A death and a robbery; not a great week for ABSEC

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2/1/09
Hey everybody, how’s it going? I’m doing alright, but this last week was not good at all as far as my school is concerned. The first bit of bad news came on Monday. Last weekend a boy in form 2 died. My first question was how did it happen? On a number of occasions I have asked Ghanaians how a person died and I always get the same response. “He or she got sick and died a couple days later.” Apparently the boy got sick and was admitted to a hospital in Kumasi, but he didn’t make it out. Since I taught form 2 math for half of last term, I had the boy in class. I didn’t know the boy by name, but I knew his face. I eventually heard that the boy might have had jaundice, and they think he died from Hepatitis B. The funeral was on Wednesday so there weren’t any classes so those students that wanted to could attend.
I went to the funeral with a group of teachers. This was the first funeral that I’ve been to in Ghana and it was unlike anything I’ve ever been to. In the courtyard of a house the boy’s body was laying in state so people could give their last respects. There was a group of women next to the casket wailing. The scene outside the courtyard was completely different. Next to the house there was a dance party. There was a D.J. and huge speakers blaring while many of the students from ABSEC danced and sprayed water everywhere. Around the perimeter of the dancing all the older people were sitting under canopies. Groups of people often approached those sitting and would greet them by shaking hands starting with the person on the far right and moving left.
It was extremely odd to see people dancing around at a funeral, especially since the boy was so young. I completely understand the way they celebrate funerals and I admire the way they deal with death. Death is much more common in Ghana so it isn’t a huge shock if a young person gets sick and dies. People often say that a funeral is the time to celebrate the person’s life, but I’ve never been to a funeral in America that was a celebration. When I die I want my funeral to be a huge party. I’m talking music, dancing, a barbeque, at least 5 kegs, a bounce house, and fireworks. So if any of you are around when I die, make sure I go out with a bang.
Things didn’t get any better for ABSEC on Thursday. When I got to the staff common room I heard that someone had broken into the computer lab and stolen a computer during the night. My first question was where were the watchmen? Every night there are supposed to be 6 watchmen on duty at the school. They are supposed to be positioned at the gate, headmaster’s house, dinning hall, administration building, computer lab, and the long classroom block. Obviously the watchmen posted at the computer lab wasn’t there. It is widely known that the watchmen often aren’t at their posts or are sleeping on the job. The thief broke the padlock to the computer lab and walked away with the monitor, tower, keyboard, and mouse, but none of the watchmen heard or saw anything. Considering what happened, we are lucky the thieves didn’t take more. There were 10 UPSs (uninterrupted power source), 9 computers, 2 printers, and a TV left behind by the thieves. The police are doing an investigation but I highly doubt the computer or the thieves will be found. The school doesn’t have insurance so we are basically SOL. I heard that the school is going to make the watchmen pay for a new computer, but I don’t know how they can afford it. The subject of improving the computer lab’s security has been brought up a number of times, but I never actually thought the computers were at risk of being stolen. I know what many of you are thinking, and you don’t have to work about me. The door to the computer lab had a padlock on it that was easily broken, but the door to my room has a good deadbolt. I lock my door every night and I’m very safe.
Something that you hear about a lot in Ghana is juju. Obviously, I don’t believe in juju, but I have been told by many people that in Ghana it works. When the computer was stolen I suggested that we go see a juju man and have him do his magic so we can get the computer back. I was only half joking when I suggested the juju man, but part of me wanted to actually see what he did. I was unaware, but one of the teachers that really believes in juju actually went to a juju man. Unfortunately I didn’t see anything, but a juju man came to the school and lit a number of small fires around campus to resolve the issue of the stolen computer. If the juju works, I think the thieves are supposed to magically return with the computer. I have also heard that the thieves could magically appear dead at the scene of the crime and the computer will be lying on the floor beside them. I was told that the juju the stolen computer would be returned by the third day, so I am waiting with baited breathe. There are a lot of people that believe in juju in Ghana. Even well educated teachers that know scientific reasoning believe in juju. I’ll let you know what the outcome is.
The weather has changed quite a bit since last week. It is still the dry season and it hasn’t rained, but it isn’t as windy or cold at night. Last week I had to sleep with a blanket because it got so cold at night, but this week I am back to sleeping on top of the covers with the fan going. The humidity has gone up too. I think I forgot to mention that the period during the dry season when the winds blow off the Sahara is called the harmattan. I don’t think the harmattan is over yet, but the weather has been much nicer this week. There haven’t been any bush fires this week around Akrokerri either. That might be because everything has already burned, but it has made the air much less smoky.
That is all for now. Talk to you later.

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Comments

[Melissa]

Funeral...
I think we have the bounce houses covered for your funeral. I even have a blow up water slide:) You crack me up! Sorry to hear about the death and the robbery. That sucks. Keep your head up, we are all thinking of you. Love ya!

[Kwaku]

I stumbled on your blog and I find it very interesting because even though I live in Maryland (since 1980), Akrokerri in my Ancestral hometown. Lived most of my life in Ghana in Accra and Tema. My 3 kids all born in the US have been to Akrokerri. You wrote “My first question was where were the watchmen?” That is why we call the watchman in Ghana and not ‘catchmen” or security guards. They are there to “watch” not necessarily to prevent robbery or catch the robbers. By the way that’s an old High School joke from my days growing up in Ghana. Keep writing because I will be following. Thank you!