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Criminals and gullible natives
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A criminal is a criminal whether or he has thick lips. As such, I strongly disagree with the French psychologist, Lombroso, whose idea of a criminal is a person with hard features and thick lips. If Lombroso had conducted his research in Africa, he probably might have condemned Africans to be a criminal race, since broad noses and thick lips, among others, comprise the African’s visage.
In Sikaman for instance, we have dangerous criminals whose physiognomy has nothing to do with their criminality. We have criminal die-hards and recidivists who are handsome gentlemen and comely ladies. Women who dupe for instance are the most attractive, albeit with dark minds.
And one thing I have come to realise of late is that there has been a return to the use of wits and magic in place of violence by criminals, especially by thieves and burglars. Perhaps, the idea of firing squads does not particularly appeal to them.
Using wits and magıc has a long history in Sikaman. In 1974, certain crooks, allegedly from a neighbouring country, invaded Sikaman to make money. They greeted you, you responded and your genitals got lost if you were a man. If a woman, your breasts vanished in a twinkle of an eye.
In desperation and bewilderment, weeping and gnashing of teeth, you quickly had to agree to pay quite a sum of money to another man (an accomplice) who approached you offering help, and you got back your sexual accessories.
It was widely disseminated that the antidote to the magic was pepper or charcoal. You simply had to put one of these into your pockets wherever you were going and then you were safe. Those days you could see Sikaman natives laden with pepper in all pockets and some with loads of charcoal in their back pockets. Pepper and charcoal became essential commodities.
This criminal practice died down in Tema for instance, not because people were using pepper and charcoal, but because one of the so-called magicians met a rather tragic end. He was identified by his victim and promptly lynched through mob violence.
Sometime last year, the ‘Spectator’ carried a front page exclusive of a man with a tribal mark who does not cherish using violence to earn a living. The man, it was alleged, made lucrative business by dressing like a woman, with slit and kaba, and high-heeled stiletto shoes, complete with make-up and earrings. I wonder what really was attractive about this muscular gentleman, no matter the finesse with which he executed the make-up and the power with which he wriggled his buttocks when walking. Anyhow, he made a tidy sum duping unsuspecting men before being told enough was enough.
In a bid to burgle a business executive in a quiet residential area, a man uses a ladder to enable him get access to the top chamber at about 2a.m, unfortunately for the thief, the executive boss does not sleep with both ears. One ear is, therefore, alive like a 24-hour radio frequency. He hears the sound as the thief works his way upstairs via the ladder.
The man wakes up and descries a tall, bulky barrel chested human being, who could have passed for a gorilla, ascending a wooden ladder pitched against his window. He had never seen such a formidable figure.
However, as the thief nearly gets to the top, and with all his might pushes the man takes courage and with all his might pushes the ladder off his window. The criminal lands on his back with the ladder atop him, and barks like a dog although he is a perfect human being.
But he is also a professional. He quickly wakes up from the tragedy, wipes the sand off his face and hair, carries the ladder on his broad shoulders and trots dizzily away home to plan another strategy. After an alarm had been sounded for his arrest, he was nowhere to be found.
A boy of about 13 enters into a house and meets the children of a prosperous man whose wife is a businesswoman. The boy tells the children that he has been sent by their mother to carry the video set to a repairer. The children become sceptical, because the video set is in excellent condition.
Anyhow, the teenager convinces them that the repairer had to put something right somewhere. The children are too willing and allowed the smiling adolescent to carry away their beautiful set to improve the picture quality.
Their mother returns at dusk and denies ever sending a boy to the house. Up till this day neither the video set nor the boy has been found.
The latest episode was reported in the Ghanaian Times by Francis Gasu, some three weeks back.
A woman meets two girls at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Accra, on their way to buy exercise books at the premises of New Times Corporation. She advises the elder of the two to remove whatever money they were having in their ladies’ bag, to keep it safe by wrapping it in some pieces of paper. She asks them to put the money into a nylon sack -they were holding, and to hurry since according to her, thieves were following them.
The girls indeed hurry. But when they got to New Times and decided to take out the GH¢36,000 wrapped in the papers, the money is absent, the papers intact. So magically dangerous! They came weeping and became confounded at this magical gimmickry perpetuated by a seemingly innocent and helpful woman.
There are thieves and criminals of different grades making money by relying on the gullibility of the native. When a thief enters a court room, he is the most dangerous of his calibre. And when a thief wields a ladder, it is an indication that he knows his job.
A man in brown overall with a ladder firmly held onto his shoulder, begs his way through the capacity crowd present to witness a long-awaited trial. He is allowed into the courtroom and he bows to the judge who solemnly acknowledges the reverence.
He unloads his tall ladder and puts it against the wall as court proceedings were underway. He climbs the ladder and screws out the large beautiful wall clock that had stopped working some two weeks back. The man must be a repairer and his forehead looks like that of a very efficient watch repairer.
He descends the ladder with the clock, puts the ladder on his shoulder, bows again to the judge and is given way to pass. That has been the end of the beautiful clock and the efficient repairer who incidentally does not have thick lips.
These are all true stories which have occurred at one time or the other. They are the perfect substitutes for armed robbery. The thieves come in many forms and guises. They use brains and magic when the going becomes tough.
Be on your guard and save your property!
This article was first published on Saturday October 13, 1990.
THE POLICE force has produced some of the country’s best dancers, but when it comes to shooting, I cannot vouch for all of Peter Nanfuri’s men. Most of them are excellent marksmen, but as for some, they whimsically believe that a warning shot must be targeted at a human jaw to make it effective. The shot must warn the jaw not to misbehave.
Coming back to dancing, I must stand at ease and doff my hat to the police force. I do not know whether Honourable Peter dances stylishly. But I have attended at least two parties organised by policemen and I was doubly impressed by the rare showmanship of inspectors, superintendents, commissioners, constables and all. I called a corporal friend aside and asked whether dancing was part of the syllabus at Police College.
Indeed, I was overwhelmed, even awe-inspired at the high quality of individual choreographic spins, jerks, twists and turns. As the climax approached at one such party, a sergeant, determined to steal the show, almost ‘took to flight’ in one of Sıkaman’s most celebrated choreographic exhibitions. Virtually airborne, he combined traditional dance styles with Pentecostal boogie and ended up break-dancing, triggering off a standing ovation.
But it was a lady corporal who finally sent the crowd into a frenzy. She did not only belly-dance; her body was vibrating as if it had been connected to electricity. It was a marvel. I have never been so much impressed in life.
Actually, I do not know why police staff do not contest in national dance competitions. They can have a try at it, why not? Just like journalists planning to try their hands at boxing part-time, to supplement their income.
We’ve got some pen-pushers whom you could mistake for fierce welter-weights or formidable super-featherweight, Azumah Nelson type. We are also privileged to have a few southpaws and I’m thinking about getting into the heavyweight division and ask Kofi Coomson to be my sparring mate. The only problem is that I can’t guarantee the safety of his ribs, taking into consideration that he is not quite macho.
He’d have to ‘beef up’ before we meet.
Yes, returning to the palaver of the police, I must say unreservedly that some bad nuts are embarrassing the force. It is for very good reasons that the Police Administration is about to institute a special judicial tribunal to try its personnel who resort to rampant and careless use of firearms, to the extent that a warning shot into the air can mysteriously wind up someone’s liver.
On many occasions, I have been surprised because the police are well-trained and remember they once won a shooting contest, they beat the army and navy to second and third places. So how come that some of them mishandle weapons so childishly as to cause injury when there should be no cause for it?
The Inspector-General of Police’s embarrassment is evinced in his words. He observes that various accidents resulting from now indiscriminate “stray” bullets and warning shot give the impression that the police aren’t properly, trained in weapons handling.
“Members of the public have become so aggrieved and intolerant that they are not even prepared to listen to official explanations on how the accidents happened, “he said.
Well, until the police sort themselves out as to those who are hopelessly incompetent in handling weapons aim who are not, I do not think it would be prudent to make policemen use live ammunitions in public unless the situation really demands it. Other means of subduing recalcitrant are available – rubber bullets, blank shots, tear gas, etc.
When tear gas was recently used at Legon during a students’ demonstration, it was quite effective in dispersing them. I didn’t know student could run that fast on empty stomachs. Some did not eat breakfast before joining the demo, but when the tear gas came, they exhibited excellent footwork, taking off in Olympic fashion, Bravo!
In any case, the topic cannot be exhausted without reflecting on another aspect of the IGP’s speech at the opening of a refresher course for Police Inspectors. He noted that even if a police Officer suffers any form of death at the hands of a criminal in the course of protecting life and property, the tragedy of the policeman’s death does not evoke any sympathy whatsoever from the public.
I think that is a good point to ponder, and it brings into question the idea of self-defense on the part of policemen. Should a policeman, for instance, kill a criminal who is out to cause harm or death to him? It needs to be debated because both the policeman and the dangerous criminal have the right to life.
Anyhow, the embarrassment being caused to the IGP by some careless policeman is well expressed. The problem is that when a policeman fires a warming shot that causes injury, people do not blame only the policeman. They also blame the government. It is just like someone who blamed the government when his mother-in-law slapped him hard in the eye. I don’t know whether he wanted the government to receive the slap on his behalf.
At any rate, customs officers who are also trigger-happy and misuse weapons in the performance of their duties will be sanctioned. In fact, they’ll be sacked! Sounds deterring isn’t it?
This article was first published on Saturday November 14, 1998
Today, I focus on the theme of mental health and wellbeing among Ghanaian migrants in Finland, a move away from the topic of personalities or groups and their accomplishments within the Ghanaian community in Finland that I have been writing on.
In recent times, I have been thinking about the mental health of Ghanaian (and other) migrant parents’ social environments and the impact on their children’s wellbeing in Finland.
According to research, childhood disadvantage is associated with adult psychological distress, although the role of behavioural risk factors around it may be unclear.
Mental health is a huge problem in the world, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Studies have also shown that maternal, paternal and parental distress (i.e. both maternal and paternal distress) are associated with reduced linear growth of the children.
When things go bad, social child welfare interventions ensure that children are taken away (child removals) from the parent or parents for safe keeping.
In Finland, studies have examined how behavioural risk factors mediate the effects of childhood disadvantage on adult psychological distress. There is a correlation between parent and infant psychotherapy on maternal mental health and psychological functioning and children’s welfare. The question is: what is the situation with Ghanaian migrants and their health in Finland?
The focus of NGOs and migrant associations
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (see www.who.int).
Finland has a very good healthcare delivery system and social services accessible to all residents in the country. Many migrants, including those in the Ghanaian community, are aware of these opportunities and are expected to take advantage of such chances.
As I wrote some time ago, a healthy migrant community is beneficial to the society as a whole. In Finland, public agencies, migrant associations and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been giving health information in various channels— webinars, mass media (radio, TV, as well as the new media and others). Such actions are very helpful to the people.
It has been pointed out that factors that improve mental health and wellbeing must be supported. Migrants’ mental and general health or wellbeing are affected by many factors, including cultural ideas of health, illnesses, and the prevention, treatment and symptoms of illnesses (see www.thl.fi).
Advocacy by the civil society sector
I have recently been making inquiries about migrants’ health generally and wellbeing in Finland. Many people see the need for advocacy, to intensify education and create more awareness about health and wellbeing of migrants in Finland.
NGOs and other organisations as part of the civil society sector play a crucial role in supporting migrant health in Finland, completing public services by offering legal advice, mental health support, and specialized services for vulnerable groups. Such NGOs and social groups, including migrant associations, offer specialized support for migrant women, while others are involved in activities that address social exclusion issues that impact health.
Research and other reports indicate that NGOs and other social institutions advocate for the involvement of individuals and communities in health decision-making. It has been pointed out that migrants’ involvement in health decision-making requires explicit national policies that are implemented evenly across policy-making.
Integration
According to the Finnish health department, health and wellbeing are an important part of the integration process. Hence, it is accepted that factors to improve health and wellbeing must be supported.
Generally, migrant associations help the health authorities and formally create awareness among their members and other migrants, usually in collaboration with some Finnish institutions, and are thus an important tool for several migrants to be positively active and to get their interest and concerns heard.
As I wrote previously, the role of migrant associations acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland.
The social media outlets have become an important means for disseminating information and it could be a key medium through which migrant groups or associations and other institutions could educate people.
A positive outlook on the Finnish healthcare system
As I keep saying, Ghanaian and other African migrants in Finland generally have a positive mind and hope for the best in life. They know that the Finnish healthcare system, one of the best in the world, has a comprehensive healthcare service that caters for every resident in the country.
Migrants know that as residents they can count on and readily access good healthcare service delivery in Finland. All they need to do is to go for regular medical checks and counselling since early diagnosis is key in the treatment of any illness. Adhering to treatment at the hospital is the key. Assigning spiritual interpretations could be detrimental. Thank you!
GHANA MATTERS column appears fortnightly. Written in simple, layman’s terms, it concentrates on matters about Ghana and beyond. It focuses on everyday life issues relating to the social, cultural, economic, religious, political, health, sports, youth, gender, etc. It strives to remind us all that Ghana comes first. The column also takes a candid look at the meanings and repercussions of our actions, especially those things we take for granted or even ignore. There are key Ghanaian values we should uphold rather than disregard with impunity. We should not overlook the obvious. We need to search for the hidden or deeply embedded values and try to project them.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
