I am in love with the island of Barbados.
Forget the beaches, forget the weather, forget the food.
I love the people. That Blacks are running a country they call their own and doing the most with the little they have.
Look around the World and Blacks are not know for good governance – period.
On this little island, they are perfect but they are trying their best.
I observed something today that really impressed me.
My home country of Ghana could learn a thing or two from this island.
I was so struck by the experience that I sent this mail to my friend Ace Anan Ankomah in Ghana.
Ace is an attorney, activist, governance Guru and part of the group that founded OccupyGhana.
That he loves Ghana is an understatement.
Below is the mail I sent him:
We first visited the island a year ago and liked it so much we came back again this year.
Background – I researched the English-speaking islands in the Carribean and liked what I read about Barbados.
Just like last year, we didn’t stay at a high-end resort. We found a home along the beach and rented it so we live among locals.
So much reminds one of Ghana (it’s not even funny!). I think one reason is that Barbados was an English colony too.
The people are friendly, carry themselves with dignity and take very good care of the little they have.
They eat well (McDonalds folded after a year here), stay active and take things easy.
The last point is rather typical of the West Indies.
With it’s proximity to the US, it is becoming a surrogate for Ghana.
Decades ago, they realized that tourism was the bane of their existence and so they all pitch in to make it work. The island does not have a tenth of the resources we (in Ghana) have, it is also much less populated but the way they run stuff could serve as a blueprint for how Accra is run.
We rented a home near the beach and the road that runs in front of it, though narrow and curvy, is also quite busy. Yesterday, a driver going rather fast in his Toyota, missed one of those curves and careened into 2 utility poles, hit a water meter and finally came to rest against my neighbour’s wall. There was water, wires and debris all over. This happend around 12:30 pm. By 4:30 pm, the car was gone, the 2 poles were back up and water supply restored! The street was totally clean! 4 hrs!
I watched as cops showed up, redirected traffic allowing the utility people to come and fix it all! No Kwasi Broni! All as dark as me and you. Getting it done and with equipment that doesn’t look anywhere as nice as I see in the States.
Ace, it is possible! Maybe not in our lifetime but someday, we’ll get there.
Nanadadzie