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SAME TRAIN
‘‘Same Train carry mother,
‘’Same Train; same Train;
‘’Same Train carry my father;
‘’Same Train carry my brother;
‘’Same Train carry my sister;
‘’Same Train;
‘’Same Train.’’
We were taught to sing ‘’Same Train’’. We learned it is called a ‘’Negro Spiritual.’’ And we did so with gusto at the Kindergarten. The lyrics had no immediate implication for us. So we innocently did not recognize the painful nostalgia which prompted them, unlike the cry in Lamentations Chapter Five particularly. Then we later during the late 30s learned of the ‘’Slave Trade’’. We also learned that some of ancestors participated to get rich. In retrospect, I make it five phases in our Continental history, there had been five phases of becoming wealthy outside of formal trade in whatever else: [i] conquests-loot ; [ii] colonial favors in return for collaboration—scholarships for Kids, relatives and appointments which facilitated the purloining of our treasures, ingrained bribery via largess, creating class; [iii] a culture [actually kulturkampf] of cheating through the paucity of professional know-howers; [iv] pre-independence miseading of ‘winner takes all’; and [v] ‘’Wabenzy’’ the Mercedes Benz signaling political graft progressed into apparently what we have presently. Independence did not initiate a renaissance of back to roots to nurture adopting to adapt systemically. It has been pile on, undergirded by partisanship. Talk and protest about racism hardly discern that it is here. Anyway, let’s freeze my peroration momentarily because the puzzle, if that is, would explain itself away eventually.
Problem is I have always thought that something very significant link up was missing after the abolition of Slave Trade 1865. The phases I have previously sketched were deemed honorable and the best route to achieve, from distinction through influence to confident. Those were also felt as the honest means to earn deserved respect. The key- note which labels it INTEGRITY in private and public. The goals today are said ostensibly to motivate a re-writing of history such as the World is witnessing in the revolt of the ‘colored race’ presently.
The wave of demonstrations against racism and policing spreads and intensifies. For all of its forms, there is only one character common; and this ‘’ANGER’’ which dates back 1918, the end of World War I—slavery had been abolished in the preceding top half of the prior century and the European Colonialists begun a gradual-forced to wrap up and decolonize. Hiccups occurred and the momentum went into stutters dragged into post-World War –II. It is to be noted that the US had not been in that League all that while. Its imperialism consisted of territorial conquests for place to settle, slavery was its adjunct for construction into wealth. But that had officially been abrogated.
It meant the free slaves could live side by side, making life according to ‘work-for-yourself’ without impeded and not treated as down-trodden, yet to be completed for centuries now. European decolonization and evidence of the counter-part ‘’Free Colored’’ into sovereign National States lit the possibility for the Negroes to push their rights in the ‘’New World’’ as it was called. After years of principled dialogues, from marches, often raucous and with the full support of newly independent Africa and Asia at the UN [1945-1975] and the half-shut-mind agreement of the European principal former Colonialists led by Britain, shifted American intransigence to juggle basic racists misconducts to accommodate equality from where eventually, the ‘’Negro’’ became ‘’Afro-American.’’ And its failure represents the street pitched-battles, a running global news headlines.
All of these have a single loss practically, because it obscures the goal and indeed plays into the hands of Resistors. The mini-uprisings have given White America a nightmare whose reaction is to resist into current hostile xenophobia as the ‘’Afros’’ press their case. Then here we are at the junction of a hell-threatening stalemate in a very discordant world as if there is no other solution than flying bricks, tiles, Molotov cocktails, burning-tyres road blocks, take the knee and get responses in knee-choker, tear gas and live shots on killing spree, because ‘they are black, it is said and believed conclusively because there is no other tangible excuse to contradicted.
The attacks and counter would have to taper off and the questions are: what did we achieve and is the circus of violence and protests over?. The whole game seems to me to be that each side strides into cessation with pyrrhic trophies. That leaves the ‘’Trojan Horse’’ to re-open by another incendiary—not George Floyd. I think without waiting for that, it is time for quiet reflection bringing back memory lane’s experiences and lessons to foster the new approach to gain the goal—if you don’t mind the hype, the ‘golden fleece’ to shut down a filthy era. The re-call dwells in the mid-fifties struggles in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Caribbean [Windies] for independence. It combined wars and heinous brutalities.
At a juncture similar to today’s crises across the world for color-equality, WHITEE had to reach out to negotiating, more than less in the knowledge that it is best for peace against the carnage, cost and enlarging global outrage. Talks about talks brought settlements however long they took like Southern Rhodesia, Ceylon, Cyprus and Vietnam where America lost the war to Ho Chi-Mihn to unify the then two Vietnams. That veiled compulsion from sheer fatigue and essentially the global reproach for the senselessness of apartheid South Africa for instance collectively made gigantic contribution for the dust to simmer and of course after the independence euphoria throughout, the Recipients today have themselves to blame for the variety of botches, looking intractable but they are working at them with glimmer of hope and huge disappointments in let downs.
That perhaps epitomizes Dr Nkrumah’s ‘’we prefer self-government with or in danger to servitude in tranquility.’’ The days are far gone with that. The current eruption needs a different definition target for pursuit, which is what the renaissance is about. However, in its nature historically between Church and State as in politics, it moves only to live with the old order, satisfied that the Establishment has understood the quakes. In deliberate reference to such posthumous discovery, the driving point is to encourage-propose set about re-thinking basic attitudes towards history of the African or indeed the
Our own revered John Kofi Mensah Sarbah urged the following once and I find it pertinent: ‘’Let us therefore formally acknowledge our own limitations, not with an intention to rest and be thankful, but to make good our defects and press on to a higher level of usefulness.’’ Most American Writers are describing this torrid time as Phase-II of Decolonization saying inter alia, ‘’if colonialism made the modern world, decolonization cannot be complete until the world –including Europe—is remade.’’(Adom Getachew; NY Times 27 July 2020).
None in all of the pieces for or against goings-on specify significant departures from the present old style campaigning of hell creation. There is a commonly approved assumption for examples that the hauling down of colonial Statues, scrawling graffiti and destroying both slavery and colonial landmarks necessarily are good tools to change the innate color-hatreds, empirically and ultimately. I doubt and differ. The dangerous consequences are the reversal of what wants correction in terms of where is the story ?. Erasure of that evidence leaves no one with a history. And received wisdom stipulates that a country [people] without a history does not exist.
Such defaults apart from the vacuum for any chercher du temps perdu, are caused by anger; and or hatred probably bound in envy of sort. Neither does good nor pleases posterity for both pride and shame. For a quick list, the Afghan Taliban bombed giant Statues, the Russians removed Joseph Stalin for reburial elsewhere, the Chinese don’t remember Mao Tse Tung, Trump disdains Dr Martin Luther King [Obama? Sacrilege for Trump]and replaces his portrait with Sir Winston Churchill’s.
But history hides this fact that the man was reportedly a racist, the general British type – not crude ‘Enoch Powellite’; but seemingly benign to most patronizing, irrespective of moot. That is an unwanted sensitivity to state. In any case it reconnects, writing-wise, the cauldron back home in the US where no one knows it leads. For sure, we are not going sing ‘’Hello Dolly’’ yet; but we can expect to feel like ‘’What a wonderful world’’—
‘’The colors of the rainbow
‘’So pretty in the skies
‘’I see friends shaking hands
‘’Say: How do you do?
‘’They really saying
‘’I love you…’’
I mean we can achieve this in another way. It was mainly the coloured nascent countries which swelled the UN in numbers but weight and huge meaning –51 to 144 between 1945 and 75. That outnumbering, despite the East-West misuse of the ‘’veto powers’’ which they instituted for themselves, itself a blatant discrimination, the new entrants lost it by wrongly walking out. It seems to me on short r eflection back to the 80s, this error was realized and the evidence was UNCTAD at Cancun, when the group stood up ‘’poor’’ against the unscrupulous ‘’rich’’ and rattled them well. The lot fell back got smug and not until again, the Anglo-US to clobber others into supporting the invasion of Iraq. At least the AU unanimously rejected the bid at the Summit in Paris to persuade a summersault and failed. By the close before each Head of State arrived back home, the US declared to accord 35 of them ‘’most favored state status’’ plus cash.
It is irrelevant raking mud to ask for accounting of that money if that was received at all because it could be sadly typical of us, gone. The more profitable wisdom deriving but constantly ignored for whatever reason(s) is that after’’ push’’ against not only WHITEE as in this case specifically, the ‘’shove’’ leads to sit down to talk. It is a natural sequitur outside of continuous or contentious bellicose, which has solved nothing to date. The only alternative is ‘’dispute resolution’’. Remember the Brits called in a Canadian military officer to snatch peace after long years of the IRA. In the US it might be argued immediately that the Dr Martin Luther-King March struck a deal. Better bitter truth regrettably is that we did not follow up through to logical conclusions meant. Consider that we failed everywhere to cultivated pursue the goals. The time to go for it, couldn’t be better than today, if we all mean’’ life matters’’—black or white. Sincerely.
©Prof nana essilfie-conduah.
As he had promised Aperkeh, the elderly man and his wife and three daughters stopped by Aperkeh’s parents’ house. Mr Amando and his family were preparing to settle in for the night.
“Brother Ben and family”, Mr Joshua Amando said warmly, “although I know you are here on a matter that can hardly be described as joyous, it is still good to see you. You are welcome. Please sit down while I bring you water”.
“Yes, we will take water, even though we are hardly thirsty, because this is our home”.
“Okay, Ben”, he started after they had drank, “Let me go straight to the point. My daughter Priscilla has told me about the goings on between her brother Aperkeh and our daughter Stella.
Before informing me, Priscilla had expressed concern to Aperkeh about some habits he is adopting, especially the late nights and the drinking. She tells me that one Saturday morning, she was there when Stella complained about his drinking and some girls who had come to the house to look for him, and he assaulted her.
I called him and complained, but all he could say was that I don’t know what caused him to react that way, so I could not judge him. Now he does not answer my calls.
I have sent Priscilla to his house to call him, but he has refused to come. Unfortunately, Ben, my son is a much different person than the young boy who completed university and started work at the bank. I am really embarrassed about his treatment of Stella”.
“Joshua, let me assure you that even though what is happening is very unfortunate, it will not affect our relationship.
We have been friends since childhood, and I thought that with their parents’ blessing, the relationship between Aperkeh and Stella would grow to become a blessing to all of us. But there appears to be a real challenge now.
Stella thinks that Aperkeh wants her out of his house, and indeed Aperkeh himself told me that, about an hour ago.
So I’m taking my daughter home. I suggest that you do what you can to straighten him out, but if it does not work out, let’s accept the situation and continue to be one family.
I am sure that being the well behaved girl that she is, Stella will meet a young man who will cherish her. Fortunately, this problem is happening early in the day, so they can sort things out if possible, or move on with their lives if they are unable to stay together”.
“I’m really grateful for that, Ben. I will do my best in the next few days to reason with him, because apart from the relationship with Stella, Aperkeh is risking his job and career with this lifestyle.
A good job and salary offers an opportunity to gather momentum in life, not to destroy yourself”.
“Okay Brother Joshua. We will say goodnight. I hope to hear positive news from you”.
As he descended in the lift from the fourth to the ground floor, Aperkeh wondered who would be waiting at the reception to see him at nine on Monday morning. He had spent good time with both of his new girls during the weekend, so it had to be someone else. He got out of the lift and pulled a face when he saw Priscilla.
“Priscilla”, he said as he sat down by her, “what do you want here? You know Monday morning is a busy time at the bank. I am a very busy person, so say what you want, I have work to do”.
“You are very funny, Aperkeh. You are telling me, your sister, that you have work to do, so I should hurry up? Okay, Dad says I should advise you to come home tonight, because he wants to discuss the issue of Stella with you. He sent me to you twice, and you did not come.
He has tried to call you quite a number of times, but you have refused to answer his calls. He says that if you do not come tonight, you will be very surprised at what he will do. He says you will not like it at all, so better come.
“What is all this? Why won’t you people leave me alone? Stella is very disrespectful. I told her that if she wanted to continue to live in my house, she must obey me. It is that simple.
She chose to continue ordering me about, controlling me in my own house, so I told her that if she could not live under my conditions she should leave. And she left. In fact, her own father came and took her away. So what again?’’
“How did she disobey or control you? Was she complaining about your continuous drinking and late nights? And did you slap her on several occasions because of that? Did you tell her that if she could not live under your conditions she should leave? You actually said that to her father? You have forgotten that before she came to live with you, our two parents met and agreed, and gave it their blessing?’
“Why don’t you leave, Priscilla? I don’t have to listen to all that”. “Okay, I will go. Your father who gave birth to you and educated you to university level sends me to you, and you ask me to leave? I wish you would defy him, and refuse to come home as he’s telling you, because he is planning to give you the discipline you badly need. Let me tell you. Stella is such a beautiful and decent girl, and I assure you that someone will grab her before you say Jack. You are only 30 years old, and you have already become a drunkard”.
As he walked towards the lift, Aperkeh decided on what to do. He would go home, and calmly listen to what his father had to say. The old man was very unpredictable, and he wouldn’t dare ignore him. So he would take all the insults and threats, but as for Stella she was history. According to Priscilla, Stella was beautiful and all that, but she had not seen the two curvaceous princesses who were all over him, ready to do anything he asked. And these were not barely literate waakye girls, but university graduates from wealthy homes, really classy girls. With stuff like that, who needs a waakye girl? He smiled as he took his seat.
A few minutes to five, Aperkeh was packing up to leave for home to meet his dad when his phone rang. It was Priscilla.
“Aperkeh, Dad says you don’t need to bother to come. Stella’s dad says she came to him early this morning to plead that she would rather stay at home than return to your house. She thinks you are already decided to be rid of her, and she does not want to risk being assaulted again. So it’s done. You can go ahead and enjoy the nice life you have started”.
Before he could tell her to go to hell, Priscilla hanged up the line. He was partially stung that his dad had virtually cut him off. The last thing anyone would want was to fall out of relationship with his own family, which had always supported him.
But the truth was he was no longer interested in Stella. What was wrong with going by one’s feelings? He could only hope that one day, his parents and sister would try to reason with him.
By Ekow de Heer
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We are often the first to arrive and the last to leave. While crowds scatter, cameramen and photographers move closer. In moments of crisis, fires, elections, protests, demolitions and disasters, cameramen stand at the centre of these events, documenting reality as it unfolds.
Yet in Ghana and many parts of the world, cameramen and photographers remain among the most vulnerable professionals in journalism. Despite their central and crucial role in news production, they are frequently assaulted, poorly protected and largely under-recognised within the media industry.
In today’s media environment, visuals define impact. Images and video clips have ignited national conversations, expose wrongdoing and shape public opinion within seconds. In all the media landscape, majority of storytelling value is visual, produced by some cameramen and photographers working in high-pressure and often volatile environments.
This visibility, however, comes at a cost. Cameramen are usually positioned closest to unfolding events, making them the most exposed when tensions rise.
A recent example is the assault on Samuel Addo, a journalist with Class Media Group, who was attacked by personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service while filming an altercation between firefighters and traders at the Kasoa New Market. He was injured while performing a routine professional duty recording events of public interest.
Incidents such as this have become increasingly prevalent. Records by the Media Foundation for West Africa, Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and other media monitoring bodies show that journalists are regularly assaulted while on duty, with cameramen often the primary victims. These attacks occur during political rallies, security operations, demolitions, protests and disaster coverage.
In many cases, cameras are damaged or confiscated, journalists are physically assaulted or detained, and intimidation follows.
Yet a significant number of reported cases are never fully investigated or prosecuted. This lack of accountability has contributed to a pattern where attacks against visual journalists are treated as routine rather than exceptional.
The situation in Ghana reflects a broader global trend. Across the world, cameramen and photographers have been injured or killed while covering wars, elections, civil unrest and human rights violations.
In 2016, I was assaulted by military personnel while covering an altercation between civilians and the military at Aboabo, a suburb of Tamale. Like many similar cases, the incident was never pursued. It was treated as routine and eventually forgotten.
That experience reflects a wider reality faced by many cameramen: attacks are frequent, investigations are rare and consequences minimal.
From conflict zones in Gaza, Syria, Ukraine and Iraq, to violent regions in Mexico and Haiti, visual journalists are often targeted because their work provides evidence. Cameras capture what words alone cannot, making those who operate them particularly vulnerable.
Globally, hundreds of journalists have lost their lives over the decades while on assignment; many of them visual reporters.
Despite the risks involved, cameramen and photographers are often among the lowest-paid employees in media organisations. Risk allowances are uncommon, insurance coverage is inconsistent and access to trauma support is limited.
Recognition within the profession also remains uneven, at major industry events such as the Ghana Journalists Association Awards, most honours are reserved for reporters, while cameramen whose visuals underpin many award-winning stories are rarely acknowledged beyond a single photojournalism category.
As long as cameramen and photographers continue to work without adequate protection, training, insurance and institutional backing, the risks will remain. Without meaningful accountability, assaults on visual journalists are likely to continue.
Cameramen and photographers are not peripheral to journalism. They are central to it. Their work informs the public, preserves records of national events and supports democratic accountability.
Ensuring their safety is not only a professional obligation; it is essential to protecting the integrity of journalism itself.
Beyond physical attacks, cameramen and news photographers operate within weak legal and institutional protection frameworks. While Ghana’s Constitution guarantees press freedom, enforcement mechanisms specific to journalist safety remain limited.
Assaults against visual journalists are often treated as isolated disturbances rather than attacks on press freedom, reducing their seriousness in the eyes of investigators and prosecutors.
Another critical gap lies in operational preparedness. Cameramen are frequently deployed to high-risk assignments without basic safety briefings, protective gear or clear protocols. In many newsrooms, decisions are driven by urgency and competition, leaving little room for structured risk assessment before deployment to volatile scenes.
Responsibility also lies with media organisations themselves, where many cameramen operate without adequate insurance, written safety policies or post-incident support. When assaults occur, affected journalists are often left to pursue justice on their own, reinforcing the perception that injury is simply ‘part of the job.’
Security agencies remain a key part of the problem. Cameramen are routinely mistaken for agitators, accused of provocation, or ordered to stop filming without lawful justification. The absence of consistent training for security personnel on media rights and engagement protocols continues to fuel confrontations that escalate unnecessarily.
Economic vulnerability further compounds the risk. Some cameramen invest heavily in personal equipment like cameras, lenses, batteries and protective gear often purchased on credit. When equipment is damaged or seized during assignments, compensation is rare, pushing many visual journalists into long-term financial strain.
Digital threats have also emerged as a growing concern. Visual journalists increasingly face online harassment, threats after publishing sensitive images or videos. These digital attacks often translate into physical risk, yet remain largely unaddressed by employers or law enforcement agencies.
The cumulative effect of physical danger, low pay, poor recognition and weak protection has consequences for journalism itself. Talented cameramen leave the profession, younger practitioners become risk-averse, and news coverage grows thinner. When visual journalists are silenced or discouraged, the public loses access to independent, credible documentation of events.
Protecting cameramen and photographers is, therefore, not a favour. It is a democratic necessity. Without safe conditions for visual reporting, accountability weakens, misinformation thrives and public trust erodes. Journalism cannot function fully if those who capture its most powerful evidence remain exposed and expendable.
By Geoffrey Buta
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