the road to Wa
I’m in Ghana this week for a workshop in Wa, the district capital of the Upper West Region. I wasn’t too excited about the trip from Accra (the capital of Ghana) to Wa when I heard it was a 10-12 hour drive. I figured it took so long because the road was in bad condition, but I was wrong, it’s just a long trip and there is a lot of traffic. The road to Wa is paved. Not with gold. Not with good intentions, just paved. And what a difference that makes.
All kinds of vehicles and travelers use the road. Motorcycles, cars, taxis, 4x4s, Land Cruisers, big trucks, small trucks, semi trucks with trailers. People walk and bike alongside the road. I even saw an adolescent boy trying to rollerblade – he wasn’t getting too far in the gravel but was pretty determined regardless.
All kinds of people move in and about and around all the shops and businesses along the road… people making purchases, moving supplies, carrying firewood and water, socializing, flirting, arguing. Vendors sell fruits, clothing, electronics, car parts, prepared food, plastics, new clothing, used t-shirts. There are tons of stalls selling airtime for mobile phones and entire buildings painted bright red with the white Vodafone logo on the side, not to mention doorways, sides and fronts of buildings, market stalls and taxis similarly painted. Tigo, Glo and MTN also have their noses in the business with signs, billboards, stalls, buildings and such – obviously a lot of competition for mobile phone customers.
collision
The road holds both opportunities and dangers. Some people go very fast and others crawl along, creating accident potential as drivers try to pass them on curves and hills. As in many countries, a good number of crashed vehicles dot the roadside; though unlike past road trips, this time I didn’t see anyone get hit or observe any bodies lying on the road after being hit, a small crowd around them, fresh blood pooling around their head and twisted frame. Every so often on this road to Wa, there are toll booths and customs check points. Speed bumps slow you down as you enter towns. Police officers stop you for no reason wanting bribes. The road is really happening.
Aside from the rich and fertile rolling hills in between the towns as we got further north, the most striking thing to me was the image of the funeral crowds. You see large groups of people on both sides of the road dressed in very fine black West African clothing with accents of red: black for mourning and red if the person who passed away was strong and in their prime; sometimes white if the person was very old. Stunning. My colleague Stephen said that funerals happen on Saturdays and that is partly why the road is so busy on weekends. He also said that politics paved the road, because the current vice president lives in the north and made this road a priority, helping him win the elections.
While driving, we listened to a lot of political talk radio. Obama’s honeymoon is definitely over if those who were talking are any indication. “We thought there would be a change with Obama, but his foreign policy continues along the lines of Bush.” The commentators argued for nationalization and control of Ghana and Ghana’s resources without foreign intervention and without selling off resources to foreigners, a shaking off of old colonialism. They heavily criticized the US’s current strategy of opening military bases in West Africa and the US’s failed and reckless policies in the Middle East. References to Chile, Castro and the CIA reminded me of the kinds of conversations you hear in Latin America. I need to read up more on this, and find out who Kosmos (Cosmos?) is, and what their relationship is with Bush, Exxon Mobile and Ghana’s oil. [Update: here’s some background on that: Ghana blocks Exxon Oil-Field Deal.] I miss being in Central America where I knew the history of all the politicians and movements, and could read beyond fiery words to interpret motives; where I could read my own truth into things.
As we drove along I thought about the road, and all the activity that it enables. Before my flight to Accra, I visited the Museum of Modern Art in New York with my brother who studies biology, and we saw an exhibit about Design through the Ages. Some of the modern pieces showed graphics or moving visualizations of communication networks and systems. One piece tracked and visualized the movement of taxis in New York City. Another showed internet connections across the world. My brother and I talked about our fascination with micro and macro networks and systems… synapses in the human brain, the flow of blood in the body, the New York subways, sewers.
dusk settles on the long drive north
Looking out the window of the car on our seemingly endless drive north, I thought about the similarities between this highway and the internet — road networks and communication networks. All the people traveling down and alongside the road to Wa. The communication among and between them. The small and large businesses that have sprung up and are prospering because the road is there allowing access. The opportunities and dangers, the police and the periodic barriers to speed.
I’m sitting here, 12 hours north of the capital city, uploading this post, with photos even, using 3G wireless internet. Not long ago that wouldn’t have been within my capacity to imagine.
I know there is nothing new in comparing communications infrastructure and networks to a road system. But I am struck today, after the drive to Wa, with the similarities — and the vital need for both. I’m convinced that, just like the roads that provide a basis for connection, communication and commerce; Internet, via undersea cable or mobile or whatever, is essential infrastructure for development.
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