Moving and Shaking

4/21/2009

The end of March and beginning of April was spent in Ghana, specifically Accra and Cape Coast. Accra provided an extra 5lbs of delicious food and drama like only Ghanaian men can create. Cape Coast which followed Accra, was a relief on multiple levels. Some of the highlights included a couple 3am prostitute fights and illegal driving. And, sure we saw the slave castle and Kakum National Park, the unavoidable tourist attractions, but I would say it was the friendly locals we met that truly made the experience memorable. I can’t wait to go back.

The second week of my voyage was the necessary but excruciating return to work, spent in Lome. It was necessary as a transition back to village after so much development in Ghana. The end of my vacation was punctuated with a fake wedding for two lovely volunteers and their host-families from PST in Agou. Since I hadn’t been back since I swore-in in December 2007, I took the opportunity to visit my host family too. It was heartening to discover that they hadn’t forgotten about me either.

In my last blog, I mentioned an incident regarding child trafficking. When I finally managed to make it back to my village, I inquired as to what happened after I left. Through multiple parties, I learned that a meeting was called with all concerned parties, the chief, the elders, the father of the kidnapped girl, the president of the village development committee-canton and the guy responsible for arranging the kidnapping who, by the way, lives in my village. I found out that the kidnapper apologized, brought everyone local brew and agreed to bring the girl back when faced with possible imprisonment. The girl was retrieved and returned to her family, and when I asked what happened to the kidnapper, I was informed that nothing was left to do. Nothing?! They let him off the hook essentially, and he’s currently residing in my village as a free man with no real consequences to speak of. I immediately asked why and part of the reason for the inaction was the result of shame. Turns out the president CVD’s sister is married to the kidnapper, thus making him family. Shame and family are two very strong influences in Togo and I might venture to say West Africa as well. I was also led to believe that he may be a repeat offender although unconfirmed, so I was furious nothing had been done in terms of real punishment for the man. What kind of precedent or example does that set for the community? I was set on notifying the Gendarmerie and having the kidnapper thrown in prison, but after further discussion with my chief and the girl’s father, I decided I would only notify Social Affairs and another NGO, called Cor Afrique; two organizations that deal with these kinds of issues all the time. Ideally, it should have been someone from my village, a Togolese person to do the reporting, but since in their eyes the problem had already been settled, no one was planning on it. I informed the authorities and I left the decision how to respond in their hands. I’m not sure when or if they will do something. My only concern at this point is retaliation on behalf of the kidnapper since he does live in my village, and I would be the one responsible if he is eventually imprisoned. I’m not too worried though; I have the support of my chief, community members and the people who work for Social Affairs and Cor Afrique, but you never know…