about this place. I want to protect the land, the people, the animals( and yes we still have 'em), its reputation, its future..True to my Mandigo warrior tribe roots, I want to fight fiercely with all i have got for the independence of our continent, its growth, its maturity, its peace. I see this place in its stark, startling, breath halting beauty and I swear my hearts sings. if you were here you'd love it too... and be viscerally angered by what is clearly, the continous raping and pillaging that continues to exist despite our years old "liberation" from our colonizers. This raping of the people. Your people. My people. In the same breath, almost at the same instance, you would be proud to see the strides made in spite of this, proud to hear the voices of the so called down trodden booming out loud, singing their way through their sorrows. In my eyes, seemingly smiling cheekily at the devil, daring him to come out and play in the scorching hot African sun.

It is indeed a place of great juxtapositions. Where a man in a million dollar suit, wearing Italian made shoes can be found squatting on the streetside eating food fried in a coalpot with his fingers and smacking his lips cos it tastes so DARN good. Its a place where one finds mud huts amidst first class roads and high tech hospitals. Where church and vodoo knows no distinction; Where English, Twi, Ga and Fanti are spoken all in the same sentence like it was one language.

Yea, over here, we exist in a world unto itself. A world where people ARE surviving on less than a dollar a day and yet dying because centuries old rivers are bearing the hallmark of new world development. Choked with refuse, sewage and depleted of its life giving force, old man river is killing instead of feeding. A world where the difference between life and death for some is the bite of a tiny female anopheles mosquito. And yet in this very same world are endless possibilites unmatched even by those in the great U S of A, the famed land of opportunity. In Africa we boast of natural resources beyond the wild west's wildest dreams. Human capital that rivals that of china and Determination, sheer naked, get the f**k out of my way determination, that literally leaks out of the pores of the masses.

I have heard it said before that we are a pessimistic people. I beg to differ. Over here survival is by sheer force of will. The rich man in his mansion got there by as much force of will as the kenkey seller at labone junction. Circumstances alone separate them. So here, to honor of the god within us all, we call each other boss. The driver calls his employee boss, the millionaire calls the cigarette seller boss. We see that in each other. Applaud it in each other. encourage it in each other.

Like i said i have been thinking. and talking. to a lot of people. After all that is really why i am here, to talk to people. In research its called data analysis. I like to call it engaging the masses, specifically on the topic of childhood sexual abuse. It pains me to see that despite the invisible cords that causes us to fight and die for each other we have also perfected the art of hurting one another. It pains me to realize that our highly prized culture and our socialization processes puts the most vulnerable in our society at risk.. for anything and everything. In this case at risk for sexual abuse. Sadly, the naked truth is this : The socialization of children reinforces gender and power inequalities inherent in our society. Cultural norms of child acquiescence to adult instruction inform this socialization process. The much lauded "it takes a village to raise a child" adage and its coresponding reality leaves our children vulnerable. This is further compounded by the taboo that says we dont talk about sex with our children (i say we dont have sex with our children).. Result? The child esp. the girl-child is rendered vulnerable to sexual abuse....

Something else been bugging me... Ghana doesnt have a high incidence of HIV/AIDS. A VERY GOOD THING. It is less than 7 % and laudable strides are being made to educate the masses to reduce the rate of new infections. However, how is that at a rally for sexual abuse we are still tooting the "abstinence" party line? How can we ask our children to abstain from sex when 1 out of 3 of them are subject to non-consensual sex at least once in thier lifetime, often at their first sexual experience? The inherent irony of this never fails to grate on my nerves and churn my insides. People i've been talking on this issue advocate sex and rights education, as well as a community-wide examination of the socialization process of Ghanaian children. Dont get it twisted, we love our culture. But, we also realize that somethings have to change. Because today we live in a very different world from yesterday. The consolation (if you can call it that) is this: Socialization is dynamic and so potentially reversible. This is what gives us hope. As the Ga proverb goes "Fio fio adedon fee ni eke ye gbee tue" loosely translated; consistently nibbling, the fly ate the dog's ear.

Picture this.. My typical Morning in Accra

This Morning at 5 a.m. i woke up before my alarm. I was excited. These days i am too excited to really sleep ;-) I had a run date. I have been running twice a week in the morning since i got here. Today my very good friend was running with me. I put on my gear, plugged in my ipod, turned it to my favorite new song, Africa Unite by none other than my lil' brother and got to running. In 20 minutes i was at the meeting point and from there we ran down the Ringway, the Accra equivalent of Yonge street. A runners Paradise. As you feet hit the pavement in rhythmic bliss you can feel the breeze coming off the ocean just behind you. If you ever needed incentive to run, this is it. You keep on without a care in the world, and if anyone dared to look close enough they would probably see you smiling. I definitely was.

You can say i live in the city. Osu is the heart of Accra, at least i like to think so. We call the major Osu strip Oxford street, a well deserved name i might add. All the major stores have offices on this strip and there is a whole whack of fast food joints, restaurants and shops on our oxford street. Back in the day, all the hot clubs were in this district too. Yea, Osu, my 'hood. ;-)

After running down the Ringway, we turn into Labone, what used to be one of the posh-est residential area; run past morning star an equally posh primary school into the very new estates. Labone, referred to as L.A. Bone by the very thug conscious Ghanaian youth is now home to the new and hottest educational facility in town, Asheshi University. Its a four year college with an organizational and academic structure just like the North American Colleges. It just graduated it's first set of students and everyone is convinced that it is the beginning of an Ivy League culture here in Accra.

We continue running. We go past G's house, CIDA's offices, Ashiatey's crib, L. A. Bone secondary School, Hinlone restaurant and finally turn into my friends neighborhood.

Accra sure is beautiful in the wee hours of the morning. The sounds of an Accra morning are extremely distinct even to my rusty ears. I can hear the Hausa coco sellers plying their wares, house helps sweeping the yards, see drivers washing their cars, runners like me panting but keeping on, folks bike riding furiously to where i can only imagine and and street hawkers getting ready for another day in the hustle. As we say over here, God bless our homeland Ghana, indeed.

After a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, i get a ride back home. AJ, my nephew, hears me ring the bell at the gate and meets me at the front door. He was drinking his Milo, chasing last night sleep away by vigorously rubbing his eyes with a half smile on his face... "hahaha AJ, i woke up before you" i laugh at him, he smiles that wicked grin that lets me know he is well aware that i went out without him, and walks into the kitchen. A few minutes later, i understand the smile; He has been in my room and hidden my keys and cell phone. I wouldn't have expected less from a 3 year old child who can read upside down, work just about any gadget he touches and insists on listening to his radio program in the morning.

I get him ready for school, lakaa ( Ga for butter him up) him a bit with a chocolate bar, which he promptly pockets "to share with his friends at school" , retrieve my keys and phone form their hiding place and leave the house to drop him off with my mother's driver ( she refuses to let me drive). After i drop AJ off, who barely looks at me as he waves good bye and clutches the hand off a younger crying friend to lead him to class, i make my way to my yoga class...

At Pippa's ( my gym) i lay down on my yoga mat, take a deep breathe and coax myself into a blissful state of relaxation which by the way isnt hard to do. I know my day is going to be packed with meetings and more meetings and i intend on being ready and alert for them.

I love this city called Accra!

UPDATE FROM ACCRA.. Feb 5th 2005

.... if i dont write this now, i don't know when i will.. its early in the morning, sunday the 5th of feb and i am at home feeling slightly under the weather.. i got a cold ( funny ,huh?) however, i am slowed down just long enough to type this up so here goes.. It is amazing to be back home, yup you heard me.. i said HOME. because i realize now more than ever that whenever i am amongst people who i know have my best interests at heart, i am home... and this is definitely the case here in Accra... it also helps that i grew up here ( partly anyways), lol!

What can i say? I have fallen in love.. with a city ..again. Accra is beautiful! The people, my people are amazing! The food, well, kelewele ( street side spicy fried plantians) on a cool monday night is just to die for! The weather.. HOTTTTT! I mean fricking sticky ain't no way i can get away from this heat kinda hot! Naturally i complain with the rest but truth be told, i am loving it! The city of Accra has changed a lot since the last time i was here, i mean that was after all 8 years ago.. Someone once told me in a long conversation about many things, that good roads are a hallmark of development.. or something along those lines.. well then, Accra is well on its way into the transition period. The major roads in the city are amazingly good.. a drive at 3 am when the streets are empty will affirm that ...and everywhere you go, there is more construction. Those IMF HIPC loans are sure coming in handy.. pity we will be paying for them for generations to come. The present Kuffor government is well into its second term. People are disgruntled as people usually are.. but truth be told there is a whole lot of work that they should be given accolades for..
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...... I know this WILL sound almost sacrilegious coming from me.. but the capitalist fever has sure put Ghana on the road to "development" . The shifting of the markets from public to private and to ppp 's ( public private partnerships ) has led to an explosion of available services with affordable prices.. Take telecommunications for example.. you can sign up to get a cell phone with either , gt- ghana telecom, areeba, one touch or buzz- mobitel. because the options are more, the rates are pretty darn good! i can call the states for less than 2 cents on my cell phone!!
The same with the internet.. you can get broadband or Dial up and each service is offered by a number of companies.. which means competitive rates all across the board.. Now i wont pretend to know exactly who is providing these services, i 'd love to believe that they are Ghanaian owned but it is highly likely that some of 'em are international companies.. The many trade agreements as HIPC members we are forced to be party to have led to a flood in foreign goods on the markets. However, the government has also embarked on an aggressive "buy made in Ghana goods" campaign... Causal friday here is traditional friday .. so people wear traditional attire to work on fridays. so in addition to efforts to participate in the global economy there is are also efforts to strengthen the Ghanaian economy..

.. i haven't been too far out of Accra yet. I intend on going up North where the gap in the rich and poor that exists in this world is stark.. one can only hope that as we make strides towards creating a healthier society ( where health is defined as a complete state of well-being) the gap will begin to narrow. i still haven't figured out how capitalism is 'pposed to achieve this.. you know a society where nobody lives below the poverty line.. but till something better comes up, i guess this will have to suffice. Make no mistake about it, i still believe that in the end,a capitalist society with all is trappings will be humanities downfall.. however, right now when people are dying because of a lack of the basic necessities, it is proving to be a useful system to relive some of the immeasurable pressures on the public sector in the provision of these basic needs. People here are pretty darn hardworking, and its nice to see that there is actually opportunity for advancement.. and being the people we are we never move up without pulling someone else up behind us.... okay nuff with the economics..

.. i know some of you are dying to hear how i am doing personally... no surprise here, i am doing A-OK. a lot better than i was when i was in toronto. my perspective from here ( a much higher perch in the pecking order) is, i like to believe, clearer. I came here to do my thesis, see my family, relax for a minute and return back to the grind of a north american society..
now i am feverently looking for how i can create my niche here so that i can return in the next 5 years and contribute to the growth and continued development of my world. yes, this is my world. ;-). its not difficult to see that Ghana is on the cusp of some very big things. and that unfortunately there are few "younger" people poised to contribute and i aint going to lie, benefit from the progress. Well, I intend to be one of them. So as i go about my daily business i am continually assessing the overall situations. I know that in this society i am amongst the privileged few. What would be sacrilegious is my throwing that away by living in a part of the world where it doesn't mean diddly squat, instead of using my position, where it matters, to better the lives of those who have less than i do. thats how i am feeling anyway.

... in terms of my thesis ( female childhood sexual abuse as a public health issue), well, things are moving right along and i am crazy busy on a daily basis. i decided to go ahead and apply for ethical review here.. and within 4 days and after a few minor revisions i had my approval. now i am recruiting my study participants and conducting mini- focus groups on the issue of childhood sexual abuse... the issue is BIG here. sadly- or not depends on your perspective- the timing of my work couldn't be better. there is a general stirring in the consciousness of the people on this topic so the reluctance to speak that i had anticipated is practically non-existence. i am convinced that some good will come out of this, my thesis wont be shelf-ed after its all done, but will actually contribute towards creating change, now ain't that something to be happy about?

concurrently, i am taking notes on the organizational structures that exist to educate on human rights issues, to develop and enhance capacity and contribute to efforts in creating sustainable development. this after all is the direction on which i want to steer Voices ( my not-for-profit) in.. so i am taking notes, copious notes ;-).. and slowly translating my observations into something tangible that could be a serious vehicle for disadvantaged, exploited and at risk youth. i figure i am definitely in the right place at the right time.. and so i am taking it and running with it as fast as i can..as cautiously as i can.. and as prayerfully as i can..

... personally, my lenses have changed... or maybe just cleared up.. either ways i suspect this will affect a lot of the personal relationships i HAD when i was in Toronto. I know it might sound harsh but it took my coming out here to realize that some people just need to be cut the heck off. i have always maintained that it went against my grain to do that, but there is always an exception to the grain. and when you know that there are people in your life that exist in your world solely for their own benefit and all that they do be it good or bad are motivated by self-interest, you need to cut them the **** off! that ain't no mutually benefitting relationship, its a parasitic encounter of the worst kind. Continue to pray them, by all means, but keep your distance and i intend on doing just that..

..Speaking of prayer, all of my experiences at the end of the day boil down to the impact they are having on my spirit. Not surprisingly, my spirit is well.. in a strange reversal of things, this scares me.. because i know that it is much harder to cry out to the Abba when life is smooth sailing. I know this. i feel this. but i continue to try to persevere and to praise always for my blessings which seem to be falling by bucketfuls these days. Someone once told me they didn't want to stay too close because if they did they would end up both with bad luck and broke ( i kid you not, someone actually said this!) well, ain't it funny, cos it seems like without 'em, my winds of misfortune are all blown out, lol.. and should they return and of this i have no doubt, my Abba, my inner strength and my highly developed resiliency will, as it always has, pull me through. I never quite got why, this innate trait to triumph wasn't celebrated... but hey folks just different...

so as i continue my personal, spiritual and professional journey out here ..at home ..i am very conscious of a lot of things both past and present and as each day passes continue to put things into perspective. In December, i begged a friend to wait for me to go through this experience. i knew it would be healing and life altering and i begged to not be "put out" until i had touched my rock.. i dont know if i hate em or love em for seemingly hard heartedly ignoring my pleas but i do know one thing, with the Father's help i will NEVER EVER find myself in that place again.

.. I AM HOME. ... AND I WONT TRADE PLACES WITH ANYBODY FOR A MILLION BUCKS ;-)
well except the whole having to baby sit my 3 year old nephew bit.. he is ADORABLE and cunning and noisy and annoying and sometimes he makes you want to go arggghhhhhhh.. lol!

..till next time!