Features
Monsieur’s daughter – (Part 1)
From the first day he reported for duty as French tutor, David Essel, a French-German graduate, made a huge impact on life in and around the Aboso Senior High School.
And the school made a life-changing impact on him. At first, the students took the enthusiasm with which he introduced French greetings, rhythms and catch phrases as funny.
But he quickly pointed it out that by taking French seriously, they would only be taking their very lives seriously. Ghana, he stated, was surrounded by French speaking countries whose citizens continuously flocked here to seek employment and business opportunities, yet Ghanaians hardly even knew those countries, mainly because they cannot speak French.
It was time to reverse the trend before they swallowed us up. And by learning at least another foreign language, they would become true, global citizens. Anyone who missed such realities would regret it badly in future. Moreover, he said, French was an enjoyable language, and he would prove it to them.
Within a few months, French had become the most popular language. Even students who were not offering French were taking it seriously. Apart from earning the respect of students and teaching colleagues, Monsieur David had quite a few lady admirers in the big town.
One of them, Gladys Asiama, a home science teacher, decided to beat the competition by making a ‘direct assault’. She wrote him a note asking to meet him to discuss translations of some popular French dishes. And when David obliged by going over to offer his generous assistance, she gently provided some well-prepared dishes.
Before the end of the year, she had completely won him over, to the annoyance of many girls. Gladys was certainly good looking, but later in the day, David wondered to himself how he got so completely run over by her.
They courted for some six months, during which they spent most evenings together, cooking and eating, going over homework a preparations for the following days’ classes. For David, ‘Gee’ was the beautiful, dutiful and practical partner he had always wanted in a life partner.
She was a good planner, who thought well ahead. And on her part, David was a far cry from the romantic but idealistic Simon, with whom she had enjoyed a three-year whirlwind romance, but who had travelled the US for a three-month training course but had stayed for over three years without a letter or telephone call.
Apart from being serious with his work, David was focused on improving himself, and had promised to support every business initiative she made. He was earning some income from writing articles in French, and was preparing to write a novel in French.
Although they wanted to have a modest wedding, their colleagues, students and parents and the folks of Aboso made sure it was a memorable affair. Gee got pregnant with their first child, and even though she was generally in sound health, David went the extra mile to make sure she was comfortable. Around the time of the pregnancy, Gee pleaded with him to allow her to spend weekends with her parents at Kubeasi, and he reluctantly agreed.
But for most of the pregnancy, she had it smooth sailing, and Sarah was born without hitch. There was no shortage of people to help with her care, and Gee resumed work. Their marriage, to all intents and purposes, had gotten off to a good start. One morning, however, one of their female colleagues walked into his class and asked him to find some fifteen minutes to meet her for some very vital information. Sometime before the close of day, he met her at the school park.
“I’m sure you will misjudge my motive for giving you this information, but I want you to know that I am not a liar, and I certainly won’t lie about such an issue.”
“Don’t worry, Adoma. I know you are a lady of principle. I’m sorry our relationship ended rather, er, abruptly. Indeed, I will admit that I wasn’t in control of things. But that’s not why you asked to meet me. Please go ahead.”
“Well, I’m afraid it’s not pleasant. Some months ago, a friend of mine who knew that I had been seeing you, came to tell me that one Simon, a former boyfriend of your wife, was back in town, and had been spending time with her at the Nananom Guest House.
This happened on quite a few occasions. I couldn’t tell you then, because even if it was proven to be true, people would accuse me of breaking up a marriage. But last week, something happened, again. Your wife left school to meet with him, twice.
My friend says that a woman who works at the Guest House called Mansa is prepared to confirm this, because she is disgusted by your wife’s behaviour. That is all. But I will be grateful if you could leave my name out of this, whatever action you decide to take.”
“This is so kind of you, Adoma. You know, one thing I’ve always feared in life is treachery. I experienced it at close hand in my family, and I hoped to avoid it. Don’t worry. I will make some enquiries, and take decisive action. I’m so grateful. If I may ask, can you forgive me for what happened?”
“I never held anything against you. So in that sense you can say we are still friends.”
“Okay. Then let’s meet for a drink one of these days.”
David got home as she was tucking Sarah into bed.
“Welcome sweetheart. You are late.”
“Yes, I had to make a couple of contacts. Is she okay?”
“Very much so. Your food is in the oven.”
“Actually, I wanted us to have a short discussion first. When you have a minute.”
“I’m ready.” She moved to sit right next to him and smiled.
“Last week Tuesday and Wednesday, you went out of school. You didn’t tell me, surprisingly. Where did you go?”
“I’m sorry. I think I went to buy some materials for the cookery classes.”
“Gee, take a moment to think, and answer me. Where did you go?”
“Ah, where is this coming from? I told you that I went to buy materials.”
“Did you buy them at Nananom Guest House?”
“I think I passed there briefly.”
“On both days? To see Simon? For sex? Apparently, this has been going on for some time? So you, a married, nursing mother, is also having sex with another man?”
‘Look, David, you are just sitting there and hurling unsubstantiated allegations against me. You can’t insult me, eh?”
“Unsubstantiated allegations? I can certainly substantiate them. And I must tell you. I will not stay in a marriage, not for one day, with a treacherous wife.”
By Ekow de Heer
Features
Tears of Ghanaman, home and abroad
The typical native of Sikaman is by nature a hospitable creature, a social animal with a big heart, a soul full of the milk of earthly goodness, and a spirit too loving for its own comfort.
Ghanaman hosts a foreign pal and he spends a fortune to make him very happy and comfortable-good food, clean booze, excellent accommodation and a woman for the night.
Sometimes the pal leaves without saying a “thank you but Ghanaman is not offended. He’d host another idiot even more splendidly. His nature is warm, his spirit benevolent. That is the typical Ghanaian and no wonder that many African-Americans say, “If you haven’t visited Ghana. Then you’ve not come to Africa.
You can even enter the country without a passport and a visa and you’ll be welcomed with a pot of palm wine.
If Ghanaman wants to go abroad, especially to an European country or the United States, it is often after an ordeal.
He has to doze in a queue at dawn at the embassy for days and if he is lucky to get through to being interviewed, he is confronted by someone who claims he or she has the power of discerning truth from lie.
In short Ghanaman must undergo a lie-detector test and has to answer questions that are either nonsensical or have no relevance to the trip at hand. When Joseph Kwame Korkorti wanted a visa to an European country, the attache studied Korkorti’s nose for a while and pronounced judgment.
“The way I see you, you won’t return to Ghana if I allow you to go. Korkorti nearly dislocated her jaw; Kwasiasem akwaakwa. In any case what had Korkorti’s nose got to do with the trip?
If Ghanaman, after several attempts, manages to get the visa and lands in the whiteman’s land, he is seen as another monkey uptown, a new arrival of a degenerate ape coming to invade civilized society. He is sneered at, mocked at and avoided like a plague. Some landlords abroad will not hire their rooms to blacks because they feel their presence in itself is bad business.
When a Sikaman publisher landed overseas and was riding in a public bus, an urchin who had the impudence and notoriety of a dead cockroach told his colleagues he was sure the black man had a tail which he was hiding in his pair of trousers. He didn’t end there. He said he was in fact going to pull out the tail for everyone to see.
True to his word he went and put his hand into the backside of the bewildered publisher, intent on grabbing his imaginary tail and pulling it out. It took a lot of patience on the part of the publisher to avert murder. He practically pinned the white miscreant on the floor by the neck and only let go when others intervene. Next time too…
The way we treat our foreign guests in comparison with the way they treat us is polar contrasting-two disparate extremes, one totally incomparable to the other. They hound us for immigration papers, deport us for overstaying and skinheads either target homes to perpetrate mayhem or attack black immigrants to gratify their racial madness
When these same people come here we accept them even more hospitably than our own kin. They enter without visas, overstay, impregnate our women and run away.
About half of foreigners in this country do not have valid resident permits and was not a bother until recently when fire was put under the buttocks of the Immigration Service
In fact, until recently I never knew Sikaman had an Immigration Service. The problem is that although their staff look resplendent in their green outfit, you never really see them anywhere. You’d think they are hidden from the public eye.
The first time I saw a group of them walking somewhere, I nearly mistook them for some sixth-form going to the library. Their ladies are pretty though.
So after all, Sikaman has an Immigration Service which I hear is now alert 24 hours a day tracking down illegal aliens and making sure they bound the exit via Kotoka International. A pat on their shoulder.
I am glad the Interior Ministry has also realised that the country has been too slack about who goes out or comes into Sikaman.
Now the Ministry has warned foreigners not to take the country’s commitment to its obligations under the various conditions as a sign of weakness or a source for the abuse of her hospitality.
“Ghana will not tolerate any such abuse,” Nii Okaija Adamafio, the Interior Minister said, baring his teeth and twitching his little moustache. He was inaugurating the Ghana Refugee and Immigration Service Boards.
He said some foreigners come in as tourists, investors, consultants, skilled workers or refugees. Others come as ‘charlatans, adventurers or plain criminals. “
Yes, there are many criminals among them. Our courts have tried a good number of them for fraud and misconduct.
It is time we welcome only those who would come and invest or tour and go back peacefully and not those whose criminal intentions are well-hidden but get exposed in due course of time.
This article was first published on Saturday March 14, 1998
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Features
Decisions have consequences
In this world, it is always important to recognise that every action or decision taken, has consequences.
It can result in something good or bad, depending on the quality of the decision, that is, the factors that were taken into account in the decision making.
The problem with a bad decision is that, in some instances, there is no opportunity to correct the result even though you have regretted the decision, which resulted in the unpleasant outcome.
This is what a friend of mine refers to as having regretted an unregretable regret. After church last Sunday, I was watching a programme on TV and a young lady was sharing with the host, how a bad decision she took, had affected her life immensely and adversely.
She narrated how she met a Caucasian and she got married to him. The white man arranged for her to join him after the marriage and processes were initiated for her to join her husband in UK. It took a while for the requisite documentation to be procured and during this period, she took a decision that has haunted her till date.
According to her narration, she met a man, a Ghanaian, who she started dating, even though she was a married woman.
After a while her documents were ready and so she left to join her husband abroad without breaking off the unholy relationship with the man from Ghana.
After she got to UK, this man from Ghana, kept pressuring her to leave the white man and return to him in Ghana. The white man at some point became a bit suspicious and asked about who she has been talking on the phone with for long spells, and she lied to him that it was her cousin.
Then comes the shocker. After the man from Ghana had sweet talked her continuously for a while, she decided to leave her husband and return to Ghana after only three weeks abroad.
She said, she asked the guy to swear to her that he would take care of both her and her mother and the guy swore to take good care of her and her mother as well as rent a 3-bedroom flat for her. She then took the decision to leave her husband and return to Ghana.
She told her mum that she was returning to Ghana to marry the guy in Ghana. According to her, her mother vigorously disagreed with her decision and wept.
She further added that her mum told her brother and they told her that they were going to tell her husband about her intentions.
According to her, she threatened that if they called her husband to inform him, then she would commit suicide, an idea given to her by the boyfriend in Ghana.
Her mum and brother afraid of what she might do, agreed not to tell her husband. She then told her husband that she was returning to Ghana to attend her Grandmother’s funeral.
The husband could not understand why she wanted to go back to Ghana after only three weeks stay so she had to lie that in their tradition, grandchildren are required to be present when the grandmother dies and is to be buried.
She returned to Ghana; the flat turns into a chamber and hall accommodation, the promise to take care of her mother does not materialise and generally she ends up furnishing the accommodation herself. All the promises given her by her boyfriend, turned out to be just mere words.
A phone the husband gave her, she left behind in UK out of guilty conscience knowing she was never coming back to UK.
Through that phone and social media, the husband found out about his boyfriend and that was the end of her marriage.
Meanwhile, things have gone awry here in Ghana and she had regretted and at a point in her narration, was trying desperately to hold back tears. Decisions indeed have consequences.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
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