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Free Magazine
Free Magazine
MZBEL
www.accradust.com
>> www.accradust.com
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>> www.accradust.com
>> www.accradust.com
Let the competition beware
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www.svanigroup.com
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WE DESIGN & PRINT
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M: +233 24. 3473161.
M: +233 26. 6788246.
e-mail: [email protected]
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14 15 Inbox
In Accra
The truth about being in love
17 Miss Universe Ghana
22 24 Ghana Online
Cini
26 27 30 Interview with MENSA
Interview with WANLOV
Interview with MZBEL
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38 40 The power in Positive
Thinking
Slaughter Boy
Adventures from the
bedrooms of African
Women
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50
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Health
Sankofa
Short story
Human
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M A R C H
-
A P R I L
F
or me,
an
Accra-based magazine has to
tackle real issues, like poverty, religion, politics, relationship issues and so
forth. No magazine will survive unless they
provide content that the public wants to read,
and in a way that the public wants to read it.
Putting things in a readable manner is as important
as having a magazine that looks good. Also, it is important that you target your magazine at the general
public instead of at tourists or the well-off Ghanians.
I’m sick and tired of reading magazines that have
nothing to do with REAL life in Ghana.
N.K.D., Accra
W
E
WANT TO
HEAR FROM YOU. THE STAR
LETTER PRINTED IN OUR
MARCH ISSUE WILL RECEIVE A
GH¢80 SHOPPING VOUCHER TO
SPEND AT GAME OR SHOPRITE AT
THE ACCRA MALL. GET IN TOUCH BY
EMAIL AT [email protected]
I
like going through newspapers and magazines
but all the printed material in Accra is centered
around politics. I’m sick of politics! There is so
much more to write about and I wish someone
would take the time to write about something different. If Dust can provide new and interesting
reading material and
still remain
free of charge,
I think you’re
onto a winner!
We asked
you what you
would like
to see in a
Accra-politan
magazine.
Here are
some of your
responses...
Nana Akua
Opoku,
Dzorwulu
G
hana has a growing magazine
culture. We have some impressive magazines out there and it will
be interesting to see what else is possible.
I’m a mother of three kids, and I am interested in
reading about things that can make life more useful,
things that are fun and new. The best thing that
could ever happen in Ghana is for someone to
establish a Cosmo-like magazine that discusses
all things related to living in Accra - from
money issues, beauty, fashion, and sex...
From what I’ve seen so far, I have a lot
of hope for Dust Magazine. I can’t
wait to see what you come up with.
Ms. Acquah, Airport
I
magery, content and layout. These things
are the main things that I look for in any
magazine. It must be easy to look through,
easy to read and easy to enjoy. Most
publications in Ghana rely too heavily on
lies and sensationalism, so it would
be a welcome change for a magazine to deviate from the norm. It
would also be nice to read something without obvious spelling
and grammatical mistakes.
Gideon Addo, Asylum
Down
Text ‘Movies’ to MTN & ZAIN short code 1412 and TIGO short code 1450 to get the list of movies showing.
Then Text the title of the movie to the same short codes to get the showing dates and times.
Website: www.silverbirdghana.com Tel: 021823270-5
>> www.accradust.com
. COMING SOON .
INBOX
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DUST MAGAZINE
Editorial +233 54 161 8502 Advertising +233 26 266 6222
WELCOME TO THE FIRST ISSUE OF DUST:
a new magazine about Accra, by Accra, for Accra.
THIS CITY OF OURS IS A VIBRANT, EVER-EVOLVING PLACE
POPULATED BY AN ECLECTIC BUNCH OF PEOPLE, RANGING
FROM THE CALM TO THE CRAZY.
Editor-in-chief V. C. Svanikier
Creative Consultant Kobina Graham
Thanks to:
Thomas Svanikier, Edward Effah, Angela Forson, and Martha Mesah
Dust Magazine is a publication of Chrysalis Publications, P.O. Box 9916, K.I.A., Accra.
Corporate enquiries to [email protected]
www.accradust.com
Printed by PIGMENT
The views expressed in this magazine are the views of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the publisher. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission from the
publisher is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. Copyright © Dust Magazine 2009
From photography and illustrations to writing and
commentary, we want every issue to be a showcase of
Ghanaian ability; something people will want to read,
share, talk about and collect.
It is no coincidence that we are launching the magazine in
March, the month in which Ghana won her independence.
This issue is dedicated to the idea of freedom and as such,
we have tried to break free from the usual standards of
design and content.
We have picked three of Ghana’s most freethinking
musicians to grace three special front covers; we have
reprinted Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s speech from the night
of Ghana’s birth, and included fun, intelligent and
informative articles about everything from local sexuality
to Ghana’srelevance in the global pop culture.
Why ‘Dust’? Because we plan to be everywhere. Dust - the
substance - can be found everywhere from the top of
the most expensive cupboard in a penthouse suite to the
bottom of a poor woman’s feet. We want the magazine to
do the same. We are not trying to please everyone, but we
want to represent everything about this great city of ours.
We hope you like it: after all, it’s yours.
>> www.accradust.com
Photography Rodney Quarcoo
Stylist Renee Q Boateng
Model FOKEN boys & MzBel
Dust is an ode to all the people of this city. We want to
document you: your experiences, your pictures, your
opinions; what you like, what you don’t. When your
children’s children pick up an old issue, we want them
to see snapshots of what life was like in our time. What
dreams we had. How we moved the city forward (or how
we held it back).
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10
KSP
Rodney Quarqoo
Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
Nana Kofi Acquah
>> www.accradust.com
website:www.kasaprekogh.com Produced in Ghana by Kasapreko Company Limited. DTD NO. 64 off Spintex Road Baatsona Accra -Ghana.
Americano
Brandy, Lime and Soda
Negroni
Kobby is a journalist,
new media executive
and DJ at Ghana’s
number one Englishspeaking radio
station, Joy FM.
Kobby was raised
between Accra and
London. With over
ten years experience
writing for
magazines, websites
and blogs, he has
interviewed the
likes of the Wayans
Brothers (Scary
Movie), Angelique
Kidjo and Christina
Milian. He has also
helped organise
events for the likes
of Samuel L. Jackson
and legendary film
director, Spike Lee.
Rodney Quarcoo
is the man behind
RQV, one of
Ghana’s leading
events and studio
photographers.
He started his
professional
photographic career
3 years ago and what
initially started as a
hobby has become a
successful profession
career. His ability to
creatively capture
moments is displayed
in all this issue’s
feature articles.
MIX
Crystal has been
a freelance writer
for three years and
studied in Cape Town,
Oxford and Dundee.
She has worked with a
number of magazines,
newspapers and
organisations to come
up with creative
reports and analyses.
She is a former
employee of Global
Media Alliance (CNN
Africa Journalist of
the Year Awards,
Happy FM, eTV
Ghana), working as a
marketing executive
and assistant editor
of Sunday World
newspaper (now
Weekend World).
Nana Kofi is a
Ghanaian-born
photographer who
works across the
African continent
and beyond. With
a strong interest
in documentary
photography, Nana
Kofi rendered
his talent for the
photojournalism
piece “Slaughter
Boy”, a visually
stimulating piece.
Nana Darkoa is a
modern Ghanaian
woman. With a strong
interest in women’s
rights and issues,
Nana has broke the
mould for Ghanaian
women. She manages
Ghana’s first and
most popular blog
on African sexuality,
Adventures from
the bedrooms of
African Women. Posts
are based on the
personal experiences
of the contributors
and falls in line
with Nana’s desire
to provide a safe
place for women to
express themselves whether sexually or
otherwise.
Kasapreko
>> www.accradust.com
Crystal Svanikier
Contributors
Kobby Graham
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FREESTYLE
“You know you’re
in Accra when...”
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.The trotro mate feels
more important than
you, the passenger.
.The taxi driver wants to
cheat you because you’re
dressed nicely or you
spoke English to him.
.When it rains, 80%
of the roads become
CHOCOLATE swimming
pools.
.The streets are choked
with child laborers, alias
“PURE WATER” sellers.
.You can shop for everything you’d get in a
supermarket without
leaving your car.
>> www.accradust.com
.You realise, “DANG!”,
only 20% of the traffic
lights actually work.
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.The “YELLOW POLICE”
- aka. KUFUOR POLICE literally jump in front of
your car signaling you that
you’ve crossed the red lights
with more authority than the
Ghana Police.
.The Ghana Police actually stand in corners
discretely awaiting for
you to commit an offence and
then pop out of nowhere and
saying... “makye wu” (You’re
busted!)
.Going to the central
business district (MAKOLA) can make your heart
palpitate beyond measure.
. The hotels are so
darn expensive that
you cannot spend a
weekend in one without being broke for the next 3
weeks.
. You find ladies
dressed in stilettos
running to catch a
trotro (local buses).
. Men take pride in
wearing designer
jeans and shirts that
have bold inscriptions.. (D&G, GUCCI, VERSACE etc)
.The cheapest food
you can buy is
kenkey (but not from
Kenkey Boutique in ADABRAKA.)
. SAKAWA has
nothing to do with
Japan.
.Fried Rice & Chicken can easily get you
a new girlfriend...
to be precise, it can get you laid.
. You see people
eating Pizza with
Ketchup.... (yuk!)
.Taxi perform 99% of
the job of the ambulance service.
. The most visited
location is the Accra
Mall. (so gnarly).
. The president’s
mispronunciation of
a word is the most
bluetoothed ringtone of 2009
(Ekomini).
. Rhapsodys could
mean a swanky
Lounge/Restaurant
or the revelations of Pastor
Chris.
visit
www.accradust.com
for more articles.
“The essence
of love begins where
infatuation ends”
- UNKNOWN SOURCE
Love is the stuff romance is made of
but with loveless marriages and divorce
on the rise, one cannot help but wonder
what is it about love that makes it seem
as just a passing ‘fancy’. New research
sheds light on this conundrum and
reveals that infatuation and feelings of
being “in love” are not what makes
a relationship last, but another
feeling, long-term attachment,
does. So what exactly is the
true meaning of love?
>> www.accradust.com
By Bill Bedzrah
Truth about
being in LOVE.
The
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Research from Rutgers University in New York City have
found that the biochemical
pathways for lust and romance differ distinctly from
the biochemical pathways for
attachment. The University’s
leading Anthropologist, Helen
Fisher, says that women use
sex (actually, orgasms) to
determine whether or not a
man is good for her. The more
orgasms a woman has with a
man, the more likely she is
to decide that he would be a
good husband and father.
Using MRI scans, Fisher and
her team scanned brain activity in subjects who had been
“madly in love” for at least
seven months. They showed
the subjects two pictures: a
neutral one and one of their
loved one. The results were
astonishing. The pictures of
the loved ones sparked off the
same parts in the subject’s
brain linked to reward and
pleasure, the ventral tegmental area and the candate
nucleus.
At the University of Pisa in
Italy, researchers studied the
serotonin levels in subjects
that had fallen in love within
the last six months and had
obsessed about the object
of their affection for at least
four hours a day. The result?
The levels of serotonin in the
subjects were comparable to
people living with Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder (or OCD).
So the next time you think
about marrying for passion
and love, think again. These
high levels of dopamine and
serotonin fall after a couple of
years and a relationship then
has to rely on the feelings of
being bonded to someone. The
hormone that creates these
feelings is Oxytocin, which is
released when we hug someone, holds someone’s hand, or
receive a massage.
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>> www.accradust.com
Its an emotion that women
wait for all their lives and
men stumble into, but new research is shedding more light
on the age-old mysterious
feelings of romance, concluding that the parts of the brain
that stimulate romance are
completely different from the
part that sparks long-term attachment.
>> www.accradust.com
Love.
Love and romance spark these
areas, one of which is home to
dopamine. At the right levels,
dopamine creates intense energy, feelings of exhilaration,
and motivation. Its the reason
love makes you bold, able to
stay up all night and do things
you wouldn’t ordinarily do.
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MISS
UNIVERSE GHANA
J
ennifer Koranteng represented
Ghana at the Miss Universe
beauty pageant held early
2009 in the Bahamas. Her
warm spirit, grace and charm made
her a strong contender for the coveted
crown, captivating the event organizers,
her fellow contestants, and even
world-famous designer, Marc Jacobs,
who was one of the event sponsors.
On her return back home, Dust caught
up with the intelligent beauty for light
conversation over coffee.
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What made you decide to
participate in the Miss Universe
pageant? It all started with friends
and family encouraging me to enter the
pageant and I’d seen the former Miss
Universe Ghana doing very well and I
saw it as a great platform from which to
do good things.
2
Where you in school at the
time you decided to join the
competition? No, I’d just finished and
graduated, so it was perfect timing!
3
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I went to the Miss Universe pageant
with the notion that every contestant
had already won in their respective
countries, so anyone could come out on
top. My utmost concern at the pageant
was to do the best that I could and not
to look around and think “someone
else is doing better,” or “that girl is
going to win”. I was more interested in
portraying Ghana in the right light to
the rest of the world.
>> www.accradust.com
>> www.accradust.com
Early rumors suggested that you
were a very strong contender to
win, did you ever have an indication
that you were in the lead and if
yes, why do you think that it didn’t
translate to the main ceremony?
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3
Did you ever
experience (or
observe) any jealousy
between contestants
during the pageant? You
know, girls will always
be girls, but despite
this, everyone was
conscious of themselves
because they knew they
were representing their
countries - you’re an
ambassador for your
country. Most of the girls
were very courteous and
polite.
4
What was your most
memorable moment
during the pageant?
My most memorable
moment of the pageant
was immediately after the
ceremony. We didn’t have
our sashes on anymore
and I remember some
Mexicans and Spanish
people chanting “Ghana!
Ghana! Ghana!” It gave
me so much joy because I
didn’t think anyone would
recognize me without my
sash on.
5
You were quoted as
saying that you’d love
to use the Miss Universe
Ghana platform to
“support the needy in
society and to spellout the importance of
education, especially
for the girl child”, what
plans do you have to
fulfill this promise? I feel
that education is a very
important asset, especially
for the girl child, who
is most frequently
discriminated against.
Together with the Miss
Universe Ghana organizers,
I’ve cooked up an idea to
start a reading program in
less privileged schools so
we can inculcate the habit
of reading.
6
What do you think are the
most important challenges
currently facing young women
in Accra? Employment. Most women
have difficulty finding and securing
jobs after graduating from school
and university. When a man and a
woman go for an interview, there is
often preferential treatment given in
favor of the man. Also, women find
it difficulty in being promoted, even
when they’ve worked hard to earn it.
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>> www.accradust.com
If you could meet any 3
Ghanaians (dead or alive),
who would you choose? I would
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definitely choose Dr Kwame Nkrumah
- I’ve heard so much about him and
there’s so much I’d like to learn from
him one-on-one. I’d also like to meet
our current president, Prof. John
Evans Atta-Mills. I’d also like to meet
the Chairman of the Ghana Chamber
of Mines, Joyce Ayonee because
she is an inspiration to all Ghanaian
women because she is the head of
a male-dominated industry and is
excellent at her job.
8
On a lighter note, what
would you consider to be
the ‘perfect’ date? Someone who
is handsome, someone who is charming,
but most of all, someone who listens.
9
Who do you look up to, and
why? My idol and mentor is Ms
Isabelle Thompson, CEO of Thompson
Consultancy. She’s a very brave woman,
she’s high-spirited, she pushes people
to be achievers especially since she’s
an achiever herself and she never lets
anybody down.
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Do you have a message for
all the young ladies out
there that see you as a beautiful
inspiration and who hope to follow
in your footsteps? I would encourage
every girl and young woman to never
stop dreaming because you’ll never
know when you’ll achieve it. Few people
realize that I competed in Miss Ghana
three years ago and I was first runner
up. I knew my dream and I didn’t think
it was enough, so I had faith in what I
could be and so I continued dreaming
that I would be on the world stage,
representing my country. So, being at
Miss Universe, representing my country
three years on from my first pageant,
was the most fulfilling experience and I
would encourage everyone to never give
up on a dream.
ONLINE
http://www.accradust.com
Share
IF YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF ONLINE WITH NOWHERE TO GO, HERE ARE A FEW WEBSITES
AND BLOGS WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO HELP YOU BREAK THROUGH THE BOREDOM.
Personal
Wo Se Ekyir: What Yo’ Mamma Never Told You About Ghana
http://maameous.blogspot.com/
Arts
Kpokplomaja celebrates new books, poems and theatre from Ghana’s modern arts scene and is a great place to go if you’re tired of
the same-old, clichéd African writing by the usual suspects.
Esi W. Cleland’s blog is quirky, humourous and so well-written that
it best describes itself: “This blog is not for everyone. It’s for people who want to laugh. Or de-stress. Or think. People who want to
know cool stuff about Ghana. We tell you things you didn’t know.
Or had forgotten. It’s not news or politics or even your regular
Ghana blog. It’s things yo’ mamma never told ya.”
News & Politics
Ato Kwamena Dadzie
http://www.atokd.com/
Another great website worth investigating for the same reason is
One Ghana, One Voice http://oneghanaonevoice.com,
which focuses on new Ghanaian poets, the likes of Edith Faalong
and DK Osei.
Sports
With blatant political bias, unimaginative writing and personal
opinions passing for accurate analysis, journalists in Ghana often
do a disservice to their listeners/readers and their craft. As one
of the country’s best known journalists, Ato Kwamena Dadzie is
outspoken with his opinion, but he expresses it through great writing and a healthy dose of contempt for both sides of the political
divide. Love him or hate him, no-one in Ghana makes the news
more entertaining.
>> www.accradust.com
Sex & Relationships Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women
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http://www.adventuresfrom.com
We’re such unashamed fans of Adventuresfrom.com at Dust that
we invited them to become regular contributors to the magazine.
Its name is self-explanatory. Well-written, deeply personal and
actually serving a purpose, Adventuresfrom.com is essential online
reading for any Ghanaian who honestly wants to know what really
goes on behind our country’s closed doors.
Kpokplomaja! The Ghanaian Book Review
http://kpokplomaja.com/
Ghanasoccernet
http://www.ghanasoccernet.com
What self-respecting list of Ghanaian websites would this be if we
didn’t mention football. Ghanasoccernet is put together by a team
of sports journalists who are passionate about the game and who
strive to keep readers regularly and quickly updated with all the
news they have access to.
Entertainment
Ameyaw Debrah
http://www.ameyawdebrah.com
Few people attend more events and are more in the know about
entertainment in Ghana than entertainment journalist extraordinaire, Ameyaw Debrah. Starting with a little blog, he has expanded
his operation to an impressive and regularly updated website.
Also look out for http://www.iheartaccra.com by Toke
Olagbaju (coming soon).
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>> www.accradust.com
CINI!
GHANAIANS ARE VERY 21ST
CENTURY THESE DAYS, SO IF
HOLLYWOOD WON’T BRING
ITS MOVIES TO US, WE’LL GO
ONLINE AND ACQUIRE THEM BY
ANY MEANS NECESSARY. THESE
ARE THE FILMS YOU WILL BE
ASKING YOUR FRIENDS TO BUY/
DOWNLOAD THIS QUARTER.
MAY Robin Hood
Of course, Dust encourages
readers to buy all of these
through the right channels
(*wink*).
The girls from the hit TV
show are back for the sequel. >> www.accradust.com
The FOKN Bois - Wanlov &
M3nsa – star in what looks set
to be the most creative Ghanaian film in a long time.
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Sex and the City 2
JUNE The A-Team
That’s right. One of the 80s
most memorable TV shows
finally makes it to the big
screen. Don’t you love it
when a plan comes together
APRIL The Back-up Plan
Toy Story 3
J Lo is back in this comedy
where she has it all - love,
marriage and children - but not
exactly in that order. The third installment in one
of the best children’s movie
series of all time.
MAY Iron Man 2
Robert Downey Jnr returns
as Tony Stark in the sequel to
the entertaining comic book
adaptation.
>> www.accradust.com
MARCH Coz Ov Moni
Russell Crowe stars as the latest incarnation of the English
folk hero. When are we going
to do a film about Anansi or
Okomfo Anokye?
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FEATURES
The Man &
the Mangoes
AGYUMA IS SIMILAR TO THE MUSICIAN WHO
WROTE IT. THE BASS-HEAVY TRACK MAY
TAKE CUES FROM LIL’ WAYNE’S HIT, A MILLI,
BUT MENSA TWISTS ANY AMERICAN INFLUENCES INTO SOMETHING DISTINCTLY GHANAIAN, WITH LOCAL REFERENCES INCLUDING TAXI DRIVERS AND ‘DANGBELESHIE’ (A
SCISSOR KICK).
>> www.accradust.com
Over a decade has lapsed since hits like Bra
Yen Sa and Bibini Ba made Mensa one of hiplife’s early stars. He has spent much of that
time abroad, but Mensa feels the distance
has actually strengthened his music:
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“BEING AWAY, I ACTUALLY STARTED APPRECIATING GHANAIAN MUSIC ALL OVER AGAIN,
GOING INTO MUSIC GHANAIANS WERE MAKING IN THE 60S AND 70S, PAYING ATTENTION
TO MY DAD’S MUSIC. HE’S A LECTURER IN
MUSIC AND HE’S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT PALM
WINE HIGHLIFE, TRADITIONAL MUSIC, FOLKLORE AND THINGS LIKE THAT. NOW I UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF ALL THAT, I’M TRYING
TO INCULCATE IT INTO MY MUSIC. IF YOU
LISTEN TO THE CHORDS AND PROGRESSIONS
IN PALM WINE HIGHLIFE, IT’S PURE JAZZ.
YET IT’S STILL ORIGINAL AND UNIQUE.”
Mensa feels Ghanaian music – hiplife in particular – is in transition at the moment: “Ghanaian
musicians are very intelligent. They can talk
about anything no matter how plain it is and
still make it artistic and enjoyable. But it’s important to be able to make music that ten years
or twenty years down the line, I can speak to
my son and say “this is what I was doing when
I was your age and I still think it has some kind
of relevance… a place in history”. You don’t
want to just make generic crap, but we seem
to be into that. It’s a phase most industries go
through. We have so much to offer though. The
American thing has been done. What else have
we got to bring to the table?”
“My music, for now… let’s just call it music from
Ghana. It has a lot of jazz, soul, hip hop influences, but it’s essentially Ghanaian music. “
>> www.accradust.com
“Mensa is back again / To drive
the world insane / Everything I
do is a result of hardwork / I don’t
ever complain…”
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Mensa named the album after the only
address he has ever lived in in Ghana. “I
have the fondest memories of growing
up there. As a teenager leaving, coming back home. Leaving the country,
coming back home. Going to boarding
school, coming back home. And then as
an adult, going back to the street to see
how much it has changed and how much
it has not changed. It’s pretty much all
my influences and experiences growing
up there and everything around it”.
>> www.accradust.com
I started
playing
piano in
church at
the age of
nine.
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While he’s been away, Mensa has been popping in and out
of the country working on his new album, No. 1 Mango
Street. He says it is dedicated to Ghana: “I’ve done the
whole European thing and America and all that and I just
feel like I want to represent Ghana in a different light. To
make music valuable again. Musicians don’t realize what
their potential is, especially coming from Ghana.
We have a sound that the rest of the world has not been
privy to. I think most musicians now are making music for
the next quick buck. That’s why everybody’s jumping on
this hiplife generic sound, but there’s so much more they
can tap into… Living here and seeing how people react to
authentic music from Ghana or from Africa. People hear
Fela Kuti and they are like “Wow. This is actually beautiful
music”. How come we don’t hear enough Fela on the radio
No. 1 Mango Street features classic Ghanaian band, Osibisa, as well as Nigerian
singer Ndidi (to whom he is married)
and Samini: “Man, he’s great to work
with. The texture of his voice. To be a
producer and an artist, to me it’s such a
blessing. Recording his vocals, his work
ethic. The guy is focused, man. It’s an
inspiration to me. I kinda took him out
of his comfort zone with that song.”
Mensa’s journey has been a long one.
Today, he is a complete artist who
rhymes, sings and produces his own
work as well as those of other artists like regular conspirator and fellow
Adisadel College old boy, Wanlov the
Kubolor. It all started when he started
playing piano in church at the age of
nine.
His first musical memory was a classical
recital gone wrong. He had practiced
for weeks but once he hit the stage, he
could not remember how to play. He
started and stopped ten times and his
best friend even joined him on stage to
offer her support. Most people might
have given up, but strangely this experience made Mensa more determined
than ever to show people his potential.
He eventually played the song. He is
philosophical about the incident: “I
think I had all the bad experiences when
I started… got them out of the way.”
Wanlov / 10 Kweshuns
(One Love / 10 Questions)
In case you had any doubts, let us put your
mind at rest: Wanlov the Kublor is a foolish
boy. To be more precise, he is a FOKN boy.
We had our doubts... then we gave him our
ten question test.
4. ... and you say you’re not into
flat duna, either?
The downside - which is still an upside - is
that more girls go down on me... and I also
enjoy women’s downsides.
For me, the thing is that once in a while in a
moment of weakness for someone’s charm, I
will wake up in the arms of someone with a
flat duna for which I apologize to my fellow
duna watchers. I’m not Peter Petrelli (the
character from TV show, Heroes). But I am
unable to get an erection from watching flat
buttocks. I’ve tried it. It just won’t work. I
have to look at shapely buttocks.
2. WOULD YOU CONSIDER
YOURSELF A ROLE MODEL?
5. WHO ARE YOUR MUSICAL
INFLUENCES?
I am a role model for people who want
freedom. I am also a role model to buttocks
watchers because I actually voice the feeling
that they have.
Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Reggie Rockstone,
Sizzla, Fela (Kuti), Busta Rhymes, Eminem.
That’s about it for now.
1. ARE THERE ANY DOWNSIDES TO
BEING KUBOLOR?
3. WHY - OF ALL THE THINGS
YOU REFER TO YOURSELF
AS ON YOUR SONG ‘BROAKIN
LANGWEIJIZZ’- DO YOU ALWAY
REFERS TO YOURSELF AS ‘THE
BUTTOCKS WATCHER’
You’ll notice that it is the first line I open
my verse with. There are people in the
world who do many things. Some for world
peace, some advocate a clean environment...
everybody has a cause. I realize I believe in
some of these causes but at the end of the
day I sat down and tried to figure out why I
want world peace, a cleaner environment,
a safer community. I realized that I want
all these things because I want to have the
peace of mind to allow me to better enjoy
the watching of buttocks.
6. WHERE DID YOU GROW UP?
I grew up in Ghana but moved around a lot
Little Legon, then Dansoman, Achimota...
I moved around Accra a lot. Right now, I’m
in Ashioman but I stay a lot in the studio in
Dzorwulu. Something funny happened to me
in Ashioman that I have to tell you about. The
story is so amazing. I was taking a trotro into
town when a girl with some serious body,
smallish upper body, not too tall and she had
the most bangingest ass I have seen in awhile.
I was just watching her ass. I wasn’t going
to do anything. I was just recovering from
malaria. Then she stops me and says “excuse
me”. So I turned and said “yeah what’s up”
and she says “where are your shoes?” and I
told her I don’t wear shoes. She asked me
if I’m not afraid my feet will get hurt and I
told her that I have been doing this for some
years now and nothing had happened yet so I
am over that fear. She looks me up and down
with this look of disgust on her face and says,
“no, no, no, no... that’s not nice, eh? What’s
your phone number?”
>> www.accradust.com
in Ghana? It makes me appreciate the
music all over again and I try to take a
page out of that book and bring it into
my work.”
27
No, I walk through Holland, Copenhagen
and once or twice everyday someone will
recognize me and say “you’re Wanlov,
right?” whereas over here, once every
thirteen minutes or so someone will shout
“Ei Kubolor!”
>> www.accradust.com
8. HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT
LOSING THE GHANA MUSIC
AWARD BEST VIDEO TO
OKYEAME KWAME’S ‘WOSO’
GIVEN THAT YOUR VIDEO WAS
MORE CREATIVE?
28
I forget my emotion at the time. That year
I was up for four or five nominations and
that was the one I knew I was getting.
Instead of paining me, my mind tuned
channels to find out the reasoning behind
it. I heard someone say Abraham (Okyeame
Kwame) has been doing videos for ten years
and never won an award. The whole thing
is 40% public voting and 60% industry. I’m
thinking that what happened was compared
to ‘Woso’, ‘Kokonsa’ didn’t get any rotation
because I don’t pay for my video to be
I really admire Okyeame Kwame though as a
lyricist, a business person, a person person...
I’ve met him and we’ve hung out once or
twice. He’s a hard worker, he’s been in the
game long before I came out.
Panji tells me that it takes a genuine artist
who is not being pushed by big money about
five to ten years or so to reach full market
potential and really blow up. I’m only on my
third year.
9. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT
(FELLOW DUST COVER ARTIST),
MZBEL?
Man. The first time I saw MzBel... I love her
song ’16 years’, her vibe, you know... I was
walking to Labadi beach. I was wearing white
supporters – the same one you see in the
film ‘Coz Ov Moni’ - and she was walking
out with a friend. As she was walking by
me, I felt some energy. I felt her vibe but
didn’t recognize her. She looks at me with
some sexy-ass, strip-me-naked kind of look
my
staring at
and she’s
of
r’
lo
d
o
in
b
k
u
I
K
.
i
year ago
a
and says ‘e
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b
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a
was w in
is was
crotch! Th walk off and as she
n
o
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er
had b
watched h ed her – her name
he
iz
n
hed her. S
g
o
tc
c
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off
some
e
t
u
o
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my tong
n ass but
a
the tip of
f
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ve m
doesn’t ha saucy girl.
a
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.
vibe
SA?
OUT MEN
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10. AND W
A diva.
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a headach t the same
is
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learn his li
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He doesn’t de this film so enjo , it’s hard
a
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m
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time, he’s ause when I do a so I treat my
it.
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for me to
ke I’m a w
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m
music and
ild
cks the ch
hild and sa elf. Don’t
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th
ours
n bir
work for y
who’s give
tell you
there and
t
to
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o
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o
m
g
t
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c
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a
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come bac
m
’s
r
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”.
g
re
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r your ow
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s.
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th
but w
He makes
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love his st
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My favouri
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icken nec
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e
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le
e
w
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w
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k
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e film. He
ll
when she
th
e
T
m
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fr
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s
rap
OK N
all Mensa’s . Because he is a F
e
in
some of m
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id
sa
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im
h
>> www.accradust.com
7. WOULD YOU DESCRIBE
YOURSELF AS MORE POPULAR
ABROAD THAN YOU ARE AT
HOME?
played. So for a video that was playing every
30 minutes of so to one playing once a week
or when I was being interviewed, I felt it
was a straight-up industry thing. It rewards
the money-making more than the artistry
side... and I understand it because we are in
a commercial environment. If I did not put
enough money behind ‘Kokonsa’ I could not
expect to be awarded. It’s money before art.
29
The Mzeducation of
Mzbel
30
by embodying a character she
calls ‘Sasha Fierce’. Meeting
Nana Akua Amoah, one is also
struck by how shy she appears
to be. She too has an alter-ego
which she calls ‘Mzbel’ and,
in that persona, Nana Akua
becomes whatever the people
want her to be.
with dreams of dancing, dreaming up moves to songs by Deborah Cox, Toni Braxton, Mariah
Carey, and J Lo. Her hero was
however Akosua Adjapong: “I
used to dress like her. Oh God! I
had a friend in Cape Coast and
we both used to dress up like
her.”
“People think I’m rude and I’m
a loose girl. That any guy that
has money can sleep with me.
I’m the direct opposite. MzBel
is a saucy girl. She doesn’t
care what people say. She likes
to have fun no matter what,
and she’s an entertainer. Nana
Akua is a very shy person.
Down to earth. Approachable.
She likes to hang out with kids
and likes to have fun too. Just
a different kind of fun.”
She says her former manager,
Daniel Adjei of Hush Hush Studios, is the one who pushed her
into music: “I was working as a
production assistant. Hush Hush
was new and [people] weren’t
patronizing the studio, so
anytime there was an engineer
in the studio, they could call on
you to sing songs to beats they
had put together. I recorded
about 21 songs and people liked
them. One day, Daniel said to
me “okay, I think we can make
money from these songs, so
we’re gonna have a photo shoot
and release an album””.
It may surprise you to know
Nana Akua did not even want
to be a singer. She grew up
“I didn’t see myself as a musical artist. I wanted to be a
broadcaster, in radio or TV. Or
a dancer. I never wanted to
be the one in front, you know?
But they convinced me and
encouraged me and before I
knew it, I had an album. After
they released the songs and
they were successful, everybody was saying my name. I
thought ‘this is nice’. I didn’t
find it difficult putting the
songs together, so I thought to
myself ‘I can do this’. I realized
it was fun.”
When 16 Years came out,
Mzbel was actually 22 years
old: “I looked very, very small.
You might think I was 13 or
14 years. But I was an adult. I
was old. I’m saying ‘fa ma me,
fa wo me’ and people asked
‘why would a small girl be bold
enough to say these things?’ By
then, Daddy Lumba and others
>> www.accradust.com
>> www.accradust.com
yonce
American singer, Be
thing Ghana has to
s. Some
ice
vo
al
sic
mu
re
Mzbel is the closest
r girls with mo
he
ot
are
e
ere
er
th
th
;
re,
gh
ey are thou
Knowles. Su
rd R&B. Whoever th
wa
for
star
ht
l
aig
be
str
Mz
d
ke
an
even ma
th Beyonce
lack that define bo
ey
th
s
ing
th
o
tw
are
power and duality.
a
Ghana who can draw
ar y female singer in
a
or
d
mp
ate
nte
cre
co
s
ha
no
a
is
an
e
Ther
her artist in Gh
ot
no
er,
ov
re
h.
Mo
oa
l.
crowd like Mzbe
l is to Nana Akua Am
from herself as Mzbe
s it
persona as distinct
fright who overcome
ge
shy girl with sta
a
be
to
s
im
cla
e
Beyonc
31
>> www.accradust.com
Since then, Mzbel
has had to learn to
adjust to living life
in the media’s glare:
“No matter how hard
I try, it comes out.
My relationships,
where I live, my
friends… everything.
You don’t see [the
media] chasing you
but before you
realize they have
a story out saying
all sorts of crap.
Some are true.
Maybe 30%.”
32
“What I wear on stage is strictly
for showbusiness. You know?
When I’m on stage,
it’s like I’m in
my office and
I have to wear
my uniform. If I
come on stage
in African fabric
and I can’t move,
people will say
I’m confused. I
don’t want to
look like the
people who
came to see me.
I want to look
different, like an
artist. I want to
entertain. That’s
exactly what I do
and people always complain.
“You don’t expect a doctor or
the nurse to be wearing what you
want them to. They wear their
uniforms when they are in the hospital and remove it when they are
not. When you go to the beach you
can’t say “because I’m an African
I will wear kaba and slit to swim.
This is not our culture so I will
wear batakari to swim”. People
will think you’re crazy! You’ll wear
the bikini even though it’s showing
your thighs, your boobs and
your back. You’ll wear it
because that’s the costume
made for swimming. Period.
When I’m on stage, it’s the
same. I am Mzbel, I like to
be comfortable and I like to
move. And they love it.”
A recent robbery incident reminded her of
the dark side of fame:
“Before I realized,
all the media people
were in my house.
They wanted to come
to my bedroom to
take pictures and talk
to me. Some people
even had recorders
behind my window.
I don’t know what
came over me. I was
screaming, yelling
and breaking things. I
lost it a little but and
they were recording: nobody helped. They
came to get news. What
broke my heart more
was that people called
radio stations and
said I deserved to get
robbed.”
“I almost gave up,
you know? I can
direct and edit
and do production. I
thought maybe I should just
buy some computers, set
up a multimedia company
and forget about music.
But I get encouragement
from people. “When are
you coming out with a new
album? We love your song.”
You’ll be driving in town
and someone will say “Oh
>> www.accradust.com
were already saying
it. But they had a
way of saying it.”
33
Mzbel is the last of seven girls and she
is closely supported by her family. She
attended the DUST photo-shoot with her
niece and when she travels on tour, she
leaves her eight year-old son with her elder sister. “I love him, papa”, she says. He
apparently wants to follow in his mother’s
show business footsteps, and features in
her new video, Runaway: “He loves it. I
don’t know if he understands what it is.
He is happy all the time. Before the Miss
Ghana show, he saw us practicing the
song. As we were leaving the house that
evening for the show, he asked “why am
I not coming?” I said “we don’t need you”
and he replied, “but people will be asking,
where is the boy in the video?””
>> www.accradust.com
With such support, it is perhaps natural
the half-krobo, half-fanti singer does not
apologize for being brazen: “I don’t plan
any of my songs. I don’t plan the lyrics,
the rhythm or anything. It comes naturally.
As I’m sitting with you right now, something can just trigger a rhythm or lyrics.
As I keep humming the rhythm, the lyrics
just come naturally and it fits. There’s
nothing I can do about it. I don’t care if
it’s offending someone or not.”
34
Her latest single, Saucy Girl is classic
Mzbel: provocative and catchy. She says it
is her favourite song on the album, as she
can dance to it and did most of the vocal
work on the track herself. Funnily enough,
she originally wrote it for one of her dancers: “She took part in Dance Fever and
came second. She wanted to do a single
[but] she didn’t have a song so I had to
compose a song for her.
M
zbel’s very small and
she’s saucy on stage, so I wrote that
song for her. But unfortunately she
didn’t like it. She wanted something
more hip-hop. So I kept the song for
myself.”
The new album marks a departure for
the singer from Mzbel’s usual sound.
While her previous albums were in twi
and stuck to hiplife, this time around the
singer is being more experimental: “I
don’t only perform to Ghanaian crowds.
I do most of my shows outside Ghana.
They treat you like a star, make you feel
special. They are so amazed when they
see you, they want to take photos with
you. You don’t get that here in Ghana.
And you make more money there than
here. So this time, I decided to make
songs that will fetch me more shows
outside.”
“The song that fetches me the most
shows outside is 16 Years because it has
pidgin. [When] I perform other songs,
they love them but they don’t understand what I’m saying. So this time
around, I’ve studied their style of music
and fused it with what I have: I have
rock, house music, dancehall, a little bit
of crunk too.”
“I’m hoping to be nominated for awards
outside Ghana. The African ladies that
usually get nominated for these awards,
their songs are on MTV and Channel O
all the time. Girls like Blue, Three, and
Sasha. No girl from Ghana has ever won
those awards, so this time around, I’m
aiming higher. That’s why the album is
much different.”
With three tracks on the album for those
who want her old sound, Mzbel says she
has not turned her back on her fans. She
does however feel her fans will grow
with her as “the foreign music is what
they dance to in the clubs anyway.” She
is however baffled as to why Ghanaian
DJs do not mix Ghanaian music with foreign sounds: “On Saucy Girl, the tempo
is a little like Beyonce’s Single Ladies,
but they don’t want to play the songs
next to each other. They think “oh, this
is Ghanaian music” so they only play it
when [they are ] playing Ghanaian stuff.
But music is music. It doesn’t matter
if the artist is from Ghana or Togo or
whatever. My new style doesn’t blend
with hiplife. They are playing it because
I’m MzBel but if a new artist tried it,
they probably wouldn’t play it.”
Speaking of new artists, Mzbel is not
worried about competition: “I’m in it
for fun and money. And I’m making the
money and having fun, so I don’t see
anything wrong with anyone trying to
do what I’m doing. If you go to Makola,
you’ll see one thousand and one people
selling the same [products]. They all
have their customers and they are all
making their money”
Of the new crop of female artists following her footsteps, she sections out
Efiya (Jane Awindor) for praise, saying
she looks forward to collaborating with
her in the near-future. Of the men, she
loves Samini, but says she would love to
collaborate with her fellow DUST cover
stars:
“I love Wanlov. I love his style, the way
he talks. He’s always calm. When you
see him, you think he’ll be this rasta
kind of person but whenever I see him,
he’s calm. He doesn’t listen to what
people say. You know he doesn’t wear
slippers? People talk a lot about that.
But he’s doing his thing. He loves it,
and that’s what I love.”
“I love Mensa too. Mensa was one of
the few people I used to look up to. He
was at OM studios (formerly Syphex).
Hush Hush was right behind so I used to
hang around there. I’d see them and I’d
admire them…”
“…and now I’m one of them!”
>> www.accradust.com
MzBel, that track of yours, I love it, I love
it.” MzBel concerts always get packed.
When [Graphic] Showbiz put me on their
cover, they tell me it sells. When there’s
an announcement that MzBel will appear
on a TV show, people watch.”
35
ASPIRE
Kasapreko
37
>> www.accradust.com
Chocolate Lime
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE SECRET OF CALM, HAPPY
AND SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE, THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOU!
>> www.accradust.com
The power of positive thinking is key to any
form of success. Besides its ability to bring
you wealth, it also helps bring about inner
peace, improves your relationships, and helps
wards off stress-related illnesses.
36
1 shot Kasapreko Vodka
1 shot Chocolate Liqeur
1 shot Lime Cordial
Fill up with coke.
website:www.kasaprekogh.com Produced in Ghana by Kasapreko Company Limited. DTD NO. 64 off Spintex Road Baatsona Accra -Ghana.
Thinking positively means using your state of
mind to influence events around you. In order
to make positive thinking work for you, you
must develop a positive attitude towards everything you do in life. This means expecting
a successful outcome no matter what you do
or how impossible your goal seems. It also
means taking the necessary steps to ensure
your success.
It is not enough to think that repeating a few
positive words (or telling yourself that everything is going to be alright) is enough - because its not. It has to be your attitude all the
time. It is not enough to think positively for a
few moments, and then let your fears and lack
of belief enter your mind. It is having a positive
attitude even when something does not go
acording to plan, trusting that what happened
has occurred for your long-term benefit.
How it works? Positive thinking is contagious.
Adopt a positive mental mood and the people
around you will pick up on it. It is human
nature for people to want to hang around successful and happy people.
Constantly thinking about happiness, good
health and success will cause the people
around you to desire to help you because everyone likes to be around a “success story”.
This said, its true that there will always be
people that will try and bring you down. The
trick is disarm them with your positivity. And
remember, when you’re dealing with negative
people: you are what you think about.
>> www.accradust.com
H
ave you ever wondered how successful people seem to have a neverending streak of good luck? Well, the
secret behind their success boils down to two
simple words: positive thinking.
37
Photojournalism
Slaughter Boys
PHOTOJOURNALISM
I remember puncturing a
kid’s head with the tip of
an old, heavy, pressing iron
and watching the blood escape from his skull and shoot
into the air like a liberated
fountain. “Who’s next?” I
shouted but no other kid
came forward. I had fought
my poor opponent in school
a while back but forgot all
about it. On that bloody Saturday morning, I had been
sent to take the pressing iron
to the repairer, who lived in
this boy’s neighbourhood. In
no time, about twenty boys
had surrounded me. That is
how we grew up in old Accra. You fight. If I remember
correctly, that was the last
time I had to fight. The story
spread fast, sounding bloodier with each retelling.
>> www.accradust.com
I grew up among the Gas,
the natives of Accra. I had
to fight my way to respect
in school but my reputation
as a survivor came faster
because of the precision
38with which I could hurl a
stone at a moving target.
>> www.accradust.com
Slaughter Boy is a story of
survival. Approximately ten
years ago, the Government
of Ghana demolished the
colonial Abattoir in favour
of a more modern one in the
centre of the capital. What
it couldn’t do, was win the
fight against the Slaughter Boys. Everyday, several hundreds of sheep and
39
>> www.accradust.com
>> www.accradust.com
>> www.accradust.com
4040
Nyame”
ings’ “Gye s at us.
d
re
ote
slaughte
ten cedi n
goats are
A zumah
nds of
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sa
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T
on the
e
th
came our
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b
h
, w
Nelson
the beach d to be,
we could
use
dream. All
building
ry
e
v
ink about
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d for
talk and th oxing.
and readie ra. After
sb
Acc
as kids wa
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nted to be
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We to
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waned, no the
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in a lifetime.
41
SEX & RELATIONSHIP
ADVENTURES FROM THE
BEDROOMS OF AFRICAN WOMEN
By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
IS YOUR PARTNER “LONG-TERM
RELATIONSHIP” MATERIAL?
So you’ve been going out for a couple of months
and you finally think you’re with a person you
can go the distance with. Researchers suggest
that before you decide to jump into the final
commitment pool, you consider a few points
about your partners personality.
1. Does he or she drink a lot? If the answer
to this is “yes”, then maybe you should
think twice before getting involved for
the long-term. Studies show that men and
women with even mild alcohol problems can
become violent, abusive and out of control
under stress. Men can even suffer from
erectile dysfunction.
2. Does his or her family background match
yours? This is more important that it might
sound. Partners with different family
backgrounds, values and reactions to
certain situations may be different (or in
may cases create conflict). The result can
be a break down of sexual relations, or even
the relationship itself.
3. Is he or she lazy? A lazy partner can be
a huge liability, not only financially, but
emotionally. A lazy partner can easily turn
into a dead weight when you are compelled
to do everything in the relationship, making
sustaining the relationship harder than
it has to be. It can also make you loose
respect for your partner, which will have
a negative effect on the longevity of your
relationship.
4. Do you have similar views on money
management? Money problems is one of the
biggest causes of the end of a marriage. A
partner’s bad money habits can cause you
to spend more of your hard-earned cash
than you would have done. If doesn’t matter
how great the sex is, if you’re going to loose
the roof over your head!
GOOD CHRISTIAN GIRLS DON’T
HAVE SEX…
I am a virgin, always have been, but hopefully
(cross my fingers and praying fervently!) will
not always remain so. Growing up, the main
reason I held onto my virginity was because of
my religious beliefs. “Good Christian girls don’t
have sex if they aren’t married,” was drummed
into my head from all angles - in Church, in
school and at home.
The constant pressure to not have sex put my
virginity on a pedestal. Abstinence was the be
all and end all of Christianity and the proud
label of a “good girl”. So, being a good girl and
wanting Jesus to be proud of me (I have always
been somewhat of a pleaser, you see), I have
remained completely abstinent. And yes, I am
still a virgin.
Then I got out of Ghana and relocated to the
United States. In this liberal, wholly different
cultural and social environment, I began to
think about and research into different views
and opinions on sex and abstinance. I ended up
coming up with valid reasons for my beliefs. I
am still a virgin, but at least now, its something
I’ve chosen for myself rather than something
that was forced upon me.
>> www.accradust.com
SEX IS ONE TOPIC THAT WE NEVER GET TIRED
OF. ADVENTURES FROM THE BEDROOMS OF
AFRICAN WOMEN IS ONE OF THE FEW SPACES
WHERE AFRICAN WOMEN (AND THE PARTNERS
THEY INVITE INTO THEIR BEDROOM) CAN TALK,
SHARE EXPERIENCE AND LEARN FROM EACH
OTHER ON A RANGE OF ISSUES CONCERNING
AFRICAN WOMEN AND SEXUALITY. EACH ISSUE
WILL HAVE SNAPSHOTS OF RECENT POSTS FROM
THE INCREASINGLY POPULAR WEBSITE. CHECK
OUT SOME OF THEM BELOW:
43
SEX IN
Here are my top tips for
men – based on my personal
preferences. Remember: all
women are different.
“What comes to mind when you think of sex in Accra?”
That’s the question I posed to a group of my women
friends recently. One of the responses I got was:
1. I like to be touched all over.
Please do not just head to the
obvious spots…the breasts
and clitorises are not the only
erogenous zones.
2. Don’t rush through foreplay.
Foreplay is the main play.
3. Let’s flip the script from time
to time. Sex can get boring
when we do the same routine
day in, day out.
4. Surprise me with a new trick
that you have read about
(operative word in that
sentence is “read”). Women
are forever reading about ‘10
ways to please your men in
bed’ as featured in Cosmo
or some other women’s
magazine. I don’t see why
men cannot read about what
pleases women and practice.
>> www.accradust.com
5. Get acquainted with sex toys.
They can add spice to your
sex life.
44
6. Send me an erotic text to let
me know you are thinking
about me…it gets me ready
even before we hook up.
7. Go down on me only if you
want to. If you cannot do
something with gusto please
do not even try.
8. Ask me what I want from my
partner in bed, or out of the
bedroom for that matter…
ACCRA By: Nana Darkwa Sekyiamah
“Discretion – You’ve got to be very discreet when you
have sex in Accra. I recently kissed someone at Tantra
(a popular nightclub in Accra) and now everyone thinks
we’re sleeping together!”
So what is sex in Accra and how is it different from sex in
Kampala, Johannesburg or Morocco? I tend to argue that
sex in different countries differ because of the different
cultural contexts. In Accra, you have a range of sexual
relationships that are quite specific to Accra and even
though they can be found is everywhere there stereotypical relationship types are very common in Accra.
The older man and the younger woman – This is the relationship that I probably find the most problematic. In this
relationship the older man gets attention and sex from a
young (attractive) woman, who in turn receives material
possessions and money.
The older man, younger woman and younger man –
This relationship is a derivative of the above. The said
younger woman (as described above) is only with the
older man for what she can get from him so she also
maintains a separate relationship with her “boyfriend”.
Said boyfriend is usually closer in age to the girlfriend
and is either studying or is the early stages of his career.
This means that he cannot afford to “keep” his girlfriend
in the style to which she is accustomed or to the standards she desires/needs. Quite a few of these younger
women are responsible for supporting their families and
themselves.
The married man, his wife and mistress – Ghana is a
polygamous country. Well, that is not strictly correct
as polygamy means either the man or the woman can
have several spouses. In the Ghanaian context the correct term to use is “polyandry” - men can have multiple
wives. If the persons involved are “Christian”, one woman can be married in church/registry office and the other
woman gets a “traditional” marriage. Being married does
not preclude married men from having mistresses. There
is little societal criticism of men who have mistresses or
girlfriends.
Gay Sex – Oh my goodness! This is a subject
to get Ghanaians hot and bothered, but trust
me, there is a vibrant gay culture in Accra.
The average Ghanaian is highly intolerant and
homophobic. Gay sex is seen as “foreign” and
“un-Ghanaian”. Many people conveniently forget about the male-male and female-female
relationships they experienced in single sex
boarding schools. People generally do not
question where phrases such as “Kofi Besea”
originated from.
Then of course there is a host of other sexual
relationships between married people, engaged people, boyfriends/girlfriends, buddies, sex workers as well as those who choose
to abstain from sex for reasons which are
predominantly religious. Sex in Accra is...
Let us know what sex means to you. Join our
discussion at www.accradust.com and click on
“Sex and Relationships”.
HOW TO ENJOY RECEIVING
GOOD HEAD
DONE RIGHT, ORAL SEX CAN BE MORE
PLEASURABLE THAN SEX ITSELF - BUT FEW
GHANAIAN WOMAN ALLOW THEIR PARTNER
TO GO DOWN ON THEM. A GHANAIAN WOMAN
SHARES HER VIEWS ON THE ART OF ENJOYING
ORAL SEX.
As far as I’m concerned, oral sex is nice, but
trust me, if your woman doesn’t know how to
enjoy receiving oral sex, you might as be licking a mokey’s ass because I can bet you my
puny salary that she’ll be wishing thats what
you were doing instead.
Clam diving, carpet munching, cunnilingus...
it’s a fine art - Hello! Its the basis of lesbian
sex, but not many men (or women, for that
matter) realise that the pressure to perform
is complemented by the pressure to enjoy.
Many women hardly enjoy sex enough to allow themselves to orgasm, so imagine how it
must feel when you’ve got your legs spreadeagled, the most intimate, most hidden, part
of you, soaking wet.... its enough to make any
woman curl her toes in apprehension.
What if I smell? What if he doesn’t like the
way I taste? Does he like the way I look down
there?
Ladies, these are all very legitimate questions and spending time getting to know (and
like) your body is essential. Correction: it is
the only way to rid yourself of that kind of
tension. Cleansing your vajayjay daily (ideally twice a day) should get rid of the smell.
However, if that doesn’t help, it is very likely
because you either have a yeast infection or
worse, an STI (sexually transmitted infection). The yeast infection is easily treatable,
but the STI... well, it depends on what you
have....
I remember spending my summer holiday in
London (Lewisham, to be exact) when I was
10. It was the first time I was allowed to go
out with my older cousin, Vanessa, and her
friends. Somehow they got onto the topic of
douching, to which the only white girl in our
group pulled a face of absolute horror, claiming, “You’re not supposed to do that- it cleans
itself!”
Trust me. Your vagina does not, I repeat,
does not clean itself. I don’t mean to start
using an aggressive cleaning regime for your
little secret, but it is necessary to rinse (not
douch) “down there”.
It is also important that you wipe yourself
well after having a wee, as the little droplets
may cause an unpleasant smell (yes, I know
its hard when you’re maneuvering not to
touch the toilet seat, but its the truth!).
Apart from hygiene, I can’t stress the importance of finding the right partner to “go down
there”. Trust me when I say you need to be
stingy with that *ish, and there’s a very rational reason for this too. Apart from the fact
that in order to have good sex there must be
a connection (sexual, emotional, etc), people
often forget that you must have a confidently
willing partner. Having a man with any kind of
doubt, isn’t a recipe for the best waakye on
the corner.
>> www.accradust.com
SEX TIPS FOR MEN
FROM WOMEN
45
Even though oral sex (also called
‘shrimping’:-) can be very technical, there
are a few ‘tricks’ that can help you lie
back, relax and enjoy the pleasure that is
cunnilingus.
>> www.accradust.com
Go slow. I realise that slow for some men can
span anything from 10 to 15 minutes. When I
say slow, try not make anything in particular
a goal for the evening. For instance, spend
as long as you can kissing, just enjoying the
feeling of your man’s lips on yours, his hands
traveling (no groping!) around your body; and
let that be the end all and be all. Once you
reach the peak of that, you’ll automatically
spill into something more intense, like
grinding against each other, but again, make
that the end all and not just another process
to some other goal. Sex can still be fulfilling
and enjoyable without penetration or orgasm.
46
Relax. There is nothing dirty, scandalous,
taboo or sinful that can go on between two
partners - so long as both partners consent
and they practice safe sex. The society in
which we live frowns on a number of sexual
practices (including multiple partners,
fetishes, bondage, etc) and we can’t but help
be affected by the moral standards by which
those around us live by. Like I said before,
never have sexual relations with a person
exhibiting any sign of doubt, and the same
goes for yourself: you must never have sexual
relations with any form of doubt... If you
seem to be going through a “doubt” phase,
don’t worry about it, respect it, because
there’ll come a time when it’ll pass.
When you let go
fear,
love...
of
you make way for
Accept the precess and let go of fear. Lets
face it, we live in a society where a large
percentage of us ladies have been sexually
abused. The psychological repercussions
of this can be great and long-lasting, often
making it difficult for women to mentally
allow themselves to enjoy any sexual act as
a result of the guilt associated with it. In
these cases, I can only suggest that you find
a good man that respects your body as well
as your mind because I’m sure, as a result of
your experience, you’re the kind of woman to
either a) wear your sexuality on your sleeve
or b) be characterised by your intellect.
Either way, you need a good partner to help
rewire your perception on sexual acts. When
you let go of fear, you make way for love...
Lastly, I think we need to respect those
women who just don’t want to have oral
sex performed on them. I guess its a bit like
any sexual activity: some women don’t like
having their toes sucked, others don’t want
to do it doggy-style... To each his own, but
the one thing every woman must ensure is
that, whatever sexual activity you do like and
engage in, make sure its worth it!
NANA SPEAKS: AN AGONY
AUNT WITH A DIFFERENCE.
I consider myself a good Christian, with high
principles and strict morals. However, I come
from a very poor background and my parents
can no longer afford to pay my university
fees. It’s something I am extremely worried
about, especially since I only have one year
left to finish. I have been prepositioned by
a number of older men that come to my
University to pick up younger girlfriends and
I must admit that, even though I thought that
those relationships were disgusting before, I
am beginning to think that it may be my only
way out of this increasingly bad situation. Do
you think it would be alright for me to enter
into a mutually beneficial relationship with an
older/married man just to make sure I am in
a position to complete my education?
Dear Ama,
From your letter it is clear to me that your
priority is to complete your university
education successfully and that is a
commendable goal. I would like to encourage
you to do this without entering into a
“mutually beneficial” relationship with an
older/married man for several reasons.
Older/married men who prey on younger
women are not interested in supporting your
education. They are primarily interested in
using younger women as sexual objects; a
relationship with a man for financial reasons
takes away from your dignity and self esteem.
Additionally men who enter these arrangements are likely to have multiple concurrent
relationships which increases your exposure
to STI’s including HIV/AIDS.
So let’s explore some other options which
could enable you to finish university
successfully without compromising your
principles/morals.
1. You mentioned your parents are currently
unable to pay your university fees. Is there
any other way your parents can support
you to raise your school fees? Do they,
for example, have land they are willing to
sell, or any other items of value that could
generate income for your school fees?
Could your parents get a loan from a bank
or from members of your extended family?
2. There are some Non-Governmental
Organisations that are able to provide
scholarships for students. You may find
that there are some programmes that
specifically look to support the educations
of young women. Do an internet search to
identify some of these organizations that
may be willing to support you.
3. Get a part-time job. What skills do you
have? Could you work as a shop assistant,
receptionist or researcher over the
weekends? Is there a need within your
campus that you could fill? This could be
anything from typing dissertations to copy
editing research papers.
4. Become an entrepreneur. Many people pay
their fees through their entrepreneurial
efforts. Recently I was speaking to a
gentleman who had bred dogs throughout
his time at university and paid his school
fees with the money he had made. Is there
anything you can sell (apart from your
body) to raise money?
These are just a few ideas. I am sure you can
think of many more. Sometimes solutions
that on the surface may appear easy – like a
mutually beneficial relationship with an older/
married man – may end up being the most
costly.
I wish you all the best in your future
endeavours
Best Wishes,
Nana
>> www.accradust.com
I’ve had my fair share of sexual partners and
this, for me, has been key. I never have sex
with someone that isn’t absolutely sure that
they want to have sex with me, to explore my
body and create a pleasurable experience for
us both.
47
Lose
Weight ... for Good!
“Your body is the baggage
you must carry through life.
The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip.”
- ARNOLD H. GLASGOW
>> www.accradust.com
hether you’re
male or female,
young or old,
the one problem that affects
us all is maintaining a healthy
weight. Obesity is increasingly
becoming an issue in Ghana,
with statistics showing that 16
percent of the population in
Accra is defined as clinically
obese.
48
Being overweight significantly
increases your risk of heart
disease, diabetes, stroke, high
blood pressure and cancer.
Plus, it can also make receiving
medical treatments riskier.
The good news is that nearly
70 percent of ageing factors
fall within your control and
despite what the media says
about weight loss and dieting,
we’ve found some easy tips to
help you lose those few extra
pounds..
Stay focuses on being healthy
and not becoming thin. More
people tend to be successful in achieving permanent
weight loss when they shift
their focus from being thin to
being healthy. By selecting
foods based on whether or not
they’re healthy for you, you
will easily achieve this goal.
Don’t always listen to your
friends and family. In many cases, being overweight is looked
upon as “being prosperous” in
our society. This mindset can
cause those around you to discourage you from “loosing too
much weight”, or to encourage
you to stay the way you are. Be
strong and true to yourself. This
is your body and your health.
Do not eat at least 2 hours
before going to bed. I know
you’ve heard this before, and
its true. Just don’t do it, no
matter how hungry you are.
Drink at least 8-10 glasses of
water a day (or 1 big bottle of
Voltic). This helps flush your
body of impurities and fat.
Keeping your body hydrated
will also keep hunger at bay.
Eat 3-5 small meals/snacks
a day. I know this doesn’t
sound realistic, especially
when you think of the fufu
and ab3nkwan waiting for
you at home, but the less
meals you eat, the bigger
they tend to be - a surefast way to disaster.
Dietary control and exercise. It’s true what they say
- all you need to do is watch
what you eat and use up
more energy than you consume. The formula is really
that simple. You really don’t
need a 100-page book or
expensive personal trainer
to tell you that. We’ve told
you for free!
On a diet and feeling hungry?
Did you know that the colour
blue acts as an appetite suppressant? So next time you
think about putting on that
blue shirt, rest assured that
your fight against overeating
got that much stronger.
>> www.accradust.com
HEALTH
49
50
“At long last the battle has
ended. And this Ghana, your
beloved country is free forever... I want to take the opportunity to thank the chiefs
and people of this country,
youth, the farmers, the
women who have so nobly
fought and won this battle.
“... I want to thank the various ex-servicemen who have
also struggled with me in this
mighty task of freeing our
country from foreign rule and
imperialism ...from now on,
from today, we must change
our attitude - our mind.
>> www.accradust.com
We must realize that from
now on, we are no more
a colony but a free and
independent people. But as I
pointed out, that also entails
hard work. I am depending
upon the millions of people
to help me to reshape the
destiny of this country.
50
At long last
the battle has
ended...
“We are prepared to build an
African nation that will be
respected by every other
nation in the world. We
know we are going to have
difficult beginnings, but again
I am relying upon your support. I am relying upon your
hard work!
“Seeing you in these thousands, it
doesn’t matter how far my eye goes,
but I can see that you are here in
your millions, so that we can prove
to the world that when an African is
given the chance he can show the
world that he is somebody. We shall
no longer go to sleep any more. We
shall show the world that the African
man is capable of managing his own
affairs. We are going to demonstrate
to the world - to the other nations,
now, that we are building our own
foundations... we are going to create
our own African personality and
identity.
“It’s the only way, which can show
the world that we are ready for our
own battle.
“But today may I call upon you all
that, on this great day, let us all
remember that nothing requires to
be done unless it has the support of
God.
“We have done the battle and we
again rededicate ourselves not only
in the struggle to emancipate all the
countries in Africa; our independence
is meaningless unless it is linked
up totally with that of the African
continent.
“Let us now, fellow Ghanaians, let us
now, ask for God’s blessings, and for
only two seconds in your thousands
and millions, I want to ask you to
pause only for one minute and give
thanks to the Almighty God for having
led us through - obstacles, difficulties, infringements, hardships and
sufferings.
“To have brought us to the end of our
troubles today,”
“Ghana is free forever!”
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah / the Old Polo Grounds (now the
Nkrumah Memorial Park) / 6th March, 1957
These words were spoken by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah the
night Ghana was born. Over fifty years on, we still
have a long way to go before we become “an African
nation... respected by every other nation in the
world”.
You see little flashes of that potential every time we
hit the international headlines for the right reasons,
instead of the wrong ones. Whenever we show the
world that we are somebody. Like when we became
the first African country in which a democratically
elected government peacefully handed over power to
another party... and took it back through the ballot
box. Like when Obama visited; when the world’s eyes
focused on our 50th birthday celebrations; like when
we discovered that we too have oil; or whenever the
Black Stars (or the Starlets) perform well (or win!)
Before we can change others attitudes towards us
though, we still need to change our own attitude...
our mind. Osagyefo spoke of creating “our own African personality and identity.” Dust is a magazine
designed to reflect Ghana today, in all our beauty
but also in our ugliness. Good things happen here,
but bad ones do too: “obstacles, difficulties, infringements, hardships and sufferings”. They come
together to define us all: “... chiefs and people of
this country, youth, the farmers, women...”
Here at Dust, we want to document that definition
so that in years to come, someone will pick up an old
copy of the magazine and see snapshots of what life
was like in our time. We think the best way to begin
that documentation is to pause for a minute and look
at the past, specifically to what remains the single
greatest moment in our country’s history:
It’s birth.
Happy Independence Day.
>> www.accradust.com
>> www.accradust.com
SANKORA
51
SHORT STORY
Written by Kobina Graham
>> www.accradust.com
He was brought back to earth with a bang as
one of his tyres suddenly exploded. He fought
with his steering wheel, turning it desperately
from right to left as the car veered violently
in any direction but straight. With death
staring him in the face, it occurred to him how
embarrassing it might be telling Saint Paul he
died in pursuit of sex with someone twentysix years his junior. Then he remembered
Melanie’s curves and became even more
determined to live.
52
The skidding slowed down and Kwesi was able
to bring the car to a halt by the side of the
motorway. He swore to himself and thought,
“now what?” There was no one around and he
knew the motorway was not a safe place to
be at night, especially in a Jaguar. Meanwhile,
he thought to himself, Melanie’s time and
patience would be wearing thin. He pulled his
phone from his pocket but as he started dialing
her number, the phone gave out one last beep
before his battery died.
Sh*t.
Just then, two lights appeared over the
horizon. As they drew closer, Kwesi saw a third
light floating above them. Thank God: a taxi.
He activated the car’s security system and
flagged the car down. The driver seemed very
short in his seat, and Kwesi thought he might
be child until he heard the man ask him if he
needed a lift in a perversely deep voice. As he
boarded the taxi, Kwesi’s nose was assaulted
by the strong smell of sweat. The driver clearly
could not spell the word ‘deodorant’ much
less use it. He also had the kind of matted hair
Kwesi only ever saw on madmen. Regardless,
Kwesi told the man his destination and then
he prayed a quick prayer, “God, please let this
ride be as short as this ugly, smelly man is.”
“What?”
Kwesi was startled by the driver, who was
looking back at him in the car mirror. The man
sounded offended. “You say what for there?”
Kwesi hadn’t said anything. He thought it wise
to keep that habit going.
“Ennnh? Okay. Me I see you for road top and
save you wey you dey insult me?”
Kwesi was confused. He was sure he hadn’t
said anything out loud. Maybe the man was
mad.
“Ei! Now you think sey I craze? Okay, we go
see!”
Then he started laughing.
This time, Kwesi was sure he hadn’t said
anything. He was suddenly a little scared.
This short, smelly driver was either mad or he
was… no... Kwesi looked closer at the man’s
from behind. Something didn’t seem right.
He remembered tales of dwarves from his
childhood; mysterious creatures who were
short, had backward-pointing feet and were
>> www.accradust.com
K
wesi was speeding down the Tema
motorway like a criminal on the run
from the police. He remembered
his father’s warning: women are
not playthings to be used, abused
and replaced. That was such a long time
ago. Since then, he had grown up to afford a
lifestyle his father had only ever seen in foreign
films. The car in which he was speeding down
the motorway was a jet-black Jaguar with a
satellite-tracking system that would make a
fool of anyone who tried to steal the vehicle.
Kwesi also had a long list of women fighting
to steal his heart, or at least his wallet, away
from his wife. Life was good. Melanie was the
latest addition to that list. After weeks of
flirtation, dinners, loans and late night calls,
she had finally agreed to ‘open up’ to him. As
he sped in her direction, he started fantasizing
about her curves, the smell of her; her soft,
caramel coloured skin, and the seductive way
in which she would touch his cheek when she
wanted his attention. Tonight, she would have
it all.
53
HUNMAN
He awoke to the feeling of someone tapping
him. “Massa,” a voice said. Kwesi jumped up
with a start. He was still in the taxi, which had
come to a halt in front of Melanie’s house. The
person tapping him was not the same person
who had slapped him, but he was seated in the
driver’s seat. Kwesi was confused. “Massa,”
the man said, “we reach. Ten cedis.” Kwesi
remained completely confused as he got out
of the taxi. He reached into his wallet, pulled
out a note and gave it to the driver, who then
sped off. For a second, Kwesi thought he
heard laughter in the wind. It woke him from
his reverie and he started laughing himself,
unsteadily at first and then louder as he
remembered the whole thing. Clearly, it had
all been a dream.
>> www.accradust.com
Then he remembered why he was there,
walked up and knocked on Melanie’s door,
looking forward to the rest of night. A light
came on and he saw her shapely silhouette
approach the door and stop.
54
“Who is it?” he heard her say in a curious
voice.
“Stop playing games, Melanie. It’s been a long
night but I’m here.”
He pushed the door but Melanie started closing
it.
“Melanie! I know I’m late, but is this
necessary?”
He was suddenly annoyed and pushed harder,
forcing the door open. For a second, she stood
in the darkness frozen. He walked up and tried
to wrap his arms around her when she started
screaming at the top of her voice. Kwesi was
startled.
“What are you doing?”
As she tried to pull away he pulled her closer.
She scratched him in the face and in pain,
he let go. Someone walked in from outside,
jumped on him and pinned him down on the
ground. On the ground, struggling to free
himself, Kwesi saw someone approaching from
inside the house: a woman.
“What’s going on?”
The girl ran into an elderly woman’s arms as
the light came on. Still struggling to get up,
Kwesi stopped as he saw the faces of the two
women looking at him in fear. They looked
alike, but the girl whose waist his arms had
just been around was not clearly Melanie.
The elderly woman was.
Just as he stopped struggling, the man holding
him down smacked him hard in the back of his
head. As Kwesi lost consciousness, he was sure
he could hear the man laughing.
THOSE ARE THE WORDS BEING UTTEREF BY MORE AND MORE WOMEN
AROUND THE WORLD. BUT DO THEY REALLY KNOW WHAT IT MEANS
WHEN THEY SAY THAT?
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT FEMINISM HAS SEEN BETTER DAYS. MANHATING AND BRA BURNING - THAT’S WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK FEMINISM IS ALL ABOUT.
AFTER REACHING ITS POPULARITY PEAK IN THE 1960S, FEMINISM
STARTED TO WANE AFTER WOMEN BECAME MORE ACCEPTED IN THE
WORKPLACE AND WERE GIVEN A MORE VARIED VIEW IN THE MEDIA (BEFORE THE 1970S WOMEN WERE EITHER PORTRAYED AS A HOMEMAKER
OR A SIREN - GRACE KELLY OR MARILYN MONROE).
FEMINISM ADVOCATES FOR EQUAL RIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR
WOMEN AND EVEN THOUGH IT MAY APPEAR TO BE REDUNDANT IN THIS
DAY AND AGE - ITS NOT. IN FACT, ITS MUCH MORE RELEVANT THAN
MANY OF US REALIZE.
THE MOST OBVIOUS INEQUALITY IS FOUND IN THE WORKPLACE. ALL
OVER THE WORLD, WOMEN ARE CONSISTENTLY PAID LESS THAN THEIR
MALE COUNTERPARTS (YES, THIS PHENONMENA ISN’T FOUND ONLY IN
THE DEVELOPMENT WORLD).
IN THE UK, FOR INSTANCE, THERE IS AN ESTABLISHED HISTORY OF SALARY INEQUALITY BETWEEN THE SEXES, WITH WOMEN WORKING FULL
TIME EARNING 73.7% OF MEN’S SALARIES. THE STATISTICS ARE EVEN
WORSE IN THE US WHERE WOMEN EARN 77% OF THE SALARIES GIVEN
TO MEN.
DOES THIS SOUND FAIR TO YOU? NO, I DIDN’T THINK SO. DON’T BE
AFRAID TO CALL YOURSELF A FEMINIST. STAND BY THE RIGHT TO
EQUAL PAY AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.
>> www.accradust.com
generally malevolent and mischievous. In one
story, a man who followed a dwarf into the
bush returned home an hour later to find that
his wife had grown into an old woman and his
five year old son was older than him. “Reality
check: dwarves don’t exist,” he told himself,
but the uneasy feeling in his gut wouldn’t go
away. The driver began laughing even harder.
He turned a disturbingly sharp corner and
Kwesi realized they were in Melanie’s area. As
his body swayed with the car, his vision fell on
the driver’s feet. It was dark but he was sure…
Just then, then driver shouted “hey!” and
without stopping the car, turned around and
gave Kwesi a slap so hard he passed out.
55
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