Address By Jerry John Rawlings at GhanaFest

Address by Guest of Honour at Ghanafest 2006 Organized by the City of Chicago and the Ghana National Council of Chicago on July 29, 2006.

Good people of the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois,

Friends of Ghana,

I am honored to be invited to the 18th annual celebration of Ghanafest in this vibrant city of Chicago, affectionately called the Windy city founded by an African-American Jean Baptiste DuSable. The spectacle of Chicago, the home run city of great athletes, musicians, politicians and statesmen would forever remain in our hearts.

We know that Ghanafest has become the largest and most spectacular African cultural festival in the Diaspora, and what I see today fully confirms this.

I thank the Ghana National Council of Chicago and the City of Chicago for hosting this great festival. I also take this opportunity to thank Minister Louis Farrakhan for being a great friend of Ghanaians and Africans and also for his presence here today.

We are particularly happy to see many children and young people involved, especially those of you who were born in the USA of Ghanaian parentage. You are keeping the rich culture of your roots alive, and this will enable you to contribute more purposefully to your new country and have a sense of belonging when you visit Ghana.

We also hope that young Americans, both black and white, will find in the events of today's festival a better understanding of the rich cultural diversity of Africa, a continent which was the origin of mankind and which is reawakening as a force to be reckoned with.

Ladies and gentlemen,

On this occasion, I cannot avoid the mention of the recent World Cup. Football (or in Chicago I had better say soccer!) is a passion in Ghana. I have previously had occasion to say that if Ghanaians could muster the same passion for political integrity and accountability as they do for football, we would have nothing to worry about!

In the recent World Cup, Ghana's Black Stars beat the Czech Republic, the world's number 2 rated team, by two goals. Then the Black Stars on June 22 gave us one of the best presents we have ever had by beating the USA, by two goals to one.

We lost the match with Brazil with our heads held high in the knowledge that the quality of our team's play was superior.

But what is most significant is the effect which the Black Stars' performance had on the Ghanaian psyche. Adversarial politics was forgotten. Party flags and stickers vanished, to be replaced with the national flag and stickers proclaiming "I'm proud to be a Ghanaian". It was an outpouring of national pride, a time to recapture the euphoria which gripped

Ghana in the early years of independence from colonial rule, and again in the early 1980s, when our people said, "No more," to injustice and corrupt rule.

Today, Saturday, July 29, in this great festive Washington Park in Chicago, near the DuSable Museum and the University of Chicago, we are all enjoying a great cultural extravaganza which is natural to our universal being as global citizens. In this hour of celebration, let us not forget the suffering of many people as a result of global wars, poverty,: famine et cetera.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are here today to celebrate Ghana's heritage. This is evident in the display of golden ornaments, Ghanaian traditional attire and kente cloth, in the music and dance: food and art: handicrafts and folktales, and in a plethora of meaningful and positive cultural tradition. It is heart-warming to be a part of this celebration.

But let us not forget that for tradition to remain alive, it must evolve and adjust to current social needs. There are two ways in which culture and tradition evolve.

One is by apathetic acceptance of what everyone else is doing, whether positive or negative, until by unspoken consensus, it becomes the new norm. In today's world of communication technology and international commerce, even the remotest village in Ghana is tuned in to the internet and to foreign TV, Soap operas. Youngsters from Accra and Bolgatanga, from Chicago and New York, from London and Tokyo, listen to the same music, play the same video games, eat the same fast food, and aspire to the same fashions, lust after the same materialistic lifestyles. They have been called the "Me generation". Their language has evolved from "I want to 'I need". And from "I need" to "I don't care how I get it". This is certainly not good.

If we, as adults and parents, stand by and say nothing then we are contributing to a new world culture of the lowest common denominator, selfish, bland, obsessed with quick gratification, unthinking and amoral. Also, no matter our origins, we each have a duty to ourselves and our children to take pride in the best of our cultural traditions, to celebrate our heritage and to cherish its values. But we also have a duty, especially during this time of global upheaval, to Endeavour to understand, appreciate and respect the cultural traditions and values of others.

If we do not do this, the world will become a poorer and dangerous place.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The other way in which cultural heritage evolves is when an individual or a group challenges an accepted norm. Slavery has been a norm in many cultures. It was long accepted in various societies that women had no right to vote. Cruel and degrading customs still exist in many parts of the world, as do cultural attitudes which hinder the development of the full potential of women and children.

Those who challenge cultural norms are invariably initially regarded as trouble-makers, dangerous rebels, or even mad! They have been ostracised, imprisoned. Though it may take generations before change comes about, every step has originated from such questioning of accepted norms. People dare to dream, yet where their dreams are unfulfilled we are reminded of the African-American novelist and poet Langston Hughes musings 'What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up?....Or does it explode?

My friends,

As we celebrate Ghana's culture today and share our rich and diverse heritage with neighbours and friends, we are proud of whom we are. If we are to retain that pride we should also continue to question and challenge where necessary. This is the only way to keep our heritage alive as an integral and positive part of our lives, rather than a museum exhibit or as entertainment for tourists. Live your dreams. Be true to your heritage.

God bless our homeland Ghana

And make our nation great and strong,

Bold to defend forever

The cause of Freedom and of Right;

Fill our hearts with true humility,

Make us cherish fearless honesty,

And help us to resist oppressors' rule

With all our will and might evermore.

I wish you all a joyful celebration.

Thank you.