And I Wept, Wept And Wept!

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by: Guest Total views: 203 Word Count: 879   

Proverb.

Shedding tears is something I rarely do. As a young boy who grew up in the Zongo, where shedding tears was synonymous to cowardice, I learnt to control my emotions so well that whether in deep sorrow or extreme joy, I seldom shed tears.

Until three weeks ago, the last time I wept was in 1991, when I lost my lovable 'old boy'. I cried like a baby because my daddy was my mentor, father and best friend. Frankly, I never thought I could survive in this cruel world without him; but by the grace of the Bearded Old Man above, I have. It has been nineteen lonely and tortuous years since his demise, and I'm still surviving. Please join me in praying for his departed soul.

Since then, your nephew did not shed any tear until the heavy downpour in Ashaiman about three weeks ago. The heavy downpour caused serious flooding, and consequently destroyed life and property. I needn't recount what happened because we were all witnesses to the destruction the floods caused.

I wept for the dead because theirs were deaths which could have been avoided. If only our local authorities had listened to words of wisdom and not resorted to unwarranted demolitions, these precious lives would not have been lost!

I also wept for the living, especially those without Zu-za cards, because despite losing loved ones and property, I knew they would be treated like people with plagues in their own country. And my fears did come true, didn't it?

Surprised? If you are, then you are the only stranger in Asomdwekrom. Are you not aware that the highly sensitive National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) is made up of men and women bearing the Zu-za card, and whose only expertise in disaster management is sharing relief items such as blankets, sachet water and students' mattress?

As I write, victims living in areas perceived to be strongholds of Osono are yet to receive any form of assistance from NADMO, a situation one could describe as unacceptable. But ask NADMO why, and they would sweet-tongue you into believing it was not a deliberate act. Massa, they are just good at throwing dust into people's eyes!

As I wiped my tears, another catastrophic news hit the airwaves. Dozens of illegal miners, known in local parlance as 'galamseyers', were reported to be buried in the bowels of the earth in Akyepem, a village near Dunkwa-On-Offin.

We all prayed, as rescue teams worked day and night in search of survivors. Nobody, dead or alive, was found until the fifth day after the disastrous accident. And the spectacle was very chilling, to say the least.

Not a single survivor was found. Some of the retrieved bodies were mutilated beyond recognition, leaving the team no option but to abandon the rescue. I could not hold back my tears any longer when I saw bodies being uprooted like cassava. It was indeed a very sad spectacle to behold, so I wept!

Could some of the dead 'galamseyers' have been saved if Asomdwekrom had an efficient and effective disaster response machinery?

If yes, which would they have preferred: a well-equipped NADMO or sponsoring party supporters to watch World Cup matches? And do you think they would be proud to be Asomdwekromanians should they be brought back to life?

These are hypothetical questions, but they remind me of how some of us have deluded ourselves into believing we have great leaders.

Did you read the story of John Owusu, an Asomdwekromanian on detention at the National Referral Hospital of the Central American Republic of Belize, reported in the Tuesday, June 29, 2010 edition of the ubiquitous DAILY GUIDE?

It was indeed pathetic to see my kinsman on his hospital bed in a far away land, with his left leg amputated above the knee, while the country's mission responsible for him and other citizens looked on without any concern. Again, I wept!

Ironically, this is the same country some of us claim to be proud of. Yes, I accept we've done well by changing two successive governments through the ballot box. But of what use is a democratic government, if it does not care for its citizens who are in distress?

Such occurrences make it easy for one to understand why some Asomdwekromanians take the least opportunity to change their nationality. I'm of the belief that if Owusu were to be given the opportunity to change his nationality, he would not hesitate to grab it with both hands.

And woe betides the one who would dare to tell him to be proud of his motherland, because that person would end up receiving a Kung fu kick with the un-amputated leg.

Some of us may do otherwise when given the same opportunity. But we shall not shirk our responsibility of reminding those with the 'krakye' powers that irresponsible actions like the ones in Ashaiman, Akyempem and Belize are actions that no Asomdwekromanian can be proud of.

Rather, they are actions that would make one weep. No wonder I wept, wept and wept! Did you weep too?
I expect a response in your reply. Till then, enjoy the week!

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