Filming democracy in Ghana Jarreth Merz
i was born in switzerland and raised in
Ghana West Africa Ghana felt safe to me
as a child I I was free I was happy the
early 70s marked a time of musical and
artistic excellence in Ghana but then by
the end of the decade the country had
fallen back into political instability
and mismanagement in 1979 I witnessed my
first military coup we the children had
gathered at a friend’s house and it was
a dimly lit Shack there was a beaten-up
black-and-white television flickering in
the background and former head of state
in general was being blindfolded and
tied to the pole the firing squad aimed
fired the general was dead now this was
being broadcast live and shortly after
we left the country and we returned to
Switzerland now Europe came as a shock
to me and I think I started feeling the
need to to shed my skin in order to fit
in I wanted to blend in like a chameleon
I think it was the tactics of survival
and it worked or so I believed so here
was in 2008 wondering where was in my
life and I felt that I was being
typecast as an actor I was always
playing the exotic African I was playing
the violent African the African
terrorist and I was thinking how many
terrorists could I possibly play before
turning into one myself
I have become ashamed of the other the
the African in me and fortunately I
decided in 2008 to return to Ghana after
28 years of absence I wanted to document
then film the 2008 presidential
elections and there I started by
searching for the for the footprints in
my childhood and before I even knew it I
was suddenly on a stage surrounded by
thousands of cheering people during a
political rally and I’d realized that
when I left the country free and fair
elections in a democratic environment
where it we’re dream and now that I
returned that dream had become reality
though a fragile reality and I was
thinking was Ghana searching for its
identity like I was looking for my
identity was what was happening in Ghana
a metaphor for what was happening in me
and it was as if through the standards
of my my Western life I hadn’t lived up
to my full potential I mean nor had
Ghana even though we had been trying
very hard now in 1957 Ghana was the
first sub-saharan country to gain its
independence in the late 50s Ghana and
Singapore had the same GDP I mean today
Singapore is a first world country and
Ghana is not but maybe it was time to
prove to myself yes it’s important to
understand the past it is important to
look at it in a different light but
maybe we should look at the strength in
our own culture and build on those
foundations in the present so here I was
December 7th 2008 the polling stations
opened to thee to the voters at 7am but
voters eager to take their own political
fate into their hands were starting to
line up at 4am in the morning and they
are traveled from near they had traveled
from far because they wanted to make
their voices heard and I asked one of
the voters I said whom are you going to
vote for and he said I’m sorry I can’t
tell you he said that his vote was in
his heart and I understood this was
their election and they weren’t going to
let anyone take it away from them now
the first round of the voting didn’t
bring forth a clear winner so nobody had
achieved the absolute majority so voting
went into a second round three weeks
later the candidates were back on the
road they were campaigning the rhetoric
of the candidates of course changed the
heat was on and then the cliche came to
haunt us there was claims of
intimidation at the polling stations of
ballot boxes being stolen inflated
results started coming in and the mob
was starting to get out of control we
witnessed the eruption of violence in
the streets people were being beaten
brutally the army started firing the
guns people were scrambling it was
complete chaos and my heart sank because
I thought here we are again here is
another proof that the African is not
capable of governing himself and not
only that I am documenting it
documenting my own cultural shortcomings
so when the echo of the gunshots had
lingered it was soon drowned by the
chanting of the mob and I didn’t believe
what I was hearing they were chanting we
want peace we want peace and I realized
it had to come from the people after all
they decide and they did so the sounds
that were before distorted and loud were
suddenly a melody the sounds of the
voices were harmonious so it could
happen a democracy could be upheld
peacefully it could be by the will of
the masses who were now urgently
pressing with all their hearts and all
their will for peace now here’s an
interesting comparison
we in the West we preach the values the
golden light of democracy that we are
the shining example of how it’s done but
when it comes down to it Ghana found
itself in the same place in which the
u.s. election stalled in the two
thousand presidential elections Bush
versus Gore but instead of the
unwillingness of the candidates to allow
the system to proceed and the people to
decide Ghana honored democracy and its
people it didn’t leave it up to the
Supreme Court to decide the people did
now the second round of voting did not
bring forth a clear winner either I mean
it was so incredibly close the electoral
commissioner declared with the consent
of the parties to run an unprecedented
second rerun so the people went back to
the polls to determine their own
president not the legal system and guess
what it worked the defeated candidate
gave up our and made way for Ghana to
move into new democratic cycle I mean at
the absolute time for the absolute need
of democracy they did not abuse their
power the belief in true democracy and
in the people runs deep proving that the
African is capable of governing himself
now the uphill battle for Ghana and for
Africa is not over but I have proof that
the other side of democracy exists and
that we must not take it for granted now
I have learned that my place not just in
the West or in Africa and I’m still
searching for my identity but I saw
Ghana create democracy better ghana
taught me to look at people differently
and to look at myself differently
and yes we Africans can thank you