Today we walked through the Door Of No Return at Cape Coast Castle, where West African slaves were shipped to the United States, the Caribbean and South America. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour includes a museum, male and female slave dungeons below and the Governor's quarters above. Standing in the dungeons where hundreds of thousands of slaves were held for months, tightly packed, with no light, no care, little food, is a very sobering experience. The Door Of No Return is the term for the former passageway from the castle to the slave ships that were moored in the harbor. President Obama and Michelle Obama placed a plaque at the castle at the time of their visit in 2009.
The Ghanaian government is now promoting a "Door of Return" by offering lifetime visas and relaxed citizenship requirements for descendants of formerly enslaved Africans.
While here in Cape Coast, our host teachers have contracted a car and driver for us to use for transport. As many people do not own personal cars here, using tro tros, taxis and hired drivers is very common. Our driver is named Justice, and not only is he a masterful driver in Ghanaian traffic but he entertains us with knowledgable narration.
Cell phone technology has definitely diffused to Ghana. Like the U.S., people are constantly on their mobile phones. Calling across cell phone networks is very expensive, and there are five dominant networks, so many Ghanaians own multiple cell phones, or have phones with ports for multiple sim cards. Phones will ring and people will pull two or three phones out of their pocket to answer one. Ghanaians, as well as many other Africans, can even bank on their cell phones. For countries with large informal economic sectors such as Ghana, this is a great way to increase connectivity and accessibility!
