When I
was a young journalist, I used to resent the constant trooping of Ghanaian delegations
to foreign countries to attend conferences. Couldn’t all that money be used to
build schools, clinics and other things that our people needed? I wondered.
And
then I had to go on a delegation myself. I was in the company of a
Nigerian, an Indian, a Somali, two Angolans, a Senegalese and a Brazilian.
We
visited many institutions in several countries, where we were invariably
invited to say something about our countries.
I
found out that whereas only polite applause greeted the mention of the names of
the countries of the other people in my group, wild cheers almost always
greeted mention of the name Ghana.
This was
because most of the missions and delegations Ghana sent abroad time had been
making excellent speeches on our quest for freedom and our desire to co-operate
with other countries to achieve world peace and friendship.
The
efforts of the delegations had won the friendship of the people of many
countries for Ghana. And so, whenever I was introduced to a gathering,
they knew the name “Ghana” and associated it with Africa’s struggle for
independence.
I
learnt that as an individual, I mattered little to the rest of the world.
But “Ghana! … Ghana! Ghana!”, on the other hand, meant something to almost
every individual I met abroad who had heard of the country.
No
wonder I feel personally disgraced whenever anyone does something that reflects
badly on Ghana.
And
that’s partly why I have taken the risk of sounding like a broken record by
writing constantly against the existence of galamsey in our country.
To be
perfectly honest, I just cannot see how it’s possible for a human being
equipped with the power of reasoning, cannot see how stupid it is to destroy
our rivers and streams in search of gold.
Humans
need good water to drink in order to stay alive. Yet “human-Ghanaians” are
deliberately destroying Ghana’s water-bodies, as well as their sources.
Galamseyers
can see, as they use bulldozers and Chan fans to churn up the beds of our
rivers and streams, that the water is changing colour; that the free-running of
the water is being interfered with, as the water-course is diverted towards an
unnatural dead-end, where it cannot flow on the natural course it had carved
into the earth over thousands of years.
The
water, thus diverted, stands still and turns into a crater of greenish algae.
It becomes a poisonous mixture of decaying matter and the residues of mercury,
arsenic and the other deadly chemicals employed by the gold-diggers.
Villagers
and townspeople are deprived of their drinking water and have to purchase
sachet water to drink (if they can afford it!) What happens when they do not
have enough money to buy sachet water?
They
may collect muddy water and boil it before drinking. But if boiling the water
can kill microbes, it cannot altogether eliminate the remnants of the
chemicals.
So,
cancers and all assorts of diseases that used not to be common in our rural areas,
are now prevalent there.
When I
was growing up, people in my village mainly died of old age.
People
like Nana Afia Korang; Nana Yaa Wusuaa; Nana Afia Ataa; Nana Abenaa Nookwaa;
Nana Afia Boatemaa, Nana Nisuoasa; Nana Maniasa…
All
of these ladies grew up to a ripe old age by drinking from two rivers – Supong
and Twafuor. Their offspring now drink sachet water (when they can afford it).
It is
evident that the offspring will only enjoy at most two-thirds of the lifespan
granted to their ancestors by Mother Nature.
And
that will happen, in spite of the amazing advances that have been made in the
science of medicine.
We have to remind ourselves again and again that
it’s because of this unnatural situation – which some of our own
people have wrapped around us like a cursed cloud – that we must
ALL fight relentlessly against galamsey.
We should further remember that in any worthwhile
battle, all cannot be expected to go smoothly. In a shooting war, for instance,
armies can run out of arms and ammunition or other supplies. Nevertheless, an
army tries to move constantly forward. Retreating is an intolerable disgrace
which no self-respecting army will inflect upon itself. It just isn’t a viable
option.
Similarly, in a war against social aberrations
(like galamsey) there are bound to be major obstacles: the people who
used to make money destroying rivers and forest reserves but can’t do so any
longer, because of ‘Galamstop’, will resort to all manner of subterfuges to
reverse the situation to what is known in history as “status quo ante….” [The
situation as it was before…]
Indeed,
it would be an abnormality if such a fight-back did not occur.
Now,
the fight against galamsey is not for any individual, or even a generation, but
for all who have been deposited, or will grow up in future, on this beautiful
land we call Ghana.
The
Akufo-Addo government is trying to stop galamsey and reclaim our water-sources
back for all of us. We should, therefore, unite behind it, for if we do so, we
shall be acting on behalf of succeeding generations not yet born.
Do we
want them to be born only to curse us as “THE GENERATION WHOSE GREED DESTROYED
GHANA’S GOD-GIVEN DRINKING WATER FOR ITS OWN CHILDREN?
If we
don’t want that obnoxious distinction to be applied to us, then our duty is clear:
we must n keep the morale of the struggle against galamsey high, despite
setbacks.
Our
cause is right. It deserves to succeed. And it SHALL succeed.
Damn the machinations against it!
www.cameronduodu.com
From Cameron Duodu
The post What Does It Mean To Be A Ghanaian? appeared first on DailyGuide Network.
