A new significance to sport
Tonight I am writing by the light of a small television, located in one of three bedrooms at an apartment in Sunyani, capital of the Brong-Ahafo region.
I am here because this morning Kwame and I left Dunkwa-On-Offin to visit the next project in our agenda, a plantation being run by an organisation called VOLU in partnership with local communities. Unfortunately, we have not not managed to do any filming today because of being in transit most of the time. Earlier on there was some confusion with buses and we went to the wrong station in Kumasi by accident.
It's hardly surprising something like that happened there. Kumasi is a crazy city. By that I mean it has a unique and chaotic environment, which comes from being one of the largest cities in Ghana. People were everywhere. In many ways it was like Accra to the power of 10. Dunkwa had a market day yesterday and, as a result, was far busier than usual - but Kumasi on any normal day is still crazier.
The streets were packed with people buying, selling, talking, arguing, negotiating, joking - the only thing not going on was people idling. As for the roads, they were equally loud and frantic; minor accidents looked to be taking place every five minutes as, in the heat of the day, everyone was in a rush to get somewhere. Drivers shouted at each other out of their windows and competed in personal competitions for spots in line. Passengers crammed in to buses and taxis with their possessions, squeezing together and jabbering to add to the frenzy. I could go on describing the scene for quite a while, it was every exciting.
Earlier I watched the World cup 'dead rubber' match featuring Serbia & Montenegro and Cote d'Ivoire. Even though both teams were already eliminated and nothing was at stake apart from pride, it was a great game. Serbia went into a 2-0 lead before having a player sent off and conceding a penalty shortly before half-time. Cote d'Ivoire came out for the second 45 minutes only a goal down and, after a succession of missed chances, managed to complete the comeback and win 3-2 - even though they were down to 10 men as well by the end of the encounter.
Now the expectation will be on Ghana to repeat these heroics against the USA tomorrow afternoon. The Black Stars' remarkable 2-0 win over the Czech Republic last week raised a nation's hopes (or even those of an entire continent) to breaking point. I heard politicians speaking on TV and radion about the monumental impact that result had on the country. It brought renewed levels of pride, hope and belief to Ghana, all of which will surely be further increased if the team can reach round two and beyond. Ghanaians now have a restored sense they are able to achieve things and a reduced cultural attitude of white supremacy. When talking about the latter issue, people did not mean to be racist in any way; they were merely observing that, although it's been nearly 50 years since Ghana gained independence from the British Empire, an inbuilt inferiority complex in the national psyche still remains. And as long as sporting success is a way to break down barriers like this, I will be cheering as loud as any Ghanaian for the Black Stars tomorrow (even though my father is American! Won't be telling anyone about that either...)
I am here because this morning Kwame and I left Dunkwa-On-Offin to visit the next project in our agenda, a plantation being run by an organisation called VOLU in partnership with local communities. Unfortunately, we have not not managed to do any filming today because of being in transit most of the time. Earlier on there was some confusion with buses and we went to the wrong station in Kumasi by accident.
It's hardly surprising something like that happened there. Kumasi is a crazy city. By that I mean it has a unique and chaotic environment, which comes from being one of the largest cities in Ghana. People were everywhere. In many ways it was like Accra to the power of 10. Dunkwa had a market day yesterday and, as a result, was far busier than usual - but Kumasi on any normal day is still crazier.
The streets were packed with people buying, selling, talking, arguing, negotiating, joking - the only thing not going on was people idling. As for the roads, they were equally loud and frantic; minor accidents looked to be taking place every five minutes as, in the heat of the day, everyone was in a rush to get somewhere. Drivers shouted at each other out of their windows and competed in personal competitions for spots in line. Passengers crammed in to buses and taxis with their possessions, squeezing together and jabbering to add to the frenzy. I could go on describing the scene for quite a while, it was every exciting.
Earlier I watched the World cup 'dead rubber' match featuring Serbia & Montenegro and Cote d'Ivoire. Even though both teams were already eliminated and nothing was at stake apart from pride, it was a great game. Serbia went into a 2-0 lead before having a player sent off and conceding a penalty shortly before half-time. Cote d'Ivoire came out for the second 45 minutes only a goal down and, after a succession of missed chances, managed to complete the comeback and win 3-2 - even though they were down to 10 men as well by the end of the encounter.
Now the expectation will be on Ghana to repeat these heroics against the USA tomorrow afternoon. The Black Stars' remarkable 2-0 win over the Czech Republic last week raised a nation's hopes (or even those of an entire continent) to breaking point. I heard politicians speaking on TV and radion about the monumental impact that result had on the country. It brought renewed levels of pride, hope and belief to Ghana, all of which will surely be further increased if the team can reach round two and beyond. Ghanaians now have a restored sense they are able to achieve things and a reduced cultural attitude of white supremacy. When talking about the latter issue, people did not mean to be racist in any way; they were merely observing that, although it's been nearly 50 years since Ghana gained independence from the British Empire, an inbuilt inferiority complex in the national psyche still remains. And as long as sporting success is a way to break down barriers like this, I will be cheering as loud as any Ghanaian for the Black Stars tomorrow (even though my father is American! Won't be telling anyone about that either...)
posted by Frederick at 03:00
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