Ghanaians in Piacenza celebrate Ghana@50

The Ghanaian community in Piacenza, Italy, under its Association took their turn to celebrate Ghana’s 50th year of Independence, the date which fell on March 6, 2007. The year long celebration for Ghanaians within the country and abroad officially ends in December. For the Ghanaian communities outside the country it has been an occasion to portray Ghana’s culture and traditions to the outside world and with that Ghanaians in Italy have in an extraordinary way been hosting activities to sell Ghana’s image abroad.

The event in Piacenza was on a low key yet interesting. The President of the Ghanaian Association, Idiris Farah, commented that the community of Ghanaians in Piacenza wants to use the occasion of Ghana’s Golden Jubilee to bring all Ghanaians in the city together in a Forum to share ideas on their welfare and integration within the Italian society. “We have added our name to the list of Ghanaians abroad who have celebrated this memorable occasion for Ghana and we are happy about that,” says the Association President.

The Association extended an invitation to Reggie Tagoe, Secretary of Council of Ghanaian Nationals Association in Italy (COGNAI), who was the main speaker at the function. He commended the Executives Board of the Piacenza Association in the city for their selfless devotion and efforts trying to form a strong Association despite the many set backs. “The last time I was here was during the inauguration of your Association and I commend you for the extraordinary reception given to the Ghana Ambassador to Italy, His Excellency Charles Agyei-Amoama. Having been to most of these functions in other cities I can say the reception accorded our Honourable Statesman was the best I have seen within the community of Ghanaians here in Italy.

Reggie Tagoe also talked on various issues affecting the population of immigrants in Italy, their rights and some laws which favour them but are not utilized when it matters. “It behoves on us all to know the laws that affects us in this society.

Many of us don’t bother to know these laws and when faced with problems which can be solved with the advantage of these laws they don’t know what to do. It would be of good measure if we are all part of a Ghanaian Association where such laws can be learnt.

The COGNAI Secretary also briefed the participants on some other advantages of joining the Association, among them which can provide jobs for Ghanaians both in Italy and Ghana citing an example of a Ghanaians Association in the city of Modena which has now its own office and have established a trade link between Ghana and Italy bringing in Ghanaian pineapples and supplying to supermarkets whilst taking Italian wine and pasta to Ghana. “Don’t be deterred if great numbers of Ghanaians in your community don’t show interest to join the Association, concentrate on the small number that are willing and when people begin to see the good results they will be encouraged to join,” he told them.

Earlier, the Chairman of the function, Isaac Agyemang, charged his compatriots to use the occasion of Ghana@50 as a new beginning for people to forget their differences and come together in the interest of their welfare and their country. He noted that the Piacenza community of Ghanaians use to have a strong bond of friendship in their relationship in the past but all that seems to be giving way to internal squabbles and differences but urged them to forget the past and concentrate on the future. “The occasion to mark Ghana’s Independence is an opportunity for us to unite and form a strong bond as existed in the past,” said Agyemang.

After speeches and questions from participants the event went into a night session of a get-together party with Ghanaian music and added to the beauty of it all was how Italians who participated danced and made merry with their Ghanaian friends.