Walking around the streets of our neighbourhood in Labadi most people like to greet us.
“Hello”, “Good afternoon, how are you? I’m fine”, “Where are you going?”, “white lady/man”, “give me one cedi” are some of things we hear.
Kids chase us for several yards calling out “obruni obruni obruni”. They also walk with us for a few meters (or for as long as we let them) holding our hands and, if given the chance, they hug us. The adulation is a little disconcerting at first and you wonder why they treat us so. Is it what they see on TV? My supervisor’s explanation sounded a little obscure: Jesus is depicted as a white man and so, by virtue of skin colour, all white (and relatively white) people are blessed.
The men are also somewhat friendlier than back home. “I love you” shouts a stonemason I pass every morning. I wave politely and shout back a “thank you”. My reserved Western upbringing somehow prevents me from returning his affections. The following week, he accepts my daily walk past his shop as a positive sign and our relationship moves up a level, “marry me”, he shouts. Again, I wave politely but this time reply, “no thank you”. My objection made no difference; since his proposal, his morning greetings have been “My wife, how are you?”
Abena
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