Tragic moments typically depart no room for chuckles; but Ghana’s Black Wednesday leaves room to recall previous experiences using on the large chook referred to as the airplane.
Even worse was the smaller species referred to as helicopter with a propellor atop. My worst was the small Allegheny commuter airplane that carried solely 20 passengers.
On this, your coronary heart beat began on realizing you had been in a airplane whose pilot was seen to all passengers. Planes had been safer the place the pilot was unseen.
The prospect of your navigator dozing, or yawning was itself a nightmare. Whereas a crash was unthinkable, the very sight of a pilot on obligation required life insurance coverage.
Black Wednesday, it was referred to as. Shock, ache, trauma and the colour black draped the nation. One other nationwide tragedy had struck; a helicopter crash in Ashanti shattering households, relations, and spawning a brand new spherical of widows, orphans, and one newly wedded spouse.
Among the many wailing was an 80-year outdated girl who simply recovered from stroke: she cried uncontrollably having misplaced an solely youngster. Anguish deepened when husbands and daddies who left for work that morning, returned wrapped past recognition, their our bodies pulverized.
Tv media homes flopped, repeating horror scenes from a helicopter crash, that had killed eight birds with one stone. Cupboard ministers, state officers and a airplane crew on a mission to launch accountable mining.
However there was one other airplane incident that acquired scant media highlight. The placement was a small city close to Ajumako, Central area identical Wednesday. A helicopter 9G-ADW with 4 passengers on board, made an emergency touchdown at Kokoben Presbyterian College.
Within the phrases of an eyewitness: ‘We noticed it swerve at low altitudes over the forest; it then landed on the college area. Scores and scores of youth ran to the location out of curiosity.
When requested what was occurring, the pilot mentioned he was going to Obuasi and made an emergency touchdown right here as a result of unhealthy climate. We later noticed it take off once more to renew the flight. We layer discovered it was totally different from the airplane that crashed.’
Whereas most components of Ghana had been wrapped in grief and tears, and three days of mourning had been declared; others had been curiously delighted seeing within the somber faces a ray of victory over unlawful mining. The catastrophe was merely an act of resistance in opposition to ‘Galamsey,’ mentioned a girl on social media.
The river deities at Sikakrom, the catastrophe web site, had fiercely fought again to guard their land. To her, the airplane was stuffed with Galamsey executives who had been there to survey the world and hand it over to Chinese language to poison rivers and destroy cocoa farms.
The accident, to her, marked the profitable arrest of Galamsey Lords. ‘Due to river deities, the ability of Adansi is at work…You individuals left your cities and got here to destroy our forests and water our bodies, and that is your finish.
We thanks deities surrounding Adansi…we’d have been damned if the helicopter had been spared. You’ll have handed us over to China in your prosperity.’
If that girl had shed tears, it will have been tears from a crocodile, which abounds in faraway Paga.
The message of prime Authorities officers having misplaced their lives on a mission to save lots of the surroundings, was fully misplaced on others. At greatest this was a routine act of hypocrisy.
The shortage of political will to floor unlawful mining was certainly not one social gathering’s burden. Not one of the two main political events appeared sufficiently dedicated to struggle Galamsey and restore wholesome dwelling. For the NPP, the most important self-betrayal was the brazen indifference to a Frimpong Boateng Report, which pointed to excessive authorities officers concerned in Galamsey.
The eventual end result was an anti-climax. The whistle blower himself ended up arraigned earlier than a Particular Prosecutor to reply allegations of corruption. As my Ga pals would say, ‘kegbashi nmene!’
Let’s not overlook one other crusader from the other camp, the NDC. Dr Hanna Bissiw-Kotei, newly appointed Administrator of Minerals Improvement Fund. I doffed my hat seeing her daring initiatives at forest websites and zones, confronting kingpins, Chinese language and native alike.
In forestry costume, she fearlessly led the safety to ransack Galamsey hideouts, getting many arrested, placing her personal life in danger.
However her efforts had been short-lived. Not solely did many seized excavators, disappear in a single day; ‘Abaawa’ Hanna as we are saying at Methodist Church, was politely suggested to restrict herself to administrative duties. In different phrases, ‘Hanna, tashie,’ as my colleague Fuel would say.
For all you understand, it’s Galamsey that feeds political social gathering campaigns and drive election victories and several other social occasions.
At church harvest occasions, did the Harvest Chairman not obtain the loudest applause when he donated 100k in Jesus’ identify? ‘And what do you inform the beneficiant Chairman?’ Pastor would ask; the congregation responds: ‘Chairman, Onyame nhyira wo-o-o-o-oooo!’ invoking God’s blessings over unlawful mining.
We’ve got collectively conspired in opposition to future generations, pre-poisoning their water sources and leaving a legacy of malformed infants.
Within the identify of our fallen heroes, Omane Boamah, Murtala, certainly the Departed 8, let’s maintain palms and struggle unlawful mining as an inter-party undertaking. That’s the one method to dry our tears.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Feedback, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform don’t essentially symbolize the views or coverage of Multimedia Group Restricted.
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