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In our series of letters from African writers, journalist and former Ghanaian government minister Elizabeth Ohene writes about how the prospect of living abroad has lost its appeal at the time of the coronavirus.
We used to say here in Ghana, half jokingly, half really, that you can find a Ghanaian in every country in the world.
I have heard of Ghanaians in Greenland, Iceland and Papua New Guinea. Admittedly, I haven’t heard of a Ghanaian in the Faroe Islands, which is my idea of the most exotic and faraway place, but it wouldn’t surprise me if one of us is there.
From the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, circumstances had conspired to make us a traveling town.
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Ghanaians abroad are happy to support the nation’s sports teams when they travel
For the past 20 years, we have continued to do so, not because the things that used to drive us away still exist, but simply because it has become a habit and our minds are tuned in that way.
The middle classes are now trying to send their pregnant wives to give birth in the United States. They borrow, borrow, and steal to send their children to universities in the United States and the United Kingdom, and are encouraged to stay after completing school.
Then there are the adventurers among us who have always left to try their luck and seek their fortune where it is said to be today’s land of gold.
Ghanaians ‘under the radar’
There are no credible statistics on exactly how many Ghanaians there are in various countries of the world, no matter what they are doing there.
Some of them, of course, thrive where they are and make Ghana proud. But there are many of them who are known to live “under the radar” and try to “regularize” their documentation and therefore do not announce the fact that they are Ghanaian.
They may be trying to live without being noticed, but we know they are there. By holding two or three jobs, they send the odd $ 100 to help with a mother’s food bills.
It is a distinction of honor to say that you have a relationship abroad and we lean back to accommodate your wishes when it comes to arranging for funerals and concomitant ceremonies.
Those of them who can travel, that is, those who have “regularized” their visa situations, generally plan and take the 10-day or two-week trip to Ghana to catch up with friends and family, usually during the Christmas period.
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The places where young people had been willing to give an arm and a leg to go were no longer attractive. “
When they are here, they behave as one does on vacation and spend money; No one hears them having a difficult life there, and we see them as success stories. They are an inspiration for other young people to try to escape Ghana and go abroad.
Then the coronavirus arrived.
Places to which young people had been willing to give an arm and a leg to go were no longer attractive, as China, Europe and America were badly affected by the virus. The conversation centered on bringing Ghanaians home from abroad. Ghana suddenly became an attractive place.
Ghanaians abroad were anxious and showed it.
“Don’t let what is happening in Europe and America happen in our country” was the constant refrain.
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Factories in Ghana are mass-produced face masks
As the crisis continues, the perception that Ghanaians abroad are the lucky ones has been slowly changing.
It was not just the report in May that 33 Ghanaians had died from Covid-19 in New York that shocked everyone, but the growing despair of Ghanaians abroad who wanted to go home.
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If we found out during the shutdown that in the big cities of Ghana it was difficult for many people to survive without the daily hustle, then we realized that it was impossible to survive abroad as a scammer at the time of the coronavirus.
People could no longer live “under the radar” and undocumented immigrants who, until then, had been welcomed for doing jobs for half the normal salary, became inopportune and possible candidates to be accused as the source of the disease. .
Homeowners who used to rent rooms and apartments to people who lived in the shade now wanted to make sure they had a valid visa.
With the closure of the companies and everyone wanting to reduce expenses, many of our people discovered that they had become surplus requirements.
The grass is not greener
We have been watching with dismay as the realities of life for many of those who are abroad have been exposed.
It turns out that many of the young women who went abroad to be babysitters and servants in Lebanon and other Arab countries lead intolerable lives that no one would accept in Ghana.
It turns out that despite the skyscrapers and 10-lane highways, sleeping arrangements for many of our youth in China and some European countries are no different from our local slums.
The coronavirus has made us all look at things from a different perspective.
People want to go home but the borders are closed.
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Ghanaians at home feel the virus was brought into the country by travelers from Europe and China, and are therefore not enthusiastic about letting more people in.
There are some evacuation flights, but since most airlines don’t fly, they are expensive. Equally expensive are the protocols to enter Ghana, which require that upon arrival enter a 14-day quarantine in a hotel monitored by security services.
Abroad it seems to have lost its shine.
At the moment, it seems like the place to be is here in Ghana.
More letters from Africa:
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