Tuesday 7 June 2016

Apartheid in my own country

We often get enraged when we are discriminated against because we are black or not citizens of a particular country. But take a minute and look around your communities and see how much we practice segregation in our daily activities.

To begin with, go to our churches, some seats are reserved for some particular people because they are presiding elders, deacons or church financiers. So even when they are not in church, their seats are reserved for them. You the common member who came to church early, will sit outside the church because you don't hold such position(s). Other times too, certain positions are reserved for the 'Rich and Famous' in the church whether they can do it well or not. To the neglect of of the 'common church member' who can do the work better. Is this not apartheid in the church.

Again, go to our hospitals especially, the pediatrics centre or what we call in Ghanaian parlance 'Weighing'. A man goes there with a baby or toddler and the nurses make him jump the queue with the plenty women in it, and his child is taking care off  in some few minutes for him to go. So i ask 'what if every woman comes with the husband who will jump the queue?' Is this not Apartheid? Are the health workers saying that women are second to men in this country? This is what Buchi  Emecheta described in her novel Second Class Citizens.

Go to our banking sector, certain cages or rooms are reserved for a certain kind of profession. So if you are not in that class of profession and that cage is free you dare not use that cage. Is it not the same savings, current or investment account that we all hold? So why the segregation? Is it that our monies are so merger so they do not care much about them. No wonder savings and loans and micro finance companies are flourishing. Because they treat their customers as kings and queens.  They do not allow them to queue so that they will be discriminated against. They go to them at their various work places or destinations to take their savings or receive payment for loans.

We practice all these and more in our various communities yet we preach equality of all persons. The most disadvantaged in this are those with some form of disability or impairment: buildings including hospitals not to talk about churches, are not  disability friendly. When they manage to get into such public places every other thing they want to do is dependent on someone. So the visually impaired cannot not do and transact businesses such as banking without being aided because there are no brailles. What if the person writing for him cheats him or makes a mistake? Who is there to ensure that nothing like that happens or he should just trust.
Apartheid in my own country!!!

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