The world according to me

I just had to take this picture. I was standing in front of the Ghanaian Times office chatting with a colleague when these two guys came by pushing a totally fucked up car to some place where they could repair it or sell it or whatsoever.
The scene was somehow funny. The street was really busy, cars rushing and honking and all and then this anachronism. But when I started taking pictures, they got really angry. The guy on the left is yelling something at me. I guess it was 'Stop it or I'm gonna spoil your camera.' Meaning he would destroy it.

Before coming to Ghana, I had heard that many people don't want their picture to be taken. The book said that was mostly due to religious or spiritual reasons. Some people, the book read, where afraid that taking their picture would also rob them of their soul. Humbug, if you ask me. Even in the small hamlets, people know that a camera is a camera and that's it. Sure, Moslems aren't so keen on been snapped, but that's due to the Koran and not to any fears of loosing their souls.

The reason most people get all worked up when you single them out with your camera is that they are sick of bad press. Just one example, a few weeks ago, I was strolling around the Kumasi Central Market, according to some sources the biggest market in West Africa and by all means a huge place. It is unbelievable crowded, noisy and also quite chaotic and at times disgusting. While I stopped at a stall to buy some water, I noticed an old German newspaper laying around on one of the tables. The owner was obviously using it to wrap the goods he was selling. I found it funny to find Die Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung at this very place and took out my camera. But there was no way, I could have taken that picture. The owner was fervently refusing my wish. He was so stubborn about it that I got somehow worked up, too. I mean what was so bad about taking a picture of this damn newspaper? I kept on bothering him and finally he told me that he wouldn't allow it because I would only go back home and use the picture to make fun of Ghanaians and depicture them like barbarians, practically animals living in poverty and ignorance. I was dumbstruck. Even if I would have liked to do so, how on earth could the simple picture of a German newspaper help me to ridicule Ghana? But there was no arguing with him. In the end I gave up, but not without delivering one final lecture about that there are also good people in Europe and that it was a sign of intolerance and even racism to accuse of all of vicious intentions.

Well, this was an extreme example. But still I'm stuck with a problem. How to deal with the bad things I do see around every day. Some people say, that Africa has had enough bad press and that there would be no sense in picking on it any longer. Instead, the good things should be highlighted to rectify the bad image Africa has and to attract tourists and investments. Others say that you have to put your finger to the wound otherwise things will never change. I can already hear some of you saying that you have to decide from case to case and that you can't generalize things. But that's not the point. Anyway, I don't feel like giving lectures on morals and all, plus the longer you inspect any given situation the harder it gets to judge. And I guess I'm already here for too long.

Thus, on the left you see the problem I face. Quite often I feel that I'm just watching things, but I'm not part of them. And whatever I will do, I will stay alien to my surroundings. So, am I in a position to tell the people down there what they should do? I don't know. Though question.

# posted by Thilo @ 1:26 PM