Lost in Translation

I remember the morning parades during my primary and secondary school days. Always begins with a prayer and hymn. Then a recital of the national pledge or anthem or both if the teachers felt like it. From Monday to Friday, for 6 years in primary school and another 3 years in junior secondary school, students across the nation would belt out the pledge or anthem at least once a day! It was a good way to instil a sense of nationalism after independence. The boundaries of Ghana, like all other African countries, are an artificial creation of the greedy colonialist. Different ethnic groups with different affiliations had all of a sudden become one nation. The new government was faced with the threat of separatism. One subtle measure it used to keep this young nation together is having school children recite the national pledge or anthem every morning before school begins, not only was this practice to instil a sense of nationalism but the words were to inspire patriotism… “I pledge on my honour to be faithful and loyal to Ghana, my motherland… I pledge myself to the service of Ghana, with all my strength and all my heart…” Words of deep inspiration, written to inspire the people of this young nation to give their best service to their motherland. So for over 50 years we have chanted the pledge and anthem like a mantra and it has sunk into our subconscious. We now see ourselves as Ghanaians first before all other affiliations, the first part of this practice – instilling a sense of nationalism has been achieved. The second part – inspiring patriotism has not been as successful. As I pointed out in my earlier blog – “Individualism V Patriotism”, I am of the view that Ghanaians have become less patriotic over the years. The failure of the second part of the mission is due to the fact that the meaning of the words of the pledge and anthem – which were meant to inspire patriotism, has been “lost in translation”.

Just like the rhymes you learn at school when you are little. You are too young to fully appreciate the meanings of the words but you are asked to memorise them anyway. As you grow older you would expect to have a fuller understanding of these rhyming words but very often most of us fail to, unknowingly. The words become “hollow” because we have recited them so many times. Our lips speak them without the brain fully digesting its meaning. They just roll off our tongues as mere words, its meaning lost in translation. As the many Christians who grew up saying The Lord’s Prayer every day, you get to a point in life you realise you just pray the words without actually thinking about what you are saying. The national pledge and anthem has become just like any other rhyme we learned in school. It evokes no passion or emotion, it’s just plain words.

Thinking back to my senior secondary school anthem – “Dwen Hwe Kan” we sung it only a few occasions during the year! On the speech and prize giving day and a handful of other occasions but each time we sang, it stirred up so much emotion, passion and pride. The words carried a meaning, the words spoke to you. Our national pledge and anthem should still be recited every morning at the primary schools. It’s a very good way to instil a sense of nationalism from a young age but all other uses of the pledge and anthem should be limited to very special national occasions. The less we use it the more precious the words will sound when we do use them. Each word of the national pledge and anthem should be uttered with meaning and pride. Each word should spur us to serve our motherland better than before.

Individualism V Patriotism

I have been stuck in a hellhole for several weeks now. No Facebook, no Twitter, no Sky Sports, no Match of the Day, no Hollyoaks, no X Factor and no Come Dine with Me! The only phone is broke, so the main means of communication with the outside world is the dying art of letter writing. Being here however has its positives. None of the variety associated with the modern way of life – struggling to come up with a clever status update for your Facebook or Twitter profile every minute and definitely none of the stress of having to dig into your wallet and pay for extortionate train fares, but there’s also a downside from being away from all of this. We are starved for news. Newspapers and magazines are delivered to us but they are always weeks out of date. It’s practically history by the time it comes through but I devour every bit of news article, which seems to be full of doom and gloom every time. Economic recession continues, Steve Job passes away - and I am told the iPhone 4S is well disappointing! Tevez refuses to come off the bench to play, yet he his paid thousands of pounds a week! And the saga continues in Libya. You will find only a handful of good news and the page 3 girls seem to be getting fitter every week! One positive article in “The Week” caught my attention. Warren Buffet has injected $5bn of his own money into the beleaguered Bank of America. He only gets a meagre 6% annual return. With his investment process, he could be making a killing elsewhere but he chose to save one of America’s largest banks! This is a free act of patriotism.

I could not help but take a look at my beloved Ghana. Most Ghanaians have a great sense of national pride. We would hoist the flag of Ghana anywhere in the world. We will scream our heads off cheering the Black stars and even in defeat but how many of us will put our money where our mouths is? How many will make the ultimate sacrifice for Ghana’s sake? How many will do a “Luis Suarez” for Ghana? “Patriotism” has become a colloquial word to many Ghanaians. It is seen as a word that belongs to the era of the independence struggle and the immediate aftermath. We have increasingly become a very individualistic nation. Each man for himself, the national good is left to second place. In this capitalistic world it is easy for people to put their own interest before that of their country. This is to be expected in a world where individual integrity and enterprise is held in high esteem and even in a country where many feel their share of the national cake is being munched by the big bellied government official at the top. Some may argue a collection of individual success may ultimately lead to national success. This may be true but excessive individualism will only suffocate patriotism. It is a hard balancing act but let John F Kennedy’s words be our guiding principle in all situations “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”

Maclean Arthur Is My African Name

My full name at birth was Maclean Kwamena Holdbrooke Arthur! Yeah, that’s quite a mouthful so I have resorted to using Maclean Arthur these days. To many (with the omission of Kwamena) my name is as English sounding as an African’s name can get. I have been urged on many occasions by some “conscious” friends to adopt a more African name. They have done so themselves. They tell me they have been on a journey of self-discovery and now feel more connected to the motherland because of their new names but I have always refused to change my name and I have two reasons for this stance.

Firstly, these “conscious” friends argue their new African names, asserts their true Africanness. This sort of argument really makes me laugh. If the sound of your name is the sole essence of your Africanness, then you are very much mistaken. I am all for African parents giving their children African names. Adetoun Dosunmu, Yaa Asantewaa, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame Nkrumah – beautiful names with very deep meanings. When I do have children someday, they will definitely have African first names. However, we should be careful not to define our Africanness by just the sound of our names. Our Africanness is much more than the names we bear. Our Africanness is measured by how much we give back to our motherland. That is what it means to be a true son or daughter of Africa. Having a full African name does not make you more African than Casley Hayford or Nelson Mandela! And these two individuals with European sounding names have done more for Africa than any of these “conscious” African-name-bearing friends. If you ask me, Bob Geldof is more African than these friends of mine.

The second reason for my refusal to change my name is born out of its historical relevance. Maclean Kwamena Holdbrooke Arthur, as I always explain to my “conscious” friends, it’s as Ghanaian as Kwabena Fosu! It holds as much meaning and historical relevance as any other Ghanaian name. Mention my name to any Ghanaian and they will recognise it. They will even be able to tell which part of the country I originate from. My name tells of a period in our history when our forebears welcomed the European traders into our land. Many settled along the coastal regions of Ghana. They married the locals and had families with them. It is therefore not uncommon to meet Ghanaians with English names like Greenstreet or Hughes or Dutch names like Van Dyke or Vanderpuye. These names acknowledge a connection to our European ancestry. We do not bear these names because it sounds good and can open doors as others would like to think. We bear these names because it is part of who we are. It is like the St Georges cross and the lion that appears on the coat of arms of Ghana. It is not for mere decorative purposes. It has historical relevance. It is an acknowledgement of our connection to the British Empire. It is and will always be a part of our history as a nation. So I will keep my very African name – Maclean Kwamena Holdbrooke Arthur. It is very much a part of me and my history.

Ghana: Our Drinking Problem

As a Ghanaian looking from within, alcohol does not seem to be a very big part of our life and culture. The many churches and mosques preach a very strict message of zero tolerance. Many of the churches have even redefined scripture. They say without any proof that the wine at the last supper was non-alcoholic and therefore use diluted squash at their communion service. Traditionally, alcohol and water are used during naming ceremonies as symbolism for honesty and truthfulness. But it seems Ghanaians have seemingly grown so anti-alcohol many now use honey, salty water and water for naming children.

The only time alcohol is mentioned in any serious social discussion is during Christmas periods where you see commercials on telly, campaigning against drink driving and that’s about it for alcohol related issues in Ghana. I could not even tell you the legal age for drinking in Ghana. Its not something that comes up in discussions because everyone is apparently a “non-drinker”. But on my last visit, I could not help but notice the vast number of drinking bars dotted in every corner of every street. You would have to travel a fair distance to find a restaurant, but if you needed a drinking bar, a few steps and you will be in one before you know it. Any little bit of space can be transformed into a drinking bar- ISO containers, marques with wonky legs and every Ghanaian’s favourite, drinking bars under a tree! All you need are tables and chairs and you are in business.

The huge number of these bars seems to suggest it’s a pretty profitable business. Ironic how these businesses are still in operation in a seemingly non-drinking society. It’s like being able to run a successful radio station in a society full of people with hearing disabilities. That is the ingenuity of the Ghanaian drinking bar owner, or maybe Ghanaians are reason why Ghana Breweries Limited and Guinness Ghana Limited are still in business? 

Hard to admit, but I think Ghana has a drinking problem! Well, not the kind you would see in the streets of England. Ghanaian’s do not drink till they chuck their guts out or till they lose all recollection of the night before. Hangover is not a very common word in Ghana. Our problem is not binge drinking, our problem is denial. Clearly we do enjoy a drink, and we do drink responsibly but we do it in hiding, in dark dodgy drinking bars. We are like the little boy at school who is too ashamed to come clean about his sexuality. It seems like it’s about time we opened up the debate on our drinking culture. It’s not so much about the legal issues concerning alcohol consumption, it is about society accepting many of its own who enjoy a drink and they do so responsibly so why push them to hide it? That is the problem we need to deal with, that is the discussion we need to start.

The African Spring – Only a Matter of Time

The past couple of months has witnessed a sweeping revolution in the Arab world. Ordinary citizens of Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, Syria and Libya have finally found the voice and the strength to stand up against decades of dictatorship. The results? Tunisia is having its first truly free election in 23 years. The authoritarian government of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has finally fallen. Gaddafi huffed and puffed for a while but with little help from their “friends”, the NTC and the people of Libya triumphed. For decades the people of these nations had been subjected to the will and whims of their respective rulers and their families but now the people are having the last laugh. Call them rebels or revolutionaries but to them labels and titles mean very little. For them it has been a struggle to secure a more free and equal society for themselves and their children. Egypt, Libya and Tunisia will not attain full-fledged democracies in a week or a month or even a year. It’s going to be a long and rough journey, but the good news is they have begun the journey. Now they are free to elect their own leaders – leaders who will be accountable to the people and not themselves.

One would have expected the swift success of the Arab Spring in North Africa to trigger the “African-Spring” in sub-Saharan Africa, but it has not as yet. Now I wonder who is more surprised, me or the numerous dictators across the continent of Africa. I cannot explain why this revolutionary wave has not swept through the whole of the continent, but I can certainly say those tyrants are sleeping uneasily.

The definitive message in the success of the Arab spring cannot be overlooked; the will of the people will always triumph. It has shown that the oppressed everywhere have now found their voice and the strength to finally rattle and pull loose the shackles of the oppressor. Authoritarian governments may put limitations on the freedom of speech but the voice of the people will always come through with a resounding roar. Tyrants may imprison those who stand up against them but the resolve of the people cannot be held down forever. It can only grow stronger. So to the various dictators across the continent and all around the world, I say to you be very nervous! Because the people will always win, its only a matter of time!

Me Firi Cape Coast

I was 14 years, it was a normal Sunday church service but a special preacher man had been invited. Everyone sat in eager anticipation but I was rather angry because my mum had forced me to sit next to her in the front row. My mind was racing double time to come up with a good excuse to move to the back row when the preacher man walked into the church auditorium.

We all rose to our feet and closed our eyes in silence waiting for the opening prayer. He let the silence lay for a couple of minutes. I opened my eyes to see what everyone else was up to – it was the usual, people swaying back and forth as though possessed. As my mind began drifting onto other things, the preacher man spoke out into the microphone. He said a lengthy prayer to which the whole congregation responded to with a loud “Amen!” He then announced he had a revelation whilst he was saying the prayer. My heart skipped a beat, was God trying to get back at me for looking around whilst everyone else prayed by revealing something naughty I had done earlier in the week? I slumped in my chair, eyes to the floor whilst sweat beads were forming on my forehead but thankfully God had let me off. The revelation was not about me, it was about Cape Coast! A group of British Business men were on their way to invest substantial figures into the local economy. I was grinning from ear to ear. I did not realise how much I loved Cape Coast until that point. My beloved Cape Coast was on its way up!

Fast forward 14 years down “time lane” and there are no British investors in sight. Maybe this is one of the reasons I have so much distrust for the church system, but we will leave that for another day. All I want to write about now, is my beloved Cape Coast. Since the preacher man’s British investors never turned up, I have taken it upon myself to sell Cape Coast to the world. Hopefully I can do a better job of attracting investors.

Cape Coast is a town steep in history. The castle and fort are grim reminders of a darker moment in the history of all black people but it is our history nonetheless, so for anyone in the black diaspora trying to find their roots, Cape Coast is a very good place to start the process of healing, reconciliation and building broken relationships. Cape Coasters will always welcome you with arms wide open. For the sun seekers, Cape Coast is your ideal destination. If you think the beaches of Barbados are the real deal, then hold your breath! The beautiful beaches of the Cape coastline are better than anything you have ever seen in a Thomson’s holiday brochure. The strengths of the sea waves are pretty strong too, so the surfers amongst you can bring your boards to test it out. Now for the businessmen amongst you, there is a vibrant market. Cape Coast has a university, a polytechnic and several senior secondary schools. If you know anything about business you would know that a uni town always has a healthy spending habit.

Finally I will make an appeal. Cape Coast arguable has five of the best secondary schools in Ghana. Many investor’s sons and daughters of Ghana, have been educated in Cape Coast schools. Now you owe Cape Coast a debt of gratitude. Spread the good word about the town which gave you your education. Bring your friends and family back on weekend breaks. Visit the sights. Go run the sandy beaches. Show the world you are proud to be associated with Cape Coast.

No Vernacular

       

How would you feel if you walked into KFC one day to order a chicken wrap only to be told they will serve anything but chicken?! Or you go on an aeroplane to fly to your dream holiday destination, only for the pilot to announce the aeroplane will not fly but taxi all the way to its final destination?! I will tell you how I would feel - I would feel conned, disgusted and disappointed. KFC without chicken and a plane that cannot fly?! Chicken is the core essence of KFC and so is flying for an aeroplane.

It’s the same sort of feeling of disbelief and disappointment I get when I come across a Ghanaian who has lived in Ghana all their life and yet speaks better English than any Ghanaian language. I have two nephews and a niece just like that. Speaking to them the other day, I realised they speak fluent English but struggle to hold a conversation in Fanti or Ga. Their knowledge or Fanti or Ga – which is their mother tongue – is only rudimentary. It does not go past “How are you”, “I’m fine” and “my name is”…  Shocking huh? And they’re not the only Ghanaian kids living in Ghana who speak better English than their supposed mother tongue. There are many like my nephews and niece and this is deeply worrying. A couple of generations down the road we will have a society that cannot speak its own language but can we blame these kids? They speak English when they are at school and when they are at home. All the literature they read is in English and all their favourite TV characters speak English too: Ben 10 speaks no Fanti or Ga and neither does Hannah Montana! The only time they get to speak Fanti is when their maternal grandmother visits or Ga when their paternal grandmother comes around and they also get a few hours of local language lessons a week at school and that’s about it.

We cannot pretend this problem just crept up on us out of the darkness, we should have seen it coming. I remember in primary school we had a sign on the chalkboard which read “No Vernacular”. Anyone caught speaking Fanti during school hours were punished, but I was lucky not to end up like my nephews and niece. Unlike them, I had a safe haven. I could go home and speak Fanti all I like. These kids on the other hand have no one to speak Fanti or Ga with on a regular basis, so uncle is going to do his bit to help them. Next time I speak to them on the phone, I will be speaking Fanti and

nothing else but now let’s address this problem in a wider sense. Those in charge of drawing up the Ghanaian school curriculum have to take another look at the system. Local language lessons should be given more teaching hours or we can be brave and start teaching a subject – I would suggest History – in local languages. It makes much sense to teach the history of a society in its own language. It gives a better understanding.

Now let’s take a look at the TV stations in Ghana. Do not scrap Ben 10 or Tom & Jerry or Hannah Montana but work some magic with it. It would be nice to hear some of these characters speak Fanti or Ga or Ewe or Twi or Hausa, it can be done. I’ve seen Scooby Doo speak fluent Hindi. Finally, I have a few words for Ghanaian parents. Please do not speak English to your kids at home. It will not make them any clever than the kids who speak Fanti or Ga or Ewe or Hausa at home.

Funny… I just tried counting 1 to 2o in Fanti and I am ashamed to say I’m stuck at 10! And I would think there would be a load of people reading this who cannot count from 1 to 20 in any Ghanaian language. It’s a disgrace! We need to do better.

Amy

You were right when you said "You Know I'm No Good"
We know you were "Addicted" to things you should not
But we know deep inside you fought "Some Unholy War" against your demons
Looking back we should have really sent you to "Rehab"
Sad we all have to "Wake Up Alone", without you
Hard to believe you are gone, indeed "Love Is A Losing Game"!
It's sent us straight "Back To Black", tears run down our faces
But we do take comfort in your words- "Tears Dry On Their Own"
We will always miss you "Valerie" x

Lets Get Gari Next To Curry

Thanks to a certain someone and boredom I have really gotten into watching TV! A couple of months ago I would only watch football and X Factor when its in season, but now I do marathon sessions of Hollyoaks, Eastenders, T4OTB and all sorts and its getting pretty worrying. I had to mentally restrain myself from getting into the whole The Only Way Is Essex hype! I’m like a proper telly person now, it has very much become a big part of my daily routine. I consciously make time in the day to watch quite a number of programs these days, and I make full use of Catch Up TV on the weekends when I miss any of these programs during the week. One program I never miss is Come Dine With Me!. Love Dave Lamb‘s hilarious voice-over commentary - legendary!. I can do series of it all day and would not be bored and if I miss a few minutes of it, I will be flipping through from Channel 4 +1 through to E4, E4+1 and More 4 to catch up.

My love for this particular program however has nothing to do with my love for food. I am not very hard to impress when it comes to food. I would probably be scoring everyone a big fat 9 if I ever went on Come Dine With Me! But that is not to say I do not appreciate good food. I do but I do not take much delight in eating, if that makes sense. And thinking about it, I cannot figure out why I like this program so much. It must be Dave Lamb and just watching people getting pissed up whiles they cook. Anyway, I have seen food from  a wide variety of origin cooked on this program - Italian, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Greek, Thai and the list goes on and on. Dishes from every continent, well almost, and I’m yet to see any Ghanaian or even an African dish cooked on there. Well there is a £1000 at stake so I do not expect hosts to be experimenting  with something they know nothing about.

So why has no Ghanaian or African dish made it into the class of well known cuisines around the world. Why and how has Indian, Italian and Chinese dishes become so popular. I do not have to go to India to order a good curry or go to Mexico to get some good nachos. I can go to any well meaning restaurant and order pizzas, curry, chicken chow mein, nachos and gyros. . But I cannot say the same for any Ghanaian/African dish. I struggle to find any Ghanaian/African cuisine that can rival any of these dishes I have mentioned in popularity. Gari, waakye, jollof, injera, xalwo. Yeah all of these sound very very unfamiliar but these African cuisines have all it takes to make it into any western restaurant.

So why do these cuisines remain unknown everywhere else other that their places of origin? This I have put down to a couple of reasons. Many African cuisines may be a bit too spicy for foreign tongues. Again we do not serve our food in a three course meal standard, we do not do starters and desserts. We have just one big meal on a plate end of! Another thing is serving dishes with all the bones still on the meat and fish.

On the first point, Levi Roots has clearly proven otherwise. His Reggae Reggae sauce has been a hit and made it into unlikely places like JD Wetherspoon, Slug and Lettuce and Dominoes! But for all these problems there is a one word solution - ADAPTATION! We do not have to change the way we cook our dishes in our homes but to make it to the world scene we definitely need to adapt it to the world taste. That is the secret of all of these foreign cuisines that have attained world wide popularity. These foods are tweaked to suit the local taste, wherever its been served. I have eaten curry from a typical Indian home and it tastes well different from the ones we buy from the restaurants. If only we can start tweaking our dishes here and there then our local cuisines can become attractive to many foreigners like all of the other popular cuisines. So let the African chefs get to work. Lets get the gari next to the curry!