So I’m sure that most have heard recently of this story
developing in Ghana about some unfortunate events. We’ve seen some of the news reports. Some of the details they portray are not
accurate. So I thought we should put the
correct story.
It all happened in Wa, the capital of the our Upper West
Region. Sarah and I were not there but
we’ve been told the story from Volunteers that were. 2 of our friends, one male and one female,
were walking back to where they were staying for the night very late in the
night. On the way home, they were confronted
by 2 robbers armed with machetes. The
male volunteer stood in front of the female when the robber tried to search her. This confrontation escalated and the male volunteer
was forced to use a camping multi-tool knife to defend themselves. One assailant ended up being stabbed in the
abdomen. The two then ran away. Our friends went inside the place they were
staying and locked the doors. The next
morning, they found out that the local man that had been stabbed in the abdomen
had not made it far and had died right by the place they were staying. After alerting Peace Corps and the local
police, the police came and picked them up and took them and the other
Volunteers in the area to the police headquarters for protection and
questioning. Staff from Peace Corps was
already in route from Tamale. The two
Volunteers directly involved in the incident were relocated to Accra to remain
in protection of Peace Corps and for debriefing.
The rest of the Volunteers were immediately put on
Standfast, which means we were to return to our site if we were away, and stay
there until further directions. At this
point Sarah was at site and I was en route from Kumasi to go to Wa so I was a
little nervous. When I arrived at Wa, I
went right to the station to head to Tarsor. In the 2 hours I waited, I didn’t notice any
difference in demeanor at the station.
When I got back to Tarsor, it was business as usual. We had one day of getting back into our
routine and getting back to work. The
next afternoon, about 36 hours after the incident happened, we were informed
that Peace Corps was going to evacuate all Volunteers in the Upper West region
to the nearest sub-office. A Peace Corps
car was to come from Burkina Faso to pick us and two other nearby volunteers up
and take us to Tamale. We were to pack
an emergency bag and be ready to leave.
We only had time (we thought) to tell a few people so they
could inform others. So I told Issah the
whole story. He was very sad we had to
leave especially after just returning very recently. He urged us to tell Peace Corps the safest
place was in our village. He got worked
up, telling us that if anyone wanted to do us harm, all the village and all
surrounding villages would be up in arms and would lay down their lives to
protect us as one of their own family.
On a side note, this filled me a profound sense of belonging and
community. I fully feel that we were and
would have been completely safe staying at our site. Heck, the vast majority would probably not
even have heard of the event for some time.
Oh well, we weren’t making the decisions, and Peace Corps is just being
extra careful. I respect that.
So now, in a few days, Peace Corps Security will go and meet
people in Wa to assess the situation and safety of the region to see when we
will be allowed back to our sites. We
hope we are allowed back very soon so we can continue our work and life in the
village.
Interestingly, most (if not all) the support here in Ghana
isn’t for the Ghanaian that died, but for the American that caused his
death. We heard people were
congratulating him, hugging him, and applauding his standing up for himself to
these criminals. Most are happy that a
criminal has died so they can be rid of him.
Here in Tamale, we were talking to a woman who works with Kelsey in her
office. She was saying that its great
that he stood up for himself and showed the robbers that he wasn’t scared. She was happy that he didn’t ‘just shiver’
when these men came to take their belongings and let the criminals run
away. But I explained to her Peace
Corps’ perspective (which we agree with).
Our friend, in the struggle was struck on the shoulder with the
machete. His clothing protected a deep
wound from opening and he was only left with a bruise. He is looked at as a hero and a good man who
made a good decision. But imagine if
that machete, instead of his shoulder, would have struck his neck, just a few
inches over. That injury could have
meant much worse results. How would he
have been seen then? Probably that he
was wrong to have fought back and he should have just given the criminal their
belongings and not resisted. Then no one
would have been hurt. Things are just
things.
I, in a far distant relation, see it like the quarterback
that throws the 70 yard touchdown pass instead of throwing it out of
bounds. Now everyone would revere him as
the winner or the game. But what happens
if the defensive back stepped in front of the pass and intercepts the careless
pass to seal the victory for the opponent.
People would have said he should have sacrificed a down by being safe
but instead he lost the game for the team.
This is what can divide a hero from a scapegoat.
I was not with our friends that scary night, so I don’t know
exactly what happened and the emotions that were being thrown around. I stand behind our friends and support them
in doing only what was absolutely necessary to protect their lives. But all of you reading this, if this were to
ever happen to me, here or anywhere, I will gladly give my things to them and
walk away and think to myself that these robbers must be starving and hopefully
will buy food for them and their families with the things they took from
me. I will be the coward ‘shivering’
when an armed person motivated by who knows what comes to take my things. Things are things.
Essentially, we are all safe and sound. We keep our friends in our prayers and all
those who were affected by this. Remember
that the vast majority of places we’ll be in Ghana are as safe or safer than
many places in America, especially since we take reasonable measures to keep ourselves
safe. So in conclusion, all you parents
reading this, don’t worry, we’re safe and sound, and eating peanut butter
cookies with Kelsey in Tamale J
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