Cape Coast …. was beautiful, moving, depressing, heart-wrenching, impacting, but … mostly heavy with emotion. We visited the Cape Coast slave caste. Let me just start by saying reading about it in a textbook does not do it justice, but by being physically there and feeling the tangible evidence brings the cold hard facts to life.
When we got there the castle is set on the coast with the waves crashing in all around the castle, a completely beautiful view. There were cannons surrounding the castle to ward off enemy ships. I tried to lift a cannon ball and I couldn’t lift it, it was so heavy. You had to pay in order to take photos which I had no problem doing. I figured it a mere sliver of my own contributions for all the injustices that were once harnessed on these grounds. On the first part of our tour we went into the male slave chambers. They chambers were made out of concrete and stone and had only 3 slivers of windows incredibly high up. This only allowed sunlight about the size of what you would find coming from underneath a door.
After 2 minutes of being in this chamber I had a bead of sweat down my neck and forehead. There were only about 35 of us in the chambers that had held thousands. I just can’t imagine how hot it must have been considering the heat I felt with just a small group. The slaves were shackled by hands, feet and even neck and were only allowed the space their feet or butt sat, next to hundreds of others. There was a small drainage line in the floor that was about 3 inches deep with hopes of draining feces and urine. However it did very little. When they closed down the slave castle they had a foot of feces and dead bodies to clean out before it was re-open to the public. Can you imagine that?
We moved on and saw the female slave quarters the exact same as the male. Right next to the female slave quarters was a door that led to the ocean and was called the “Door of No Return.” This was the door that slaves were taken to board the slave ships and was the last glimpse of Africa that they all saw. In these slave ships, the slaves were packed like sardines and normally hundreds died and were thrown overboard.
The hardest room for me to be in was a room called “The Cell” in which misbehaving slaves would go to; sent to their death. It was a very small room where 100s of slaves would be in which was even hotter than the other slave chambers. The slaves would all die of lack of oxygen because there were no windows. I can’t imagine being sent to that room for misbehaving. In which that probably meant you were trying to escape from the torture you were held under. Only to in turn be thrown into this room, ultimately ending your life and watching your fellow Africans around you defecate themselves to death.
We got to tour the British quarters which were very nice and had enormous space to sleep in with a beautiful view. (Just don’t forget to ignore all the moaning slaves below your feet … I could never sleep under those conditions) The most impacting thing to me was that the British church was located right above the male slave chambers.
When slavery was abolished, the cape coast slave castle blocked off the tunnel that led the slaves to the “Door of No Return.” This marked a symbol to the end of slavery. Now on one end they had an alter where they imitate (for the tourists) ancient ancestry religion symbolic for all those Africans who lost their lives. Now on the “Door of No Return” is a sign that reads “Door of Return” indicating that Africa is making their own return from this horrific mark in history. This sign hangs on the other side of the door that says “Door of No Return” as if you were walking back from the ocean.
This trip by far was exactly what I came to experience here in Ghana. I wanted to feel with my heart the pain and to see with my eyes the hurt. I still yearn to understand how things like this could ever happen … how humankind can make this okay.
It is this quote that was found in the museum of African’s history that was located in the castle that I will leave you with as my last thoughts …
“No one knows when the hour of African’s redemption cometh. It is in the wind, it is coming. One day like a storm it will be here. When that day comes, all Africa will stand together.”
~Stacie~
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Whiteman's graveyard
For years Ghana has been known as the "whiteman's graveyard." It was during the gold rush years that this precious metal had been discovered in Africa. So many Europeans and Westerners went to South Africa to collect the gold. News reached the white that there was gold in Ghana, so many headed north in search of this gold. Well when they arrived they did not take into account the fact that Ghana is much more of a tropical climate than South Africa and the one word that happened to be last word for most .... mosquito! The mosquitoes bred very easily in this climate and carried many diseases that the white had never been exposed to and in turn, died in a short period of time.
But for now, let me introduce you to my friend Theresa. I got a knock on my door at 9am a week ago (dragging me out of bed). She looked very pale and said that her professor told her she should go home and go straight to the hospital. So she asked me if I would take her cuz I had no class that day. She claimed she almost passed out in class and felt very hot but when you touched her she was cold. Theresa was complaining of very sharp upper stomach pains and her eyes were jaundice.
We were lucky to be provided a personal driver to take us to the hospital for free. We went to the private hospital because service is not very efficient at the public hospitals. When we arrived we expected to pull up to some building with huge doors and air conditioning (very rare here). However, we pulled up to a building similar to what you would compare to an outdoor motel. It was all open with no air conditioning. There was a window similar to that of a gas station with the pelxi-glass separating you and there was an opening with enough space for you to hand over your insurance card. You went up to this window to start explaining your condition and fill out your paperwork. Then you had to find a seat in one of the limited folding chairs that lined up against any open wall space. Our coordinator came to the hospital and came to check on us which was very nice.
After what seemed like forever (about an hour and a half) we finally were escorted into a room called “Temperature Room.” AT LAST … a room with air conditioning!! Her vitals were taken there and we were escorted into one of about eight waiting rooms. They called her name and she left me in the waiting room. Twenty minutes later she came out and was told she had to go to the recovery room. The doctor said that he had seen this case many times before and after an hour she would laugh and be all better. He claimed it to be her malaria medicine that she was taking made her sick. He instructed the nurse to give her an I.V. The nurse told me that she would be done in one hour and I was told I had to wait in the waiting room and not sit next to her in the air conditioning.
I came back one hour later only to be told it would prolly be another hour and a half. Theresa said she still wasn’t feeling any better after an hour with the I.V. fluids. In the meantime our coordinator was calling me and checking in on me to see if I was still waiting and what the latest was. I informed her that Theresa got an I.V. and I was just waiting until she was done. I got caught up in the book I was reading and lost track of time. Maybe another two and half hours later, my coordinator was calling me again, telling me that she was at the hospital and I should come find her.
When I finally found her, she informed me that my friend Theresa had been admitted for the night. So after 5 hours of waiting I went and said goodbye to Theresa who still wasn’t feeling any better and still at that time had the same diagnosis. After I left we found out 2 hours later that they had just done a blood test and she in fact had Malaria.
As of yesterday morning we have our second case of Malaria in our group of about 40 students. The second student was continually throwing up on the bus home. He was on his way back from a trip from Mole National Park (where you can see elephants). And another student went to the hospital continually throwing up. Surprisingly all of the students are on anti-malaria medication but unfortunately still have gotten it. It seems as though everyone is dropping like flies. But getting Malaria is very very common here and is easily treatable. Most children that live here come down with it at least once and whenever your body gets run down its common for it to come back.
But no worries for me minus a bit up of an upset stomach I am adjusting just fine to everything!
~Stacie~
But for now, let me introduce you to my friend Theresa. I got a knock on my door at 9am a week ago (dragging me out of bed). She looked very pale and said that her professor told her she should go home and go straight to the hospital. So she asked me if I would take her cuz I had no class that day. She claimed she almost passed out in class and felt very hot but when you touched her she was cold. Theresa was complaining of very sharp upper stomach pains and her eyes were jaundice.
We were lucky to be provided a personal driver to take us to the hospital for free. We went to the private hospital because service is not very efficient at the public hospitals. When we arrived we expected to pull up to some building with huge doors and air conditioning (very rare here). However, we pulled up to a building similar to what you would compare to an outdoor motel. It was all open with no air conditioning. There was a window similar to that of a gas station with the pelxi-glass separating you and there was an opening with enough space for you to hand over your insurance card. You went up to this window to start explaining your condition and fill out your paperwork. Then you had to find a seat in one of the limited folding chairs that lined up against any open wall space. Our coordinator came to the hospital and came to check on us which was very nice.
After what seemed like forever (about an hour and a half) we finally were escorted into a room called “Temperature Room.” AT LAST … a room with air conditioning!! Her vitals were taken there and we were escorted into one of about eight waiting rooms. They called her name and she left me in the waiting room. Twenty minutes later she came out and was told she had to go to the recovery room. The doctor said that he had seen this case many times before and after an hour she would laugh and be all better. He claimed it to be her malaria medicine that she was taking made her sick. He instructed the nurse to give her an I.V. The nurse told me that she would be done in one hour and I was told I had to wait in the waiting room and not sit next to her in the air conditioning.
I came back one hour later only to be told it would prolly be another hour and a half. Theresa said she still wasn’t feeling any better after an hour with the I.V. fluids. In the meantime our coordinator was calling me and checking in on me to see if I was still waiting and what the latest was. I informed her that Theresa got an I.V. and I was just waiting until she was done. I got caught up in the book I was reading and lost track of time. Maybe another two and half hours later, my coordinator was calling me again, telling me that she was at the hospital and I should come find her.
When I finally found her, she informed me that my friend Theresa had been admitted for the night. So after 5 hours of waiting I went and said goodbye to Theresa who still wasn’t feeling any better and still at that time had the same diagnosis. After I left we found out 2 hours later that they had just done a blood test and she in fact had Malaria.
As of yesterday morning we have our second case of Malaria in our group of about 40 students. The second student was continually throwing up on the bus home. He was on his way back from a trip from Mole National Park (where you can see elephants). And another student went to the hospital continually throwing up. Surprisingly all of the students are on anti-malaria medication but unfortunately still have gotten it. It seems as though everyone is dropping like flies. But getting Malaria is very very common here and is easily treatable. Most children that live here come down with it at least once and whenever your body gets run down its common for it to come back.
But no worries for me minus a bit up of an upset stomach I am adjusting just fine to everything!
~Stacie~
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