Earlier this week, as I was headed to work, I hopped in a taxi as I do every morning but when the taxi saw a police stop in the middle of the road up ahead, he turned around and took me to the junction- the taxi took me further away from my destination instead of closer- he even insisted on dropping me off past the point where he had picked me up. Not really understanding the situation, I figured I’d just walk (also, the other times I, the white person, have been in a taxi going through a police barracade, my taxi was always ‘randomly’ stopped to have to pay bribes to continue). So as I’m walking, I realize the extent of the heat and am drenched in sweat, also grumbling about the police, who often seem more interested in taking bribes than doing something audacious, like enforcing any laws that may exist. I was also grumbly because Ghana has a single-spine scheme where government employees just received raises. So police used to need to take bribes to supplement their income and care for their family, but now the pay is quite well, I guess old habits do die hard.
There I am, sweating and grumbling, about to work when a cute little girl, followed by another cute little girl run up to me, arms wide open, big smiles and bright eyes, flank me, and hug my legs, too short to even come much above my knee. It was the first time this has happened and it melted my heart! Once I started back toward the office, I rolled my eyes- that’s Ghana for you, one minute it’s getting you riled up, the next it’s pulling at your heart strings. Still super hot, when I do reach the office, I head into an air conditioned room to cool off and when my colleague arrives, I get up to give him his desk and he says no worries- he’ll grab a desk in the next room so I have his chair for the day! (Granted 30 minutes later I was getting cold, it was an extremely nice gesture!).
Another roller coaster moment. This evening, headed to dinner, I get out at a junction near “the woods” where thieves hide out because it’s where you have to get out in order to go to this one restaurant- it is on a busy road so as long as you’re not out at 10 p.m. when traffic has died down, you’re less likely to have trouble- plus I was carrying a book so nothing exciting like a backpack to want to nab. But I still joked with the taxi driver, if the theives don’t get me, I should be fine :) Silly me- I forgot about crossing the street!
The standard in “The Lawless North” seems to be- the right away goes to the bigger vehicle. If you are on two feet- you should bow to everything! (By this I mean, there is the road, then there is the shoulder of the road for bicycles and pedestirans, but motorbikes use the shoulder as they wish, driving on the left or right side of the road so you can be on the shoulder of the road and still have motorbikes coming at your from both directions- as happened this evening. Cars even use it as a passing lane- in case there is too much traffic to pass on the left side of a slow vehicle- FYI Ghanians do drive on the same side of the road as we do in the U.S.).
So there I am, faced with the task of crossing the street. With motorbikes and bicycles coming from both sides on the shoulder, as well as the occassional pedestrian and car that wants to use the shoulder to pass. While I was in a good mood and did so in a light-hearted manner, I started yelling with a hint of laughter in my voice and a smile on my face “you’re driving crazy,” “you’re gonna kill someone,” “someone’s going to get hurt,” hoping maybe a motorbike would hear and decide not to get within inches of me as means of speeding along or at least think about their behavior in the future. Instead, I kept getting pedestirans and cyclists wishing me good evening. One muslim man even stopped to shake my hand before moving along, which hasn’t ever really happened especially since we were strangers. They were just being friendly- it was random! Usually everyone keeps to themselves, but if the random white girl is going to yell politely at traffic, we might as well greet her- I guess that was the logic? Or maybe they agreed with my approach to trying to manage traffic! (Nah, they probably thought I was a little crazy- but outgoing so worth saying hello to :)
Can you hear me now: “You’re driving crazy,” to the motorbike using the shoulder to pass (the motorbike who sees this as being extremely common, so what's the problem?) then upon hearing “Good evening,” turning to my left and saying: “Good evening.” Just like this was all normal behavior.
The main reason I call this “The Lawless North” is because there is no traffic enforcement that I’ve seen. Speed signs are rare but there are speed bumps EVERYWHERE in Ghana that either the government or locals put up to slow the traffic down. Even remote villages will make big dirt mounds or put a tree in the the red dirt road to slow down fast moving vehicles. I don’t think the police really have anything to do with monitoring traffic, just mainly road blocks where their job is to check for paper work and smuggling.
And quite different from the U.S., drivers license aren’t necessary, especially up North. Most individuals with motorbikes don’t have a license and the first thing they do when they buy their new shiney motorbike is to rip off the rearview mirrors, because they are “outdated,” as explained to me by a colleague. Poor general education, compounded with lack of driving instruction OR enforcement and the mentality that the bigger the vehicle (and thus pocketbook), the more right to the road- shoulder and all, you get what seems to me like chaos- but a controlled chaos if you will as it seems I'm the only one who doesn't understand the logic. I have seen drivers slow down more for a sheep crossing the road than a human being- hierarchy is alive and well on the road and there are no cross walks for pedestrians- just honking vehicles saying ‘I’m here- don’t get in my way/don’t get hit by me.’
I would like to note that none of this was typed with anger, cynicism or bitterness, but rather, ‘eh, it is what it is’ and this is the reality of the situation. I do think these things need to change but I don’t get to joke with others about this being “The Lawless North” for nothing. My nickname even has a way of lightening the situation and when it gets a little much sometimes- you can pipe up or be told “We are in The Lawless North,” at which you can’t help but smile and nod. I can't wait to see what the Ghana Ride has in store for me tomorrow :)
