Where are the animals?

While I was reading an older article (in German language only) about the picture of Africa two days ago a comparison crossed my mind. 

The article is about the picture we (especially us Germans, but also any other Europeans!) have about people and society in "Africa". We consider Africa to be one - one country, one people, one religion. Everywhere in Africa is hunger, war, misery. The positive thing about Africa is its wildlife: lions, zebras, elephants and many more you can find all throughout the "country". If people travel South they travel to Africa, not to Namibia, Togo, Kenya, Senegal or Mozambique - just Africa.

And this is where I remembered my thinking several years ago and got the comparison: Most of us talk about Africa when we mean a certain country, one event happening on the continent. But the same time I complained about American people when they said (actually mostly in movies but I guess also in reality) they travel to Europe. "These Americans" maybe know France and Germany, Paris and Berlin, London, maybe Amsterdam. But did they even hear about Denmark or Belgium, Warsaw, Lisbon or Budapest and even more unlikely Slovenia, Macedonia, Helsinki or Sofia? All are countries and capitals in Europe. Do you as a "European" even know it?

I complained when somebody considered me to be European,  made me as a German the same as Polish, Spanish or Greek. Because I am not, I am German. But what did I do? I did the same with people living on the African continent. A Moroccan was suddenly the same as a Nigerian, Ethiopian, someone from Swaziland or Ivory Coast. But they are not! I know better now.

In African countries the diversity of ethnicities is bigger than in Europe, they have more languages (in Ghana around 60, in Cameroon or Sudan up to 200 and more) and partly can´t understand each other in the same country, they are Christian, Muslim and traditional believers and manage to live peacefully next to each other and respect each other (I know, exceptions as in Nigeria right now exist!). The people are friendly, polite and helpful though they have poor living conditions. You can integrate in society quite easily if you want to fit in. In Germany it is considered to be rather difficult. War is only in some small regions of the continent and nowadays less than ever. Sure, there where fights in many of the countries, mainly to gain independence from colonial countries in the fifties and sixties, but are we people in Europe innocent? Didn´t we fight wars, too?

All in all Africa is not a country - the same as Europe is not a country! It is many independent countries living their own life with its own people. And even then it is very different. The African continent is colorful and so are its countries. The countries with its people, smells, dresses, cultures and animals (by the way: in one year I saw two elephants, some deer, monkeys and crocodiles, but no trace of zebras, buffalo, lions, leopards, tiger or ostriches).
Before we complain about being treated in a way we don´t like we should think about how we treat people. Only then we can change our actions and make us trustworthy. If we don´t give a good example ourselves why should someone else follow us?

Everything could be our reality

Happy New Year!

The new year is already three days old and I don´t know where the time passed by. It´s running. Again! I just know that I was off work for three days, supposed to relax but kept being busy in a nice way: meeting and celebrating with friends I haven´t seen for quite a while. Friends from childhood, from studies, from abroad. We were exchanging memories, recent happenings and just enjoying time together as well as talking small about our pledges for the new year.
The New Year´s Pledge: Is it something you say you might want to do? Is it something you say because other people expect you to say anything? Is it just a tradition and you don´t believe in it anyway? Or is it something you really want to do because you believe in it?
Often people do pledges but don´t follow them strictly. They try for a while but then it is too hard to keep up with it. They forgot they wanted to and say they do it again the following year - at least they want to try.

But is this the way New Year´s Pledges are supposed to be made? In some way the intention is like a dream. You want to achieve something you dream about. Mostly like stop smoking, do more sports and so on. But what about your real dreams, the ones taking more than stop lighting a cigarette or hitting the fitness studio around the corner, the dreams that are not so easy to fulfill, the ones taking more time and energy to gain? Do you treat them the same way as your New Year´s Pledge? Stop after the first step because it seems too expensive to buy equipment, it takes too long time to arrive at that place, people start talking about you and your "silly" plans? Have you ever thought about trying another way, about doing a step backward and taking another direction? Why do you care about the others talking about you? It is your dream you want to fulfill, not theirs. They are just envious because they stopped following their dreams, they gave up long time ago and are not happy with their life. You should be different. Keep following your dreams, try to fulfill them even if it looks dangerous or will take a long time. When you fulfill your dreams you will become happier than ever before and know what you did for life.

"The way we spend our life, we exist, our environment, what we are doing every day, young Jack, all this is  as we chose. Everything could be our reality - as far as we open our mind and recognize that it is as real and likewise a possibility as everything else." (Ma Ma Gombe)

Sometimes it just needs words

Christmas time is over. Finally. Christmas markets are rebuilt, presents are given and families are visited. This year I had to work additionally, so everything was even more stressful. I was just hopping from one appointment to the other one, enjoying time was very hard.

One moment of this year´s Christmas I will remember long time I had Monday evening:

I was calling to Ghana once more to wish merry Christmas to Kofi. He was supposed to get a package from me and I wanted to ask him if he got it. He didn´t. Not yet. When I heard, I turned small sad. But he said it was okay and that he will wait some more time for it. 

Kofi was in Accra at the Cafacayo orphanage that day to visit Luwis and the kids. When I called he was with them and after a while they talked to me. One child after the other was on the phone wishing a merry Christmas and telling me they miss me. I was surprised and touched by their action. I talked small to everyone of them and wished a merry Christmas, too. In their voices I could hear the happiness and joy coming up talking to me.

I don´t know if they got presents for Christmas. But in this moment they didn´t need. They just needed to hear my voice to become happy. And so did I.

The Shadow Of The Sun

After long reading I finally finished my book I bought in London in the airport while waiting for my flight back to Germany. The title is "The Shadow Of The Sun" and is written by Ryszard Kapuscinski who has been a journalist for Polish media in many African countries for more than 40 years.
Because of this background the stories he is telling are very close to reality (as far as I can judge from my point of view from living in Ghana for one year). He tells about arriving in Ghana being the first time on the African continent and the coming independence. He describes landscapes of the Sahel in Mali, the rainforest in Uganda, raining and dry periods. He lets one know about the encounters with different people he had in Eritrea, Niger or Senegal. He brings reasons and development of some African wars (Hutu against Tutsi in Rwanda, civil wars in Sudan, warlords in Liberia) to the reader.
All in all it is just his experience over the years and he is reporting very objective about the happenings and brings in additional knowledge to make the reader more understanding.

I really enjoyed reading the book and can only recommend it to everyone who is interested in reading about African countries to learn more about them. The "black continent" shouldn´t be a "black hole" in your mind as it is quite the opposite: very colourful.

„Do they know it´s Christmas time at all?“

With the darkness of the winter time comes to coziness. Outside it is dark and cold, inside you heat your room, light some candles, warm up with coffee and tea after a long walk in the snow – if there is some. Highlight of winter is Christmas. Definitely. And Christmas comes with the time of advent, its Christmas markets, warm punch, cookies, meeting friends, having a joyful time together. No stress, no hectic, just relaxing in the long nights and short days.

At least it should be like this. But the highlight of winter is the most stressful time, too! Christmas. People plan, people rush, people exaggerate. Instead of walking slowly over the Christmas market and enjoying the atmosphere they run, hit other people on their way to buy presents for everyone: kids, brother, sister, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Each year the same procedure:

“What do you wish for Christmas? What do you want to have?”

“Hmmm, maybe this, I don´t know. That is also very nice!”

“What about this?”

“Yeah, I always wanted to have some!”

And then it starts. People try to outclass the others. Their gifts have to be more in number and size, better, higher, more expensive, more exclusive than the ones from aunt, uncle, sister, brother or neighbors. Often it feels like a competition. In newspapers you can read headlines like these: German people never spend as much money on Christmas gifts as this year or In average every person is spending XXX € on Christmas gifts.

But is this the meaning of Christmas? Fighting a competition? Consuming as much as possible? No!

 

“Do they know it´s Christmas?” is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to fight with its benefits hunger and poverty in Ethiopia. The text asks if the people in Africa know that it´s Christmas time.

Do the people in Africa know Christmas? From Ghana I can say, they do! They also celebrate it, but in a different way. Most Christians go for quite a long time to church, Muslims and traditional believers don´t. But in their religion there is no thing like Christmas. They do not give huge presents. They visit each other if possible. Spending time together is as present already enough. In Ghana there is no cold during winter time, actually there is no winter at all. This reasons in no coziness as it is hotter than ever that time. Instead they go to the beach after church and celebrate with family and friends, spending a joyful time together. Or simply do the usual routine: work, as they need the money to survive and can´t risk not to work for one day.

The song would better ask the people in Europe and America if they knew it was Christmas time. What is the sense of many expensive presents on one single day in a year? You buy presents because you have to buy them, not because you like to give them with your heart. You give wrong presents people do not like because in the last moment you just buy anything and do not think about whether the person likes it or not. You just need a present.

Save this money for the right moment for someone who would be really happy about something small, something he or she really needs. Give it when someone needs it, not when you feel you have to.

That is what Christmas is about: Loving each other and being there for each other, spending time together.

Life happens while you are busy making other plans

One thing I learned and adapted in Ghana was facing time in a different way.

Me, as I grew up in Germany was taught to be in time when I had an appointment. Mostly I was, even several minutes before I showed up. In Ghana the understanding of time is different. You have an appointment but show up when you have got time. This can be even two hours later than set up. You don´t rush, everybody knows: You come, when you come; whenever it will be.

Sometimes it was very hard and I was always afraid of creating an intercultural difficulty, when I show up late but the other one expects me to be in time. So I was often waiting long time.

But the main thing I learned and implemented was not to make many plans. Before I made plans for everything, calculated my day, set dates long time in advance, even months before. This I started to stop. Of course I still do plans for important and regular events but this small planning I quit. Many times I made plans and had to change everything because of spontaneous changes, weather conditions, traffic and similar stuff. So I just stopped planning and did things from one moment to the other. After a while I really got used to and noticed: I have less stress, no pressure I create on my own. And the most important: spontaneous events are the most fun ones! Sitting together and then start a cooking session, go to a bar, dance on the street. Plan some vacation for a set time but no concrete one. Just head off to some place, look for a place to stay as long as you need to. Different conditions make you plan everything over and over again. This you can avoid.

Life happens while you are busy making other plans. Don´t miss a great event because you planned to stay at home and watch a movie. Don´t miss a sudden street carnival because you planned to visit a museum at the other side of town for that afternoon. Don´t miss going to the beach with your friends because it is your laundry day.

Some things in life will be there for long time, others can wait for a while. But it is the small, spontaneous, unexpected things in life which make the difference. Don´t let them go, catch them for your memories!

Don´t make plans for everything otherwise life is passing by.

Life goes on but the past will always be there.

Time is running. Three months have passed by since I came back from Ghana. I evaluated the voluntary service during a seminar in Berlin, I wrote reports, I collected my pictures, I finished up everything from that time. I thought. Time and life say that the time in Ghana is over, but my heart and my mind don´t accept it.

Here, back in Germany, I started to work, I moved into my own apartment. I got a new start, once more. And I really like it in Hamburg.

But Hamburg is even more temptation than only work and apartment: Many Ghanaian people live in here, there is a bunch of Afro Shops in town and this reasons in a lot of Ghanaian food to buy. Two days ago I have been to the Museum of ethnology sciences and visited an exhibition about African people in Hamburg. Many things there reminded me of the good time I had in Cape Coast. Additionally I call to Ghana like every week and I am always happy when I talk to my brothers. In these moments my heart is aching, longing for the ocean, the smells on the market, honking cars, chilling with my brothers at the shop, dancing to hiplife music, “Oburoni” shouting kids.

My life here in Hamburg is quite the opposite but nevertheless I enjoy. Life continues in an unknown way but you know the past. It made me the person I am now and I don´t regret anything. Rather I appreciate everything I did in my life and won´t forget these days. Life always brings you new challenges you have to face but every now and then you will be remembered of the past.

Talking about the past is where Luwis comes in. I met him the last days and talked with him about Ghana, his orphanage in Accra and life in general. It is a great feeling sharing experiences again and creating new plans – combining past and future.  He will go to Ghana on Monday. I really envy him! But my time will come, too. And then I will see the ocean, enjoy the smells, be annoyed by the honking cars, sit with my brothers at the shop, shake to hiplife music and shout back to the kids.

Life goes on but the past will always be there.

Hamburg harbour during sunset