New Country For Old Problems

So it’s been awhile since I posted. I was just overwhelmed with life – I moved to London for a busy project and so far it has been quite the experience. While I have been in the city a few times in the past, it’s a completely different experience actually living in it and being a part of it. In my opinion, it succeeds in making everyone feel like they belong regardless of where they are from, even if it’s not exactly the friendliest city. There are some things I love about the city and things I don’t. I love walking around the city and taking in the sights. It has a booming night life but since the trains stop around midnight and buses run infrequently at this time, many people have a ‘Cinderella complex’ and run off to the stations once the clock strikes 11.55. One of the reasons is because cabs are quite expensive and finding affordable parking in central areas of the city isn’t always easy. While the food is good and the variety is out of this world, most dishes are usually lacking in spicy heat and I have to go a long way to find Scotch bonnets which make everything better.

 

Choices

There was a time that I was very much involved with church and its many activities. Some of these churches literally take up every single day of the week with meetings, prayer sessions and so on. One of the churches I was attending at the time (I would often go to two churches at the same period and actively participate in both) had a very charismatic pastor who had just started a week-long series on sin and temptation. A major talking point in his message(s) was that to be holy and keep ourselves that way, we should cut out/off anything that may predispose us to sin and an important “doorway to sin” was music.

 

An Evening of Sissyphobia

A few weeks ago, I decided to hit the clubs with a couple of friends and  see what was new in town. The major idea however behind my sudden need to go out was matchmaking: I was trying to introduce two friends with the idea that something great could grow between them. However what struck me from the very beginning was that both of them complained that the other was effeminate and therefore, they were not interested. I was taken aback. I would have thought other issues would predominate but just on the basis of some imagined tell that was glaringly obvious (to them alone since I couldn’t see it)? PLEASE.

 

Elections Are Finally Over…I Think

So Ghana’s elections started Friday the 7th, a day which was a public holiday for other reasons but thankfully so. Throughout the runup to the elections, it seemed as though trying to pick between the two major aspirants was like being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. On one hand, an aspirant from a great party who has a reputation for being arrogant and pompous and on the other a party with a horrible track record and with recent allegations of serious misappropriation of government funds. None of them came out on top during the presidential debates, that honor belongs to Dr. Abu Sakara Foster but it appears the general public can’t be bothered candidates that are not part of the major parties.

 

Power Cuts, Zombie Soldiers and A Twink With A Death Wish

Accra is once again caught in the grips of the “load shedding” exercise during which power cuts lasting 6 to 12 hours (sometimes more) are scheduled every other day since there is an issue with the supply of electric power. At such times I realise how much my daily activities involve the use of electricity in some way even if only to power the fans since this heat is unbearable. It is also sad that we could have such a nation-wide problem in 2012. The nights are slightly better but the hearing the sound of a power generator go on all night from a neighbour’s house has to rank among the most annoying man-made noises ever. The food that I’ve prepared and stored up is going bad and I’ve been inviting friends all week to come and feast – it would kill me to just waste it and I don’t have much faith that the issues would be resolved soon. I have also had to restock my supply of candles and I really hope I don’t burn anything.

 

Not Going Anywhere: More on Being Gay in Ghana

This is a video I saw many months back from the Accra [dot] Alt group which organises meetings, festivals and other such events geared towards ensuring comfortable spaces of expression for artists and other creative types to express themselves in Ghana. This particular meeting focused on being gay in Ghana and interestingly some of the gays in attendance weren’t shy about expressing them selves at all. This video is part of a collection entitled Ghana Talk Party Series. 

 

By now I’m sure I have answered most of your questions Mr Pink Agendist…

 

Being Gay in Ghana: Beautiful Scammers and Clandestine Relationships

What does it feel like to be gay here? Well it’s a struggle to fit in, always act “straight”, be what the society expects you to be. Most guys are married by age thirty and rumours start swirling if you pass this mark without a ring on your finger or having a significant other. By the time you hit forty…the less said the better. In the scene, you have to strike this balance between being visible enough to meet other gay people and not being too visible in which case there is a risk of people not wanting to hang out or be seen in public with you. Someone who seems to be your friend today may decide to drop you tomorrow because you’re “too out”.

 

“Who Comes Up With This Stuff?” – Funny Gay Myths

We all like to find explanations for ideas and behaviour we cannot understand or at least find someone who does. If we’re lucky we are educated by the people who actually know what they are talking about. Sometimes the people who are the most knowledgeable are unwilling to release their information (and with good reason!) It then falls on the rest of the people to come up with explanations to satisfy their unfulfilled curiosity. Occasionally these “observed phenomena” and attendant explanations are so bizarre that they are more entertaining than (mis)educative but some of them can be frankly insulting, especially when it comes to gay people. Unfortunately there are so few people who are out in our system (Narnia is a favourite travel destination among Africa’s gays) therefore there are lot of stories swirling around concerning gay people.

Here are the most interesting I’ve heard as well as my take on each one:

 

#IDidNotReport : Being Bashed in Jamestown

That would probably be what the LGBT folk in Jamestown, Accra, Ghana would be thinking right about now about their experiences after they were brutally attacked by a group of vigilantes in their area during a party because the celebrant was supposedly gay.