An Unexpected Vacation in Ghana

My fellow Mali Peace Corps volunteers and I arrived in Accra, Ghana on Sunday, April 8th for our four-day 'transition conference.' During that time, we were pampered at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, a strategy which seemingly tried to use luxury to 'shock' us into accepting the circumstances. The expansive, buffet-style meals were especially incredible after eating millet and bark sauce every day.

On Friday, I took advantage of being sent to Ghana and headed out with some friends to experience the country outside of the hotel walls. It was an 'accidental' vacation under less than ideal circumstances, but we still had a great time.

This is a country which wears its religion on its sleeve. Just about every shop is named using some kind of religious/biblical saying. This shop was along the main road outside of the monkey sanctuary. Other examples throughout the country include 'God Is All Things Shop', 'Sit and Pray Spot' (a 'spot' in Ghana is a bar), and 'God's Timing is Right Auto Repair.'

In many ways, Ghana is strikingly different than Mali. For one, being an English-speaking country makes being a tourist much easier. Although the locals primarily speak their native tongue, Twi, amongst themselves, the majority of people you encounter can speak English rather well.

Additionally, while Mali is primarily a Muslim country, Ghana is primarily Christian. Billboards throughout the country speak of upcoming rallies by American evangelists, and just about every single business is named using some kind of religious/bliblical saying.

Transportation in Ghana is far and away faster, simpler, and more comfortable than in Mali. We took over ten public transportation vehicles during our excursion, and not once did we have to wait for more than five minutes to leave.

Evacuation to Ghana, then on to Kenya!

On Sunday, April 8th, all of us nearly 200 Peace Corps Mali volunteers were evacuated to nearby, English-speaking Ghana. Beginning on Monday, we participated in a four-day 'transition conference' tailored to closing out our service and determining what comes next. And I have just decided upon the latter...

Once I received word that we would be evacuated, I resolved to keep my options open. In addition to simply returning stateside to work or travel, I would consider a transfer or Peace Corps Response position, where I could work for six months to a year before potentially heading to graduate school next year (the deadlines for the upcoming school year have come and gone).

I did not expect a transfer to be a feasible option for me. There were very few posts available, and those volunteers which arrived in Mali more recently got priority. But on Wednesday morning, I had an interview with the Africa region staff, and learned that a post in Kenya was open to me.

I made a couple requests in order to make the position more compatible with my future plans of graduate school, and found out on Friday morning that these requests were accepted! To my friends and family, I would like to stress that committing to a third year in the Peace Corps was not a decision I came to lightly. I was only willing to accept a transfer position that would allow me to practice the type of work that I have enjoyed over the past almost two years in Mali, within a country that would afford me an opportunity to experience a culture and environment which greatly interests me.

Jamanan ɲagamilɛn don, ne hakili fana. (The country is mixed up, my mind also.)

Ever since I had left my village of Makili to join my fellow volunteers in Ségou region at our consolidation point on Monday, March 26th, my mind has been racing through a mix of emotions. We were mostly, as the pun goes, ‘couped’ up in an overcrowded house, only able to leave for short periods of time during daylight hours.

I was deeply moved by the numerous, regular calls I received from friends in village checking in on how I was doing, and asking about the latest news. It continued to solidify my feelings of having found something special here, but also made me that much more anxious to return.

At the house, we spent most of our time checking in on the latest news on media websites while also taking in steady updates via email from Peace Corps Mali. It seemed like every day, some new political or military action would take place which would either make evacuation or a return to site more likely.

One day, we’d receive encouraging news that ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, is sending a delegation of West African heads-of-state to Bamako for mutually agreed-upon negotiations with Amadou Sanogo and the mutineers. But the next day, we’d hear that the plane carrying the delegation was turned around mid-flight due to protests on the runways of the airport.

We then heard about ECOWAS threatening sanctions against the Malian regime, such as closing down all borders to the country and freezing the supply of the common currency shared by many of the francophone West African nations. We went back and forth on whether this was a positive or negative development. These sanctions certainly would make life difficult for the ordinary people of this landlocked country, which depends on it’s neighbors for gasoline, foodstuffs, and other necessities. But it could also induce enough pressure to cause the military junta to step down within a couple of days in favor of a transitional civilian government.

This past weekend, the news was particularly mixed. Bamako seemed to be improving. The small-scale violence and unrest that had been commonplace the past week had largely subsided, and life had returned to normal. But while the Southern part of the country (where the majority of the population lives and where Peace Corps operates) was going about life as usual, conditions in Eastern/Northern Mali deteriorated into a full-blown crisis.