American repatriates to Africa (Ghana)

[odbo]

This was the clip I mentioned a while ago of a woman that really impressed me. She's a rare breed in that she's an American woman that actually cares more about her kids and their souls than about conforming to social norms and believing baseless fear mongering about other nations. She's got more balls (and brains) than a lot of grown men who won't even travel to Mexico or Eastern Europe because they're afraid of physical harm or worry about earning less money.

[zboy1]

I certainly agree with and sympathize with many of the women's attitude towards the United States and American culture: I feel the same way as an Asian American. She says she feels much more freerer in Africa and hates the oppression she receives as a Black person in the States; she says she hates being harassed by cops and hates the violent American culture; and she does not like the cultural garbage produced in the U.S. and the effect it has on her children.

The children look very happy to be there as well. I don't know why more Blacks in general--don't think about relocating to Africa or one of the Caribbean countries--where they would feel much more at ease and at peace than in a Western country. Asian Americans have been repatriating to Asian nations for a while now, and I don't see why blacks can't do the same thing...

[emh]

Ghana is definitely a place I'd like to check out some day. I had a friend who did a study abroad program there and loved it. And several years ago I took a week long class on public speaking and there were two women from Ghana in the class. The worked for the government and had been sent to the US to take various training courses. On the last day of class, everyone had to give a speech. These two women came dressed in their traditional clothes and talked about their country. Their love of Ghana was just incredible and wasn't based on any of that fake "We're #1" that you get in the US. They knew their country had problems but they loved in nonetheless.

[ladislav]

I certainly agree with and sympathize with many of the women's attitude towards the United States and American culture: I feel the same way as an Asian American. She says she feels much more freerer in Africa and hates the oppression she receives as a Black person in the States; she says she hates being harassed by cops and hates the violent American culture; and she does not like the cultural garbage produced in the U.S. and the effect it has on her children.

The children look very happy to be there as well. I don't know why more Blacks in general--don't think about relocating to Africa or one of the Caribbean countries--where they would feel much more at ease and at peace than in a Western country. Asian Americans have been repatriating to Asian nations for a while now, and I don't see why blacks can't do the same thing...

Well, Asian Americans often qualify for dual citizenship because they are more or less recent immigrants. It is not easy for a black all American person to get long term visas to live in Africa. I am surprised Ghana allows that. It takes money to repatriate, too so only middle class blacks could afford it and most like their dollars back home. Plus Africa gets so much slander in the US society - people there allegedly live in trees and in mud houses and eat grass and leaves.



So, they would prefer not to go here but rather fight for their rights in America plus many are happy being in the martyr role.

[Falcon]

Sadly, these African-American repatriates still have that stuck-up American attitude, so the locals consider them to be "whites." (in part 2)

[ladislav]

An African has told me that a white man has more chance of being accepted into the African society than many black Americans who tend to look down on the locals and act uppity. Hopefully, not all of them act like that. Of course, not all white people act modest either.
Anyway, the unanswered question remains- visas! Does Ghana have a law of return similar to Germany and Israel? And also do these people need to prove that their ancestors were Ghanaian?

[Jdub]

Many African Americans love Africa, love visiting Africa and enjoy the women there. I know because I am one. Not every African American who has gone there has had these bad experiences as shown on these videos. Many of these blacks are a segment of society who feels they r better. They probably did that right there in the states so naturally they will take that with them. I think that if u are to assess a situation, u should definitely look deeper. For every one who has a problem with Africa, I can show u about 5 who love Africa. African Americans were lied to about their ancestrial home, but many r beginning to see thru the propaganda.

I married a beautiful loyal, respectful African woman right there in Ghana. And her family adores me & supports our union. Just my 10cents.

[odbo]

Well there's that aspect of it, a user on here returned to his "ancestral home", (a village in Ukraine) and apparently he's never been happier. But if your ancestral home is England or Zimbabwe maybe it won't be so sweet at this point in time.

There is a more practical aspect that this video brings up. There are millions of miserable people in America. They are hard-working but are not nor will they ever be rich. They are being exploited by the big business machine and are getting nothing from "The American Dream". Some are middle class and have homes (mortgages), but what is the point when they don't any free time (even on weekends) to enjoy anything and their children end up getting raised by the television and the idiot peers at school and after-school daycares.

The average person is not intellectual and they don't don't want to be engineers, academics or political activists. They just want to be happy and be able to have a family in a sane environment. It makes no sense to 'stay and fight' if they can dramatically improve the quality of their lives by getting on a plane. They want a good life and that's simply not possible in America with its workaholic lifestyle and debased culture. The USA might be a "super-power" but that doesn't mean its citizens have better lives (richer experiences) than those in more humble nations. In fact Americans have some of the most depressing lives even if there are always going to be places with economic problems/over-population where people have it tougher. More than a few blue-collar guys here traded their rat-race existence with no prospects for the life of a king in the Phillippines.

Countries which aren't overly-developed present an opportunity for the average man born into the freakshow that is America to trade his meagre savings for a real life. In a setting that allows his kids be themselves instead of crushing their souls with merciless media propaganda until they are emulating some Hollywood archetype. It's obviously easier to integrate if you look like the people there but would be a big step for anyone. You have to ask yourself what you really want out of life. With the way the world currently works it seems like the less developed a place is the happier people are. So you have places like the Phillippines or Latin America as a half-measure, but at the extreme end is Africa. Which is why you have to be impressed with the woman shown considering she's coming from Atlanta. The best things in life are free and she is wealthy in a way most Americans will never know.

[FormerWallStreeter]

JDub and Odbo have hit the nail on the head. Spot on.

FWS

[Jester]

Bumping Odbo's outstanding OP (above):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlvt8OwgB0

[Jester]

Kind of inspired by Rock's speculation about investing in Ghana, plus NaughtyNomad's adventures in Africa, plus Hobo Traveler's leisurely ambling around West Africa, I ran across this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o26Eks801oc

[Jester]

Another good Ghana thread, wherein Peter Andrew Nolan recommends Ghana.

viewtopic.php?t=14422
[youtube]viewtopic.php?t=14422[/youtube]