Egypt & Ghana Both Claim 'Gateway To Africa' Nickname Both Practice Colorism, Racism & anti-Blackness

Friday, 23 June 2023

By: TB Obwoge

According to several Google found sources Egypt and Ghana both are claiming the nickname of 'Gateway to Africa.' Ghana which is known by most as the 'Gold Coast' is now trying to lay claim to being the Gateway to Africa.

Ghana which is pretending to be an open country for everyone especially Black Americans. With this fake Pan-Africanism approach to scam Blacks into the country.

Why I say scam, the first 'Year Of Return' which claimed to give citizenship to Blacks from America was a lie. According to several Black Americans who not only own businesses but NGO's (nonprofits Non-Governmental Organizations), were not able to apply.

Only a certain number of elite Blacks were given this chance, they were prominent in whatever their career and 2 said they paid money (donations) I will say bribes. It was a know someone special and they'll help you out sort of deal to many. The program was 200 Blacks from the United States, it stopped at 120 and ended.

One Black American man was rightfully annoyed, he was angry and asked why it stopped. There was no reason given, over the following 2 years he's been called back 2 times to the country, he's yet to get his Ghanian citizenship. His Ghanian associate who happens to work for Ghana Immigration told him to give more money, he refused.

These same things were said to me as a Black American with lighter skin, living in Ghana. The hatred was unexpected, my skin isn't even that light and I tanned in the heat and sun of West Africa.

This same Black American paid less than $50 USD for his residency permit and just gave a police officer money and obtained a Ghana drivers license.

Ghana is a very corrupted and lawless country, even though it's tagged as "safe Africa" another deceptive nickname. Corruption unchanged in 3 years and it's 81.6% which is very high.

Egypt

By now most people have heard of the spat between Egypt and Netflix. Egyptians are very angry because of the series about Queen Cleopatra. They are angry because the woman playing the role of the Queen is Black. People with darker skin. who've visited Egypt who are darker have made comments about their treatment.

This spat that Egypt has with Netflix is filled with anti-Black racism. Most recently the government of Egypt has banned Dutch archaeologist because of what they claim as 'BlackWashing' their history.

You can read about that here by clicking the link.

Egypt - They Call It The Gateway To Africa!

Egypt, bolstered by its advantageous location, is also positioned as the gateway to Africa through trade and technology, strong international and domestic transport links, existing trade agreements and its megaprojects, such as the new administrative capital and developments at the Suez Canal.

Source: Bloomberg

As a Black person, who's not mixed race, living in Africa being called white is infuriating. In Kenya is was 'Mzungu' (Swahili/Kiswahili) and it wasn't yelled at me in the streets.

In Ghana it was a mixture of "Yevu" (dirty, filthy, tricky dog) meaning white person in Ewe, then there was "Obroni" Twi for white person. Some claimed it meant foreigner, though no darker skinned American I met was called such & if you didn't look they would scream "Hey white woman/man I'm talking to you!"

Why in the world would calling anyone white or foreigner be polite or normal practice? In Ghana I am told it is polite, even though some laugh, point and have even taken my photo.

Yes, I was often called a man in Kenya and Ghana, for my large size, I was told. All their very large women weren't even with no hair on their heads.

I have written several article about the racism in Ghana (because they think I'm a white person), Black Africans and Black Americans have come out to insult me. They are calling me stupid for labeling this racism and not colorism. However when people think you're not Black how is it colorism?

Also either way it's discrimination, isn't it?

Apparently you're not supposed to point out when Black people are being racist or discriminatory. Even if it cost you, your life, money and you lost everything and most start all over again.

While in Ghana you can't help but notice they also practice Anti-Blackness by insulting darker skinned Black Ghanians. They use the harmful and wicket names of "blackie & darkie" as nicknames for darker skinned people.

Some even associate darker skin for being 'ugly' and will openly call a person ugly. When pointing this out some think this again is perfectly normal practice.

During political election years in Ghana the tribalism and xenophobia becomes worse. The leadership of the country doesn't care to make these utterances of racism, colorism and xenophobia illegal either.

North African countries like Tunisia (Tunise), Morocco and Egypt all have claims against them as countries where anti-Black racism takes place. What's the excuse in Sub-Saharan African countries?

Darker skin people in Tunisia where being beaten in the streets and thrown out of their homes in earlier 2023. Many countries repatriated their citizens back to their countries, Ivory Coast and Mali were some of the first to bring their citizens back.

Why is Ghana called the Star of Africa?

The black star became a symbol of Pan-Africanism and anti-colonialism. Described as the "Lodestar of African Freedom", the black star was used in 1957 by Theodosia Okoh in the design of the Flag of Ghana.

Source: The Footballer

Ghana is, indeed, a gateway to Africa and a very visible symbol of the emerging economies of that great changing continent. Its combination of rapid economic growth and a large population makes it an emerging consumer market for private sector investment.

Source: Global Communities

GHANA AS THE GATEWAY TO AFRICA

Ghana’s label as the “Gateway to Africa” is a testament to the country’s decades-long journey to becoming the second most peaceful and eighth-largest economy in Africa. Since 1990, Ghana’s Human Development Index has risen by 31% owing to the country’s commitment to education with an 80% literacy rate and commitment to transparency and accountability.

Source: CommonWealthUnion

For now people will have to live with the racism, neither Ghana or Egpty believe they have a racism issue. With their citizens online and in the streets making racist, colorist and xenophobic comments and threats. The African Union is a useless body, which does nothing to stop civil wars or fighting.

Skin color issues means nothing in Africa, it appears that nothing will change anytime soon. As a Black American that's light skin I refuse to live around people insulting me or darker skin people. It's gross and why live with that behavior even if the people look more like me and my family.

Neither country is the Gateway to Africa, they're both the Gateway to the same things you'll get in North America, Europe and Asia. More ignored race issues.

Thank you for reading 🙏🏽 Please consider buying a coffee for Lacey's House efforts in Gender Equality & Children's Rights.

©️TB Obwoge 2023 All Rights Reserved