Like galamsey like coronavirus

When coronavirus reared its ugly head in China in 2019, many Ghanaians were not bothered at all. After all, who worries their head over a problem in faraway Asia? Africa and Asia are miles apart, and there was no way the problem of the Chinese could ever be a problem of Ghanaians.

Somebody’s problem can soon be everybody’s problem, however, some Ghanaians mocked the Chinese. To them, whatever was happening in China was their cup of tea. Despite the world today being a small global village, they glossed over the truth that China’s headache could soon be ours too.

By early 2020, the virus was no longer a thorn in the flesh of only the Chinese. It was gradually spreading to other continents. The number of deaths in some countries started soaring. Ghana recorded its first case of infection. Soon, some Ghanaians were sent to their graves. Fear began gripping those who thought it was a Chinese disease. What they assumed was far away was now in their backyard.

For those who mocked the Chinese, it soon came to them as a shock to know they were only mocking themselves. Borders were closed to contain the spread of the disease. Some economies crashed. Everybody was forced to stay indoors. A new virus was in town. Nose masks had become a costume. A pandemic had come upon us. It was now everybody’s problem!

Today, the monster called illegal mining (also known as galamsey) is the conversation every Tom, Dick, and Harry is having in Ghana. As though it has not happened before, the horrors of galamsey are back on our airwaves. Our water resources are getting polluted and depleted by the day. These polluted waters are gifting us kidney diseases among others. Newborn babies are being welcomed with deformities. Thanks to galamsey.

Some Ghanaians are suffering from the brunt of galamsey but just like coronavirus, other Ghanaians cannot relate because the polluted waters seem far away. They do not give a hoot because those who drink these muddy waters are not their next of kin. If we learned nothing from the pandemic, one thing we should, at least, not easily forget is how interconnected our world is today. People’s problem, thus, is no longer theirs alone. It is everybody’s.

Galamsey is getting all the media attention… like it always does. However, I pray it is not another nine-day wonder. I pray the protesters do not lose focus soon. I pray the media stays true to its calling of calling out perpetrators. When it has all been said and done, I pray temporary solutions are not proposed to solve this permanent problem just because votes matter more than human life.

Everybody should be at the forefront of the fight against galamsey. If you drink water, you should be worried about galamsey regardless of the party you belong to. Governments will come and go but water will continue to be essential to our existence. If you eat food, galamsey should be of great concern to you. No matter how careful you are, the food you eat outside of your home may have been prepared with polluted water from a galamsey site!

We are all not free from the pangs of galamsey until everyone is. Even if you can afford to import water for your nuclear family, can you afford to import water for your loved ones and extended family too? The bigger picture of galamsey is a dangerous picture we all should avoid. Just like the pandemic, we will all somewhat pay the price of this menace.

Water is our life. Any threat against our source of water is a threat to our lives. Without clean waters, there will soon be famine. All our crops will die. Polluted waters mean an economy on the brink of crashing because we cannot export locally-produced food. Everything will be contaminated, even the delicate organs on our inside. More galamsey means more pressure on our already ailing health systems!

While other nations are bequeathing working systems and sustainable prosperity to posterity, we have nothing but bottomless pits to leave for the next generation. We are gradually poisoning ourselves to death for a pittance. Galamsey in any nation is like a nation that is on an agenda of mass suicide. It will cost them everything. As if that is not enough, it will pass on more pain to posterity. All forest reserves will be destroyed.

Despite the alarming spate of galamsey, our nation keeps getting poorer by the day. Wherever there is greed, enough is never enough. We are blessed with everything yet have nothing to show for it. Greed may feed a few today. However, it will be the cause of everybody’s death tomorrow.

We are because nature is. We cannot fight it and win. We do not need protestors to draw our attention to the danger of polluted waters. If our conscience is not enough to do so, nothing is. Galamsey is a war against nature, and anyone who fights nature must be fought against ruthlessly.

Illegal mining is expensive for any society. We will pay more than we will earn. Nobody can run against the environment and emerge first. Everybody will pay with their dear life. A few people may seem to get the prize, however, everybody will pay the price. Anyone who owes the environment never finishes paying, hence, we must not wait to be in debt!

In the sport of galamsey, the price you pay is always more than the prize you get. You may buy cars with your booty. However, you need clean water to have good health to drive those cars. Without life, all our material wealth is only a waste. Water, and a clean one for that matter, is the beginning of life.

Galamsey should be fought against dispassionately by you and me; whether you are at the top or bottom. As comfortable as you may be now, we all are sitting on a ticking time bomb. Having access to potable water in a city somewhere should not make you comfortable. That was how Covid-19 started. It was somebody’s headache until it became everybody’s headache.

The writer is the Chief Scribe of Scribe Productions, an Accra-based theatre production house (www.scribeproductions.com).