Letters from Ghana: So That’s What “Community” Looks Like

One of Ghana’s many beauties is its incredible coastline. I was thrilled to be able to spend a weekend in the coastal fishing village of Kokrobite shortly after my arrival in Ghana.

The men of Kokrobite start their days very early: their fishing boats leave the shore around four o’clock in the morning. The boats head into the ocean, dropping their long nets along the way. Later in the morning, when the nets are ready to be pulled in, everyone gathers on the beach. Men and women, children and dogs, young and old – each plays a part in the gathering of the fish. The men gather the ends of the nets and work together to pull their heavy loads to shore. One man often provides the rhythm for the heaving and hauling with a song, his strong voice carrying on the breeze across the beach. As the nets get closer to shore the children hurry into the water, anxious to gather any fish that may have been lucky enough to experience a short-lived moment of freedom before the children snatch them back up. The women stand on the beach watching and waiting to help sort the contents of the large nets.

The fish being safely brought ashore, the men then chat about the day’s catch while they help each other clean, mend, and fold their nets. The women sit and gossip while cleaning and sorting the fish preparing them to be sold. The children, confident their part in the task is complete, spend the rest of the morning playing soccer on the beach, with little regard for discrepancies in age or skill; all are welcome in this game.

What I witnessed was a group of people coming together to complete a task, each contributing as they are able. I saw individuals working together for the corporate good, with little if any disagreeing, complaining, or cheating. None lorded over the other; they worked as equals.

It isn’t helpful to glamorize the poverty in which these people find themselves.  This question needs to be asked: Is their communal approach to their livelihood simply a matter of necessity?  Has their poverty dictated that survival is only possible if they work together? Or is it possible that they are living in a simpler time, when working with and helping one’s neighbour is second nature? Perhaps it is a combination of the two. Regardless, they possess something that is, for the most part, missing in the West. The people of Kokrobite would likely say that they envy Canadians because we have everything, but “having everything” has come at the cost of community.

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