Letter from Ghana

This post is a gift to me from me. My essay writing has been quite difficult lately, just not flowing and feeling good, and that has had a frustrating, negative impact on my life on the ship. Best case scenario is that I would figure out how to feel better about writing and move to a happily productive place. Well, that's not happening. This upcoming stretch of days at sea, between when we leave Ghana tonight and when we arrive in Cape Town on October 3, is very precious to me because it will be my last ship days of the voyage. Many wonderful things are planned and I want to savor the time and enjoy it to the fullest. So today I'm going to just write to you all, off the top of my head, about my time in Ghana and call it good.

 

The news I'm bursting to tell you is that it FINALLY happened – I had a conversation with the Archbishop and Leah at breakfast this morning! It was not very long because they were already finished when I went to their table but they graciously stayed and talked a while before excusing themselves to go rest in their cabin. Their previous two days had been exciting but exhausting. When I sat down with them, they were recounting the adventures of being taken to Kumasi to meet the king! The Archbishop was receiving a lifetime African achievement award from an NGO here and there was a great celebration put on in his honor including fabulous drumming and dancing. Leah said she had never shaken so many hands and Arch was describing the jewelry –multiple amazing gold bracelets and huge rings – the king wore.

 

I missed most of the story but the Tutus did rave about the five students chosen to accompany them, how nice they looked and behaved, and how excited they were. I know the kids have been asked to tell the story from their perspective to all of us soon and I can't wait to hear that. I saw the stretch limo and police cars of the motorcade leaving the dock yesterday when they returned our esteemed friend to the ship. They had flown by charter to Kumasi then to Accra, the capitol, to meet with the Vice President – the President was reportedly in China. I wonder if they were talking about the recent discovery of oil off the coast near Takoradi where we are in port. Besides the students, David Geis, the academic dean, and Lucille Renwick, the Communications Coordinator who writes the official SAS blog for the voyage, also joined the entourage of officials and journalists on the trip. Both of them are friends so I'm looking forward to their tales as well.

 

Breakfast with the Tutus was really a special treat. After the stories of their adventure, I was able to talk a little and mention again my connections to St Tim's, where their granddaughter just graduated, and also with Arch's personal assistant, Lavinia, who was a shipmate on Spring 2009. Lavinia and I are set to have dinner in Cape Town one night I'm there and I'm looking forward to hearing about her recent work with the Archbishop's foundation's program on HIV/AIDS. I also got to know Pumla Gobodo, a commissioner on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, when Swanee brought a group of us together at her ranch so I shared that with him. The most wonderful part of our conversation for me was when I told them that I was getting sad because I was leaving in Cape Town. I explained that I was here because I just could not resist being on at least part of the voyage with the two of them but that having just recently sailed the whole voyage and having obligations at home, I just had to leave. Arch said, with his wonderfully vibrant sincerity: "Oh, no! Isn't there a way we can talk you into staying?" From a man revered by the world and celebrated by kings, that simple question brought me honor I'll remember always.

 

Hard to follow that story but I want to also share just a little about my time here. Having never been to West Africa at all and this being the only port on the itinerary I'd not visited, I was very excited to come to Ghana. My overall impression is that, although there are obvious and extensive challenges economically and socially, the Ghanaians are doing fairly well, especially when compared to other African countries I've visited such as Zambia. Two indicators that stood out for me were the good shape the roads were in and the presence of a middle class. Even though there are many paved roads, reportedly the traffic is horrible in Accra. I was sorry to not get there at all but the difficulties with transportation were the reason SAS chose to port in Takoradi instead, which is quite a distance west. The port is completely industrial and I doubt a cruise ship has ever been here. They are definitely not ready for prime time tourism here but that was kind of nice because the city feels authentic. A number of vendors traveled from Cape Coast and Accra, both cities more accustomed to tourists, and set up their wares right on the wharf. They had local crafts we could not find anywhere in town so that was convenient. I shopped there this morning and bought some strips of Kente cloth, a wooden bowl and some lovely handmade glass beads. One of the Lifelong Learners is a jewelry maker and he brought tools, wire and clasps with him. He offered to help us make things if we bought the beads so that's one thing I'll be doing in the upcoming days at sea.

 

I took three SAS day trips in Ghana. The first was to a hospital in Cape Coast with the Childbirth and Fetal Development class. It was a hard choice between this trip and a simultaneous one to visit a group of Queen Mothers who had gathered from across a whole region to meet with students. From all reports, I probably would have learned more in the second but luckily my colleague from Beyond Our Borders, Karen Yuan from Colorado Springs, did that trip so I'm hoping for a detailed report. Often my health care interests compete with my gender equity interests but that's okay. The hospital was the third level of care, a regional hospital with district hospital and health centers below that. It was well staffed and not over-crowded. As is common here, there were very few disposable supplies and it had mostly low tech equipment. But they did have four operating theaters and seemed to offer a broad range of care. Ghana has national health insurance that sounded comprehensive and only costs $15 per year, quite affordable I thought, even for a developing country.

 

I also visited a village built on stilts on a lake. The two-hour roundtrip boat ride was the best part of the trip. Our canoe held five people plus our boatman, Pont. He poled the canoe with the help of the two of us who were guys. I tried to do my part by bailing as the vessel slowly filled with water. As we went along, I envied my fellow bailers I saw in other canoes because they had plastic scoops and coffee cans while I had a plastic lid much like a Frisbee, definitely not "the proper tool" as my father would say. Talk about bailing out the ocean by teaspoons! While this spoiled American woman grumbled to herself, Pont threw his back into his job, handicapped by the water weight I wasn't able to adequately bail, and entertained us all the while with delightful Ghanaian songs.

 

The village was a disappointment. We walked through to the end of it and were seated in an open air room, then welcomed and told a short history of the people by the chief. At the end, he asked for donations which we gave, generously I thought. Someone saw him start to count the money before we were even out of the room. Then we walked back to the canoes – a visit of maybe 45 minutes. The adult villagers were beyond jaded, actually rude to me, rarely even making eye contact. We asked the chief how many visitors they got a year, domestic and foreign because apparently Ghanaians visit frequently as well. He proudly said "Twelve thousand!" No wonder the people were totally over the tourists! A steady stream marched back and forth every day, many, I'm sure, trampling on the laundry laid out to dry on the walkways. With a lot of care I managed to avoid that faux pas, but I got a horrible feeling of walking through a popular zoo. I felt embarrassed by my complicity in such a dehumanizing experience, no matter how lucrative it was for the village. In fact, I questioned where all the money was going – the proceeds from their tourist endeavors were nowhere in evidence. The children, as usual, saved the day. They delighted in our stickers and crayons, and enjoyed the bubbles I blew for them. We were told they learn to swim and paddle a canoe by the age of three or four. Several of the other SAS village visits I heard about were much better, with wonderful welcoming celebrations including lots of drumming and dancing. I hope they take this one off the list.

 

The real focus of our stop in Ghana, for me, was going to what are called castles but are actually the dungeons and embarkation points for captives bound for the Middle Passage and slavery in the New World. I prepared myself for an experience similar to going to the Killing Fields in Cambodia or the Peace Museum in Hiroshima. I can't do my experience justice now, not yet. I need to process it and hopefully will be able to write about it later. I'll just share a little.

 

The coast of Ghana was the place where the large majority of slaves were sent from, having been funneled in there from many, many other places in Africa over the four hundred year tragedy that was the slave trade. This history was the subject of several of my classes and I had learned a lot. As some of you may know, Ghana has become the focus of what is called "diaspora tourism" or people of African ancestry, mostly African Americans, coming back here to be in touch with their roots and learn about their history. What a difficult and courageous journey! Being a white Southerner, I didn't know how it would feel to me but I tried to stay open and just take it in. I visited both the castles in Elmina and the one in Cape Coast that President Obama visited in 2009, guided by the same man we were fortunate enough to have leading our group. The stone dungeons themselves and the dark, narrow passageways through which the captives passed to board those unspeakably inhumane ships were – well, I don't know how to finish that sentence. "Unimaginably horrific" doesn't do them justice. But as powerful as the experience of being in those places was, for me it was much worse to be in the Dutch CHURCH built two levels up from the cells and the governor's quarters on the top floor. Sorry, I truly can't go on. There's more but it's not ready to be told yet.

 

We sail tonight for Cape Town and I'm really looking forward to this segment. First, there will be post-port meetings to share our stories of Ghana and there are many I can't wait to hear. Neptune Day is coming up. A fabulous woman from IBM, who has been traveling with us since Morocco and also leaving in Cape Town, has given riveting lectures on sustainability and will be speaking to my Sustainable Communities class. She has kindly invited me to a private dinner the night before we arrive in South Africa so that should be fun. We'll have our first talent show/cabaret night and also Neptune Day. Best of all, we get to focus on the Archbishop's home country and the students will be treated to learning its history from a very special source. In addition to lecturing in Global Studies, he is also scheduled to visit my Global Music class tomorrow – to teach us to dance!

 

So thanks for letting me ramble on in lieu of a more organized essay about Ghana. I've got to go shower off the tropical sweat I just earned doing some hard bargaining with the vendors down on the wharf. At on ship time tonight, I've organized a Lifelong Learner party to use up my supplies of vodka, wine and snacks.  Can't be taking that home - I need the room for my new treasures.