What will you die for?
By Richard Annerquaye Abbey
It was about 1:30pm at Opera Square in the Central Business District. Traders and pedestrians were jostling for space on the pedestrian walkway. As it were, the petty traders would have none of the so-called “right-of-way” talk of pedestrians. It was a lawless, chaotic scene.
Not that I expected anything different -- because so long as our city authorities do not stamp their authority, traders will always battle with hawkers for space on sidewalks. Previous efforts to “decongest” the streets have always hit a snag, especially when the authorities start to consider the political implications.
Decongestion is even harder in election years as these traders threaten to blackmail the government if they are forced out of their “offices”. The traders have always won, hands down, on such occasions.
Anyway, I don’t intend talking about this messy situation. As I was saying, it was business as usual at the Opera Square until disaster struck. It was quiet a nasty one. I was particularly disturbed to witness such a scene.
It started out as a mere quarrel, but what followed were not mere blows. It was a mini-WBC middleweight bout. Little surprise the venue, Opera Square, is located a skip, a hop and a jump from Bukom, home to many boxing legends of the country.
Two young men among the traders, previously seen in a hearty chat, were now literally demanding each other’s head. The argument centred on how these two breadwinners would share an amount of GH¢100 they had just made on a sale.
After colleagues tried in vain to break up the fight, the two remained resolute in settling their scores the old way. The amount at stake was not that much, but as the scuffle degenerated, it was no longer the money that was at stake but life, too. Yes, you read right.
Soon, an uncharacteristic hefty blow landed on the face of the guy demanding his share of the profit.
It was so fatal that it sent him crashing his head on a rock and knocked him unconscious. There was sudden alarm and a spontaneous break-up of the brawl. The man on the floor had to be hurried to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Sadly, he did not survive. Such a youthful soul wasted. It was such a sad scene as the news later broke at Opera Square.
This is not the first and would likely not be the last time someone loses his or her life over such trivialities. Last year a man lost his life fighting a driver’s mate over change. He left behind a very young family whose upkeep fell on their mother, a petty trader.
In the two instances, it was a case of people fighting for what they thought belonged to them. Most of us are fond of this. At times when we just have to let go and lick our wounds, we hold on to fight a little longer because we don’t want to be seen as being “foolish” or giving up easily. No matter how severely the other protagonist in the Opera Square incident may be punished, it would not bring his victim back to life.
As my old mother in the village puts it, we don’t lose a hair on our head when we are insulted or cheated. Hers was the typical “fama Nyame” or “leave it to God” attitude. Much as I have qualms with her stance at times, I believe it’s a general rule that must apply in the face of severe confrontation.
About four years ago, a friend acquired a brand new laptop after months of saving. Just two weeks after acquiring the laptop, he was pounced on by two hoodlums who demanded he hand over the laptop to them. He would not budge -- not when he had toiled his life to acquire it.
A scuffle ensued and one of the robbers slashed his shoulder with a machete, and his priceless possession fell to the ground. He could not but throw himself to the ground in great pain. At this point, the whereabouts of the laptop mattered little to him.
The robbers grabbed the blood-drenched laptop bag and sped-off. My friend spent four months in the hospital with the affected hand amputated. He wondered whether it was worth fighting for his laptop, which he lost anyway. His inability to let go of the priceless possession marred his life forever.
Every time he looks at his scar, he wishes he had just handed the laptop to them without second thoughts. But the harm has already been done. Once there’s life, there’s always hope. It’s a message we have to live by.
It is always difficult to let go, but in most cases we stand vindicated in the long run. Let’s not endanger our lives over things that will have no value tomorrow. Life is more precious than anything; that’s a fact.
Like I said, once you have life, you have everything.
Happy weekend people.
I’m out.
By Richard Annerquaye Abbey
It was about 1:30pm at Opera Square in the Central Business District. Traders and pedestrians were jostling for space on the pedestrian walkway. As it were, the petty traders would have none of the so-called “right-of-way” talk of pedestrians. It was a lawless, chaotic scene.
Not that I expected anything different -- because so long as our city authorities do not stamp their authority, traders will always battle with hawkers for space on sidewalks. Previous efforts to “decongest” the streets have always hit a snag, especially when the authorities start to consider the political implications.
Decongestion is even harder in election years as these traders threaten to blackmail the government if they are forced out of their “offices”. The traders have always won, hands down, on such occasions.
Anyway, I don’t intend talking about this messy situation. As I was saying, it was business as usual at the Opera Square until disaster struck. It was quiet a nasty one. I was particularly disturbed to witness such a scene.
It started out as a mere quarrel, but what followed were not mere blows. It was a mini-WBC middleweight bout. Little surprise the venue, Opera Square, is located a skip, a hop and a jump from Bukom, home to many boxing legends of the country.
Two young men among the traders, previously seen in a hearty chat, were now literally demanding each other’s head. The argument centred on how these two breadwinners would share an amount of GH¢100 they had just made on a sale.
After colleagues tried in vain to break up the fight, the two remained resolute in settling their scores the old way. The amount at stake was not that much, but as the scuffle degenerated, it was no longer the money that was at stake but life, too. Yes, you read right.
Soon, an uncharacteristic hefty blow landed on the face of the guy demanding his share of the profit.
It was so fatal that it sent him crashing his head on a rock and knocked him unconscious. There was sudden alarm and a spontaneous break-up of the brawl. The man on the floor had to be hurried to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Sadly, he did not survive. Such a youthful soul wasted. It was such a sad scene as the news later broke at Opera Square.
This is not the first and would likely not be the last time someone loses his or her life over such trivialities. Last year a man lost his life fighting a driver’s mate over change. He left behind a very young family whose upkeep fell on their mother, a petty trader.
In the two instances, it was a case of people fighting for what they thought belonged to them. Most of us are fond of this. At times when we just have to let go and lick our wounds, we hold on to fight a little longer because we don’t want to be seen as being “foolish” or giving up easily. No matter how severely the other protagonist in the Opera Square incident may be punished, it would not bring his victim back to life.
As my old mother in the village puts it, we don’t lose a hair on our head when we are insulted or cheated. Hers was the typical “fama Nyame” or “leave it to God” attitude. Much as I have qualms with her stance at times, I believe it’s a general rule that must apply in the face of severe confrontation.
About four years ago, a friend acquired a brand new laptop after months of saving. Just two weeks after acquiring the laptop, he was pounced on by two hoodlums who demanded he hand over the laptop to them. He would not budge -- not when he had toiled his life to acquire it.
A scuffle ensued and one of the robbers slashed his shoulder with a machete, and his priceless possession fell to the ground. He could not but throw himself to the ground in great pain. At this point, the whereabouts of the laptop mattered little to him.
The robbers grabbed the blood-drenched laptop bag and sped-off. My friend spent four months in the hospital with the affected hand amputated. He wondered whether it was worth fighting for his laptop, which he lost anyway. His inability to let go of the priceless possession marred his life forever.
Every time he looks at his scar, he wishes he had just handed the laptop to them without second thoughts. But the harm has already been done. Once there’s life, there’s always hope. It’s a message we have to live by.
It is always difficult to let go, but in most cases we stand vindicated in the long run. Let’s not endanger our lives over things that will have no value tomorrow. Life is more precious than anything; that’s a fact.
Like I said, once you have life, you have everything.
Happy weekend people.
I’m out.
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