I didn't give it much though until about a month ago when the countdown suddenly became much more real and important. I am leaving my African life and returning to my Canadian life.
I'll trade the hot for the cold. The smiles for the frowns. The goat soup for the graffiti.
I don't mean to sound down. I'm not. I'm really looking forward to being back in Canada. But, despite all the bad things that have happened (evil roommate, thefts) I am really going to miss this place. Likely more than I realize at this point.
With that in mind, I've already convinced the fine folks at CBC online to purchase a short piece on the culture shock I'm sure to experience when I land back in Vancouver. I'm nothing if not a good marketer of my experiences.
The last few weeks of my Ghanaian experience have been far busier than I'd anticipated.
I feel like I've been on a whirlwind goodbye tour of the country. While it could have been more extensive, it still was a big journey: Takoradi to Tema by bus. Tema back to Takoradi on the USS Fort McHenry. A bus from Takoradi to Kumasi. Then another bus to Tamale. Then back to Kumasi and then Takoradi. The last stop: a one night in Accra before the winged beast lifts my weary bones westward to Vancouverland, with a five hour layover in Frankfurt.
Tuesday night I had a final dinner with Christian and Eben, two reporters from SKYY. I haven't seen much of the SKYY people since I finished working there, and this was a chance to let me buy them dinner for all their help over the past eleven months. Plus, I wanted to give Christian my video camera. If I make any kind of a difference here, hopefully it comes from equipping a journalist with the tools to do his job.
They told me about some of the stuff going on at the station. Security cameras everywhere. Mass firings including the news director. A shift from reporting real news to reporting stories that generate revenue. In other words P.R. It's a shame, because SKYY is filled with some exceptional journalists -- and they feel let down and are wondering what to do next.
But a job, even one with long hours and small pay, is a job. And when SKYY is the only real TV game in town, it's not like you can cross the street to the competition. The only options are to leave the business all together (which many do), move to a competing radio station (and earn even less money), or move to Accra in the hopes of landing a job there.
It's tough to be a journalist in Ghana.
+++
The farewell tour started about two weeks ago when I left Takoradi for Tema, a port city located about 35 km east of Accra.
Former-CTV colleague and JHR Kumasi trainer Brennan Leffler and I had arranged to join a US Naval vessel and spend two days chugging up the coast.
The USS Fort McHenry is on a seven-month mission called the African Partnership Station initiative.
The initiative includes officials from African and European nations and NGOs. The deployment in the Gulf of Guinea, off Africa's west coast is, according to officials, designed to help central and West African nations build up their maritime security.
Leffler and I are working on a story about the ship's mission. There's a lot of outside interest in Africa and we're wondering if the Americans are beefing up their presence here because of China's increased interest in the continent.
+++
It's dark when I finally arrive at the Tema bus station, which is really nothing more than a parking lot. For a moment I think that this can't be the end of the line -- but the bus driver confirms it.
It's just after 7 p.m. and very, very quiet. There isn't a taxi to be seen. How odd. Normally when you step off a bus, the traders and cabbies pounce. In Tema, not so much.
I walk to the road and flag down a taxi. I tell him that I'm going to Gussy's Hotel and he replies that he knows where it is. But after driving around for several minutes -- and being asked if I think he should turn this way or that -- I begin to suspect he hasn't a clue where to go.
I ask him if he has a clue. He doesn't.
In these sorts of situations I've learned to always carry the telephone number of the hotel. That way, I can call them and pass the phone to the taxi driver so he can get directions.
It worked like a charm and after a long drive through the hinterlands of Greater Tema, we arrive at a hotel conveniently located in the middle of nowhere. It's the keystone in a new development. And the only building for miles.
Meanwhile Leffler is still in the middle of his long journey from Kumasi. He eventually arrives at Gussy's sometime after midnight.
Brennan was supposed to travel with a reporter from LUV-FM in Kumasi. However the reporter decided to take an overnight tro-tro to Tema. Brennan advised against this, telling him that timelines were critical. The reporter wouldn't listen.
The Navy had instructed us to be at the port for a 7 a.m. departure. Brennan worried the reporter wouldn't make it.
After too few hours sleep, Leffler and I were meeting Mike Morley, the Navy's PR guy, at the Port of Tema gate.
We'd been told to meet at the west gate, which was a bit troublesome, as there didn't appear to be one.
Brennan called his LUV colleague and, as he had predicted, the reporter was mired in Accra's traffic. The Navy wasn't about to wait.
Mike, Brennan and I shrugged our shoulders and walked to where the USS McHenry was berthed. Rows of shipping containers lined the pier to create a security barrier. Ironically, all the containers were emblazoned with "CHINA SHIPPING."
Everyone is interested in Africa and its abundance of natural resources. Americans. The Chinese. The Europeans. The Canadians.
The plan was to sail from Tema back to Takoradi. Mike explained that we'd maintain a distance of about 50 miles off the coast and pull into port roughly 28 hours after departure.
To keep this entry short, I'll save the minutiae of the trip for a separate entry. But we had an amazing time and met a shipload (500!) of great folks.
[story continues below images]
Looking out over the Gulf of Guinea.
View from the bridge of the USS McHenry.
Tema and a rusting hulk.
Brennan and Mike Morley.
Into the sunset...
No topic was off the table including politics. I came away thinking that the men and women serving in the US Navy are far more moderate and clear thinking than the U.S. administration.
We came away with enough material for a decent story -- which is now in Leffler's hands and may be coming to a (Global) channel near you.
True to Mike's word, we pulled into port around 10 a.m. Sunday morning. We said our goodbyes and made plans to meet several of the crew for dinner that night in Takoradi.
The ship was scheduled to remain in port for most of the week and Mike gave us an open invitation to come back. Unfortunately Leffler had to get back to Kumasi and I had to head north to Tamale.
[ to be continued]
No comments:
Post a Comment