Accra-While I am excited to be in Ghana this week, I am a bit bummed that I am not in Kenya for Obama’s win. Some Kenyans are under the distinct impression that once Obama is President of the United States, he will somehow save Kenya from herself. With a Kenyan father, Obama is a god there. In fact, I just got word that they are calling a national holiday tomorrow to celebrate! A friend of mine went to a Kenya national team football match in September and there wasn’t a single football t-shirt for sale. The only goods available were Obama t-shirts. They came in English and Swahili and had his picture with the slogan, “Made in Kenya”.
Of course, Ghana has been a fun place to be this week too. They have a presidential election coming up in about a month. One candidate uses the catchphrase “Hope and Change” on his billboard, while I heard another guy on the radio likening his party to the Democrats in America.
Ghana is generally more American friendly than Kenya. Our driver has an American flag deodorizer tree hanging from his rear view mirror and I have seen a number of mini-vans sporting both American and Israeli flags. It took me a few minutes to piece that together; then I realized that they must be Jewish.
The people here are very beautiful and well dressed. The attitude is a little more laid back and carefree than Kenya, but best of all, they have proper roads and drivers actually obey the traffic lights. Kenya, it can be done!
I am here with 2 colleagues from the Aussie High Commission. We are interviewing almost 200 refugees in 1 week for possible resettlement in Australia. It is mentally and emotionally exhausting. Yesterday I interviewed 8 families from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo. Many have seen their parents murdered, often beheaded. Some are orphans who have lived in refugee camps for over a decade. Almost all of the women have been raped or even gang raped.
At the end of every interview I get to tell them about life in Australia. I tell them to play sports when they arrive because it will help them make friends with their classmates. I tell them I am a swimmer and then I get to give them candy. It is the only time I can find a smile. Well, that and the outfits they wear. One woman wore a “Diva” shirt. Under what scenario could she possibly think that is appropriate? Another wore a t-shirt with a British flag. I told her that she probably shouldn’t wear it in Oz…most Australians aren’t too partial to the Brits. But the kicker was a woman who walked in with an American flag scarf on her head. At least she wasn’t interviewing with the Canadians.
I feel a bit overwhelmed with the state of things here in Africa. Having given myself Wikipedia crash courses in the civil wars of the region, to go with those I learned earlier to interview my Somalis, Sudanese, Congolese and Ugandans, there doesn’t seem to be much silver lining in the clouds that dump torrential rains everyday at 3pm.
When I was about 19 I wanted to be the Prime Minister of Canada. Even at that age I was attracted to power. I am pretty sure it had nothing to do with being a public servant. Then when I realized that all politicians are crooks, I knew it wasn’t. But I would give a crappy Canadian PM or even a Republican any day of the week for the evil that runs most African governments.
It took me a while to jump on Obama’s bandwagon. I was a Hillary fan and wanted a woman in power. But even I teared up a bit during his victory speech, which I watched this morning with my Kenyan friend who was shedding her fair share of tears. I still don’t know if I actually believe that Obama is a different kind of politician, but I really hope so.
As for change, it is a like a 4-letter word over here. But a big part of me wishes that the Kenyans’ dream could actually come true. This continent could do with a man like Obama and a few ideas like hope and change.
