Sunday - June 29, 2008
 Trash is a sign of Oppulence
In Ghana, in the remote regions to the north the
ubiquitous trash along the sides of the road and everywhere else disappears. At
first I thought this was because these remote people were more tidy, but I
quickly realized that they were so poor that they didn't even have
trash. They
may not have trash, but they do have cell phone towers. And malaria. And
worms. And witch doctors for dentists.
My battalion went to Ghana to train
with the Ghanaian army and to provide security for medical, dental, and
veterinary assistance to these poor people. Essentially, we gave these people
fish, while a few peace corps volunteers there taught them to fish, and their
chief controlled those who were allowed to
fish.The
only other possessions these people had were the clothes on their backs and
scrawny chickens and pygmy goats. That's it. They live exactly how people
lived 100,000 years ago. Except for the cell phone towers.
 They
were very friendly, and seemed happy. I suppose they were happy to be alive
since a huge percent of their children die from malaria or other diseases.The
nearby city of Deboya has a population of about 30,000 I'm told, though I find
it hard to believe. These people had a water tower that looked new, and tv
antennas from every major home. And very cute children in the most deplorable
state of cleanliness.
Deboya
has a little bit of industry, making clothes in ways not changed for thousands
of years. Except not as
well.The
poverty of this region is due to the tribal system that is empowered by the
constitution of Ghana. Tribal chiefs have absolute power over their domain.
They say who lives in which hut and farms which piece of land. They are the
system of justice and authority. They are sure to get cell phone towers to
their region because this is good for keeping them powerful. Providing
sanitation is not so high a priority. In fact the Overlord, yes that's his
official title, was more interested in us coming to his side of the river, not
to help the people there, but because he owns four horses and he wanted our
veterinarian to give them a check up. His sickly horses were the only horses I
saw in the country.The Overlord was
quite impressed with himself. In a meeting with our battalion commander he
appointed him a chief for the nearby military camp, but was careful to include
that our battalion commander was to be subservient to himself. He gave the
lieutenant colonel --now Ghanaian chief -- a traditional smock and walking
stick. The rule is that any chief not carrying his stick would be fined. I
suggested that the battalion commander should name the Overlord his Officer in
Charge of Deboya, but that little return jab would be contrary to our diplomatic
role. Back
at the new chief's domain of Deboya Camp, the Ghanaian army proved to be very
disciplined, well trained, generally well equipped and a lot of fun to work
with. Ghanaians are great people. Being a soldier is very prestigious in their
country. When one learned that we were reservists and not full time soldiers,
he was shocked. Learning that we had regular jobs he asked, then how will
others know you're a Marine. We explained that there was never any
doubt.The Ghanaian soldiers sold us
beer every night and with the traditional African singing combined with British
influenced army songs, most nights became like a typical drum circle you'd find
at most any Greatful Dead reunion or Austin hippy
gathering.About
an hour and a half away was a large city of Tamale (pronounced Tom'-ah-lay) and
I was shocked to see a huge state of the art Soccer stadium in the midst of
their typical squalor. This stadium was much nicer than the one in most
American's home towns, it was a world class arena. I asked my counter part, the
Ghanaian officer I worked with, how such a building came to be. His answer,
that is the reason why we Americans were there. The Chinese government had
built six such stadiums throughout the country for free. The Ghanaians were
afraid that their politicians would be corrupted by this Chinese largess. The
Ghanaians are rightly proud of being one of the few stable and relatively
prosperous countries in Africa. They have a military that stays out of politics
and a government highly influenced by being part of the British Commonwealth.
I think that perhaps the Chinese have
the right idea for helping the Ghanaians. Peace Corps assistance is fleeting
and tends to make the recipient subservient. Making soccer stadiums allows the
country a place to gather and have fun. The organization, markets, and
infrastructure to use the stadium will probably have more impact improving lives
than a few visits from doctors will and it puts Ghanaians on the same footing as
other nations instead of making them feel like
beggars.I urge people who are tempted
to give money to those typical starving children charities to instead contribute
to a soccer stadium. Your 25 cents per day is wasted and won't stop the
children from dying of worms or malaria, but a soccer stadium gives them
something to aspire to, and focus on, and will do more in the long run than a
few bags of rice.I enjoyed my visit to
Ghana, but I'd be lying if I told you I would like to visit there again.
Addendum: Nov 3, 2009, Videos removed for space on the server.
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