Discrimination under English law (Section 1 (1) of the Equality Act 2010) and probably same under Ghana Law is when a person is treated less favourably than another is/would be treated because of a protected characteristics (race, sex, origin, marriage/civil partnership, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, age or disability). So in simple terms, if any person (A) is treated less favourably than another (B) because of A’s protected characteristic, then that is a STRAIGHT up discrimination…
It is sicken to be discriminated against in a foreign land as a Ghanaian, but it is absolutely disheartening to be treated less favourably in your GODDAM country. This is not the first time I have heard or read about Ghanaians being treated this way in their our country. I do not suggest that, people should be treated more favourable by virtue of the fact that they are in their country, I am only saying, we all expect to be treated good/same with foreigners in our own country.
What happened below is a deep rooted problem in Ghana. I remember when I was in Adisadel College (around 2002), I visited home and was rushing back to Cape Coast (campus). I got to the then STC yard at Circle and when I tried to purchase a ticket, the saleswoman (Ghanaian) told me the bus was full and as such, I have to wait for the next bus which will take off in about 4 hours time. Behind me in the queue was some white guy and his white girlfriend/wife (Did I say white? They probably were from Albania or so). The could barely speak English and managed to ask how much the ticket price for Cape Coast was.
To my surprise, when they decided to make a purchase, the saleswoman was able to magically produce 2 tickets for them. I got upset like HELL since I had no permission to be off campus and I was bent on rushing there quick. I approached her and she said, it was finished but the 2 she just gave out were reserved for emergency. So the colour of your skin is an EMERGENCY in Ghana huh?
That is almost about 10 years ago. I could not bring myself to take what I just read today. 10 years on, this is still being championed in Ghana. Foreigners are operating a restaurant in Ghana and they have the guts to openly discriminate against Ghanaians by saying, only white people are allowed to join their restaurants club membership. WTF! Who can I punch in Ghana for this?
We need all GC readers to COMMENT this…What do you think? Have you heard or suffered this sort of treatment anywhere? What must be done? Please, help end this in Ghana by commenting! I need you all to comment…I will not post anything again today until enough of you have commented because this is not RIGHT! We must begin to demand fair and equal treatment.
Even if you have not commented on GC before or do not comment (READ ONLY PERSON), this is a sensitive issue so please do it for today. After commenting, if you have facebook, like the post and get the message across! If it happened to a Ghanaian like you, it can happen to you too. a family or friend! Thanks
Read below for more…..
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Unbelievable right? Well believe, because it exists, and ONLY white people are registered members. This happens because some foreigners who live in Ghana think Ghanaians are inferior to them. The abuse continues, here is a verbatim account of what happened to a Ghanaian lady.
“I wish to bring to light an incident that occurred in a restaurant that I visited recently that has left me dumbfounded and completely infuriated that this could happen in our country..
Atlantic Lobster and Dolphin Ltd is a shop down Papaye road in Osu which deals in seafood. They recently opened an open air restaurant above their shop serving seafood.
They have recently converted the restaurant into a “degustation club” for lovers of seafood. There is a GHc20 registration fee and you are then issue with a membership card.
My 2nd visit there was on the evening of 26th October. I was invited there by a Japanese colleague who is a member of the club and we went with another colleague who is Spanish.After our meal our host (my Japanese colleague) asked for the receipt upon which we were presented with a piece of paper bearing a handwritten amount of GHc180. When he insisted on a proper receipt one of the Italian owners by name AXL told us that this was all they gave as they were a club and not a restaurant. My colleague was told that if he insists on a receipt he would have to come to the shop the following day to be issued with a “receipt” for the purchase of seafood from the shop and not for the food we had consumed.
Nevertheless, as our Spanish colleague wanted to join the club too our host informed the owners and they fetched their membership register for him to join. At that point, I asked if I could also join to which he replied “No, it is for white people only” and then laughed. I was completely taken aback and rendered speechless that this man could have the effrontery to make such a bigoted and racist statement. We left the restaurant shortly thereafter.
It is my sincere hope that this matter will be taken up by your good selves and the public made aware that such an establishment is our midst. We cannot be subjected to open racism in our own country and we need to send a clear message to expatriates living here who mistreat their local staff and look down upon us Ghanaians that we WILL NOT stand for it.
By: Amma Bonsu
This post was published on October 31, 2011 7:45 AM
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