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Opinions of Wednesday, 5 September 2012

Columnist: Mensah, Dominic

Akwantuo mu ns?m: Aburokyire y? phuqing!

He is envied back home for crossing the red sea;
Why he ventured into paradise, we'll never know.
He has become the hope of the family back home.
He must be highly favored by the gods, they pray.

Here, he is in a foreign country that has little
to offer him; A country that is very reluctant to
share its wealth, happiness and achievements with
him. Wasn't a barrier set up to keep him out, anyway?

His job is very hard; he washes plates and his wage is
non-negotiable. Out in the street, he's hated for stealing
jobs from the natives. Never had he worked and sweat
so much in his life; Is this what he left HOME for?

The Kitchen is hot, dishes are dirty, and floors are slippery
with grease. Every night, koo darkie stays till the kitchen is
closed and cleans up after all the cooks have gone home
whilst his chef seeks comfort in the bosom of his wife.

With tears in his eyes, brother attempts to picture his own
kids but can't, for he hasn't seen them in ten years. In vain,
he fantasizes the touch of his dear wife back home. He had left
his beloved behind in search of green hills in the snowy land.

Every night, riding the train, lonely and feeling misplaced,
he reflects "sweet home Ghana, when shall I see you again?"
He's trapped in a foreign land where he's socially invisible,
politically, an nonentity. He's an outcast; he's the other!

Why did he leave his home for this hostile environment?
Going back home has become a painful impossibility. He misses
the love of home, the place he grew up in, love of friends,
of familiar sights, delicious meals, sounds and smells.

The door back home closed as soon as he entered with very
limited opportunities to raise the means to turn back home.
He had bought into the illusion of chasing fortune in hell. The
sight of the man in blue, his nightmare! Aburokyire nkrataa nsem!