March 6 was the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence from Britain. To celebrate, Ghana hosted 20 Africa heads of state and spent millions of dollars on celebrations. I was at the beach.
However, I did leave the beach at 6 in the morning to make a short trip to Accra's Independence Square. This is the country's main celebration area, and it is where the heads of state were hanging out. As its name suggests, Independence Square is a large concrete square with bleachers along three sides of the perimeter. One side was reserved for VIPs. The other two were for the public. I arrived at 8 AM and the seats were already packed. This many Ghanaians have never been this early to anything.
There was also limited space to stand in front of the bleachers but the crowd was suffocating. I've never been so sweaty, surrounded by so many horrid bodily odors, and pushed by so many different people. I was pushed into an elderly woman who was trying to maneuver through the crowd with a walker. I don't know what she was thinking. After about 30 or 40 minutes of this, I decided to find a way out. I considered telling security that I was with the US embassy so they would let me into the VIP area. I think it would have worked, but with 20 heads of state around, the repercussions of failure could be dire (Ghanaian prison?). So I retreated back to the beach.
Ghanaians were big on ID6 flair. It seemed that everyone who could afford it was either wearing a Ghana@50 t-shirt, hat, or something. Special hideous fabric was produced, and women had all sorts of clothing made from it. I sported a Ghana@50 t-shirt and was quickly labeled the white guy celebrating Ghana's big day.
Strangely, Ghana's only surviving ex-President did not attend (he's the only one left because he had the others killed, at least that's what I was told). Jerry Rawlings was President for 40% of the country's history but chose to sit this one out because he doesn't like the current President. Ghanaian politics is unfortunate…
Scott Garrett's Resume
Voted for:
a) Constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriages
b) Constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration.
Voted against:
a) The reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act
b) Child safety locks on handguns
Rated:
a) 100% by the National Right to Life Committee (0% by NARAL)
b) 100% by the American Conservative Union
c) 10% by the League of Conservation Voters
Quote: "Evolution is the predominant theory right now, but intelligent design is one that is apparently growing in some scientific communities, in academia. ... It seems that a school board should at least consider being TOLERANT AND OPEN (!!!!) to discussing both theories." [Bergen Record, 9/30/05; caps and !!!! added by me]
What????????
All of this is relevant because I recently received a "Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition" from my Congressman, Scott Garrett. In his letter, NJ Congressman Garrett quoted a recent statement from President Bush about the Peace Corps. Anyone who's quoting that guy is A-OK with me. Thanks Scott! The certificate is just lovely! (you can do a Google search of "Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition" to see others.)
Addendum #1: I went to Megillah reading at the home of an Israeli family in Accra. They said that there are about 100 Israelis living in Accra doing the kinds of things that Jews do (finance, construction, etc). Less than 10 people came to megillah reading, and apparently this is the extent of the "traditional" Jews in Ghana.
¶ 12:31 PM
