Them thats got shall get. Yesterday morning I visited with African Ambassador Strauss. It was Monday and about 9:30 a.m. here in Ghana, West Africa. In America most, if not all children are in school during this time. On my way to the ambassadors home, I noticed children playing in the street assisting their parents in the markets and running their own booth stations on the side of the road. Behind their stations were huts made of tin, leaves, wood panels, mud, bamboo and what ever else looked like it could suffice as temporary shelter. I noticed some kids running in and out of fast, busy streets and perhaps only eating the pollution from cars who denied them business. I imagine some of them wanted to give up after a couple of tourist shewed them away, but giving up was not an option. They just announced even louder the items they were selling. I opened my bus window and was slapped in the face with strong smells of sewage and smoke from night fires being put out. I would have given up, but they did not. They drank their morning sweat and continued to yell Come, buy from me. I have plantane, and another would yell Come and get your bread from me. There was over 100 kids in the streets and along side the road yelling, looking, passing desperately for someone, anyone to buy. When I arrived at the ambassadors home I noticed the barbwire on the top of his beautiful stone walls. The gates to his home were fancy and well secured.I know because I tried to take a picture of the ambassadors Great Wall from the entrance and was firmly ordered not to by five officers with large guns in their hands, and skin like mine. There was a sign at the entrance. The sign said NO CAMERAS, but I just got back on the bus as if I was storing my camera and accidentally on purpose took a picture of that Great wall, then I put my camera up. I walked through the gate with the others in my group. It was a whole different world from those separated by that Great Wall. The lawn was well manicured, the houses exterior was made up of stone and Stucco. There was a pool on the right side of the lawn and a side patio attached to the main house with fans and soft music playing from the outside sound system. There we were greeted by tan and peach faces. They kindly requested we join them for breakfast on the patio, so we did. They had bacon, pancakes, sausage, eggs, stewed tomatoes, fresh squeezed orange and pineapple juice lined up so elegantly on a long white table . The napkins were trimmed in gold. The tables had white table cloths and along the perimeter of the patio there was security and house assistants ready and willing to protect and serve. I had no appetite after seeing such horrible things outside the ambassadors Great Wall, but after everyone else ate and grinned in the faces of strangers who appeared important- the ambassador came out and formally welcomed us to his estate. To my surprise he was tan, short with wavy hair and sunglasses that never left his face during our entire visit. He spoke about business opportunities with us and shared news about receiving $500,000,000 to boost high tech capabilities so that big companies from all over will want to come and station their businesss in Ghana, run them and profit from them. When he was done he asked if any of us had any questions. A few responded in regard to trade and investing. I wanted to ask a question, but I was nervous. Others inquired more then finally I mustered up enough courage to speak- ambassador how will this help Ghanas people, will some of the money you have been given go towards educating your youth about growing and furthering the economy so that THEY can flourish in their native land, or will most or all the funds be primarily used to attract greedy businesses to invest their products here and as a result help the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? The jobs that these businesss will provide will only attract outside help due to the lack of education and opportunities to free education for the children of Ghana. He smiled, and took a deep breath. He must have swallowed half of his throat looking for words to answer my question because he needed water before answering, but when he did, he went on for minutes about how just having big business gave Ghana a better image and showed the need for others from different countries to migrate there. I said little after that. The time was cut short, he had to be somewhere soon, so we said our good byes, sat on his nice porch and made excuses to use the restroom so we could enter his fine home and observe all that was rich and different from what lied just steps from his Great wall.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 23:37:12 +0000
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