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.
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.