We Are Ghana's Last Hope

I arrived in the Netherlands somewhere in spring twenty three years ago. I was just a kid, innocent, and with a heart full of ambition. I remember quite vividly, when my mother came for my sister and I in Ghana. Boy, what was my uncle relieved. See, my uncle had two children of his own back then in the eighties. His wife was a seamstress who lacked passion for her trade. She would, therefore, come up with all kinds of excuses to stay home. This meant, of course, that my uncle had to give her chop morning every single morning because she had no money of her own. My uncle's financial burden must have been very heavy to bear, but I was too young to have an idea. You could, therefore, imagine how he must have felt, when my mother finally came for my sister and I. Not only was our departure a sad good-bye, but it also gave my uncle some financial space as well. After all, he had two children, a lazy wife and himself to feed. I don't know if the following is necessary, but I would tell you guys anyway. I grew up in a musical household. Kwame Ampadu-the lead singer of the popular 70's band called African Brothers is my uncle. I wanted so much to be a musician-a proper one, when I was a little boy. However, there was no music school or college in Koforidua where we lived.

Therefore, my uncle said to me, look; I know that you're interested in music. But you know that here in Ghana we don't have music schools. We might have one in Accra, but I am not sure. Besides, I don't have the money to indulge you. Therefore, tell your mother about your passion for music, when you arrive in Holland. I am sure that there are many music schools over there. Sure enough, I told my mother about my love for music, the moment we arrived. I was expecting my mother to okay my desire, but no. Surprisingly, she became very angry instead. My dear mother looked me in the eyes and asked; "have you seen any Black man singing on the TV since you came here?" "Do you think that these white folks are going to allow you to sing for them?" I didn't say a word in return. Besides, my mother knew the Dutch people more than I did. She had been living with them for ages. So, I took her word, albeit painfully disappointing. See, my mother assured my uncle, when she came to Ghana that in the Netherlands a child could choose, whichever education he/she wishes to follow. Also, she added that the Dutch government pays the tuition fees.

Unfortunately, my sister and I were denied the choice to choose. The Dutch school system decided, which school we should attend. I was sent to a segregated all boys school consisting of immigrants. My sister, an all girls school consisting of immigrants with no person of Dutch descent to be found. In fact, the quality of education, which I was subjected to was so poor that I almost became a moron. None of my school mates spoke the Dutch language properly, which meant that I couldn't learn the Dutch language from anyone in my class. The school consisted of poorly educated Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese and three Ghanaians. I made up the forth Ghanaian and probably was the youngest amongst them. Our Dutch teachers would skip classes frequently. I don't know why, but it became a habit for some of them. It could be said that they didn't like teaching us. Anyway, they were not teaching us the right way. The sad thing is; almost everybody at that school didn't choose to be there. The Dutch school system planned it that way. They had a mix school of high quality set aside for boys and girls of Dutch descent. Mind you, their children were given the choice to choose the schools of their preferences. The immigrant boys and girls, on the other hand, were separated and dumped at low quality schools across the country.

Some of my old school mates who could have been doctors, lawyers, and politicians if they had been given the choice to choose are now doing all kinds of jobs to get by. Some of them are in jail, some of them are dead, and others are on drugs. Luckily enough for me, I moved on. I didn't become a famous musician. However, I taught myself how to play the piano. I play in my own company. I would have to admit that there were times, when I hated the Dutch people so much for screwing up our lives. I would often ask myself; why didn't they allow us to choose our own future? Then again, when I think about Ghana-I just let go of my anger. Simply because; none of us would have traveled in pursuit of something better, had we had it any better in Ghana ourselves. I know that some of us in diaspora would like very much to return home to settle. Our children's future, needless to say, wouldn't allow it. My experience in diaspora has taught me that what the developed countries have done for their children-we could also do it for our children in our own country. First, we need start building institutions where our children could develop their various talents. After all, they are the future. And like they say; a country which doesn't invest in its children's future wouldn't have any future. Let's try to get it together, shall we? We are Ghana's last hope.