Through A Glass Darkly

   

  This phrase is used when thinking of how we view heaven. But lately we have been discussing events in the US and how the people in Ghana view them and this phrase comes to mind. 

  I don't think we will ever understand how our country of origin affects the world at large. There are several things that I have been pondering for a long time and I will see if I can explain clearly. 

   Racism in general has been a huge topic in the world the past months. And racism is something we see in a very different light after living as a minority in Ghana. 

   The other day Kelsey got her hair braided and the lady that was doing it asked me about our friend. They had done her hair when she was here visiting. She said, " And you took a picture that time. Do you show it to the people in America? You will laugh at us and call us black monkeys!" 

   I was shocked! This is a lady I have had conversations with before and I didnt expect a comment like that! I assured her we don't call them black monkeys!! They are people just like us so why would we do that? 

   Then she said, "The white people in your country are just shooting the black people! They are suffering plenty!" 

  I said, " Oh, you have been watching the news!" 

  "Yes! A black man was walking away from the police and they just shot him in the back! And another man, they sat on his neck so he couldn't breathe!" Now I wish you could have seen her face and expression. She was very accusing. But now I understood where the first question came from. She was assuming I was like everyone else in America and she wanted to know my opinion on it. She had heard on the news about the suffering of the black people there and since she knew nothing about America but what she heard on the news, she assumed all black people there are suffering. 

   I didn't want to get into an argument but I did want to correct some of her thinking. So I asked her if she knows what the man was doing when the police shot him. No, she didn't. I explained the little of the info I know about that particular situation and then asked her, what would the police here do in that situation. "They would catch him! Not shoot him!"

  I highly doubted that! I have seen the police at work here more times then I care to. The person might not have been shot because most police don't have loaded guns. But if he was caught he definitely would have beaten, possibly to death. Then she said again, "The black people suffer there!"

  So I asked her, "Did you know some black people there are doctors and lawyers. Some black people are doing very well! Even our president was a black man."

  "Ahhh, yes! So there are some that make money!" 

  I went home feeling guilty for being an American! Feeling ashamed for the things that are happening in my country of origin. But then I thought of, Through A Glass Darkly. They see America as it is portrayed on TV. They all kind of want to go there because everyone is rich. One day I told this same woman that there are homeless people in America. She was astonished! She only sees, Through A Glass Darkly. 

  How thankful we should be that when we talk about the beauty of heaven, we are only seeing through a glass darkly. We cant imagine the reality of it.

  Another thing we have experienced here is the racism towards us as white people. There aren't many white people here and especially in the area we live. When we drive along our dirt roads, we are frequently greeted and greeting people. People walking, people sitting on benches, children playing, adults sitting outside their houses. In Fante or English, most often a mixture of the two. 

  After several months we began picking up on a Fante word that teenagers and children often shouted at us. Often it was said with much laughter and at first we thought it must be a greeting but as we learned more of the culture and language, we realized it was an insult. I asked a friend what that word means, she looked troubled and wondered where we here that. I explained and she said, "Yes, they are insulting you. They are calling you a fool."

  After we knew that, we needed to figure out how to respond. We did trial and era but the best way to respond has been in Fante. Either greeting them or saying God bless you. It lets them know you know Fante and that you aren't upset. I still think some day I want to ask someone to translate it for me just to see what they would do or say.

  But the other morning I was reading my Bible and came across this verse. "We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. 1 Corinthians 4:10 " We are fools for Christ's sake!! I got excited! I said Kenny! Here is our verse! We are fools for Christ's sake! I don't like being called a fool. But for Christ's sake? I will be a fool. That makes all the difference. So when they yell fool at me, I can say God bless you! because I know I am a fool for Christ's sake. 

  The other place our white skin gets us negative attention is at police barriers. There are established police checks on the roads here and it is not unusual to get harassed at them. Most people will pay a small bribe, sometimes as they drive into a police check, just to be left alone. The police get used to pocketing money and when they see white skin they see big dollar signs. White people have money. White people usually have plenty of cash on them. 

  I struggle at police checks. I get frustrated at the injustice and the childishness of the officers. But Kenny, thankfully is more level headed and even tempered then his wife! He has had plenty of experience and has made it his policy not to pay a bribe unless he was definitely in the wrong and even then it is questionable. We have learned a few things about dealing with police. The first thing is how you greet them. Second, don't show fear or cower. Third, don't argue and get upset. That is exactly where they want you! Kenny has been told many times by police that he is having too much fun at police checks. Or that he is too relaxed. I always have this little fear that some day his strategy won't work, but so far it has. He remains calm, is so friendly they are uncomfortable, and acts like he has all day to wait for them.

  They always take your license to be sure you stay there, since you have a vehicle and they don't. To return your license, they expect a bribe. The normal time it takes for them to give up on Kenny is half an hour. But he spent two hours waiting already. He hasn't paid a bribe for a long time. If we were definitely in the wrong, he is willing to go to the police station and pay a fine, but they usually don't want to bother with that. They want money for their pockets. 

  One day we were caught without seat belts. (A clear case of we were in the wrong!) The head officer at the check point was very abrupt with us and told us to park to the side and wait. We expected to be escorted to the station since it was a legitimate offence but all he wanted was a bribe. After watching people go through the police check (many of them without seat belts!) Kenny tried talking to different officers. Finally after half an hour, the main officer told the youngest officer something. That officer came over and said, come we are going. He jumped in our truck and was very friendly. "We are going this way." But as soon as we were on the other side of the police barrier he said, "Pull over. They told me to let you go." And he handed Kenny's license back and told us to have a good day. They know the chief at the station most likely wouldn't do anything and if we reported they were trying to take bribes, things could get uncomfortable. 

  We could write a book on police experiences. I told Kenny I think some of them are starting to recognize him. Lately they look at us and wave us on through. They do harass their own people, but white people are definitely targets.

  Is that how black people in America feel? Most likely. But as we have seen over and over, if you comply with them, are respectful but not cowering, they will eventually treat you fairly. I don't pretend to say that would fix the problems in America. I'm saying that's what works here. 

  Moving to Africa has opened our eyes to many things. You get a sense of how big the world is and how insignificant our little corner is. You learn that things aren't as they first seem. You learn that from your living room, no matter how easy cell phones and social media have made connecting with other parts of the world, you still only see it through a glass darkly. 

 You see, things like poverty and starvation in third world countries have deeper rooted problems underneath the surface. Riots and protests in the US are just surface things to what the deeper issues are. Many things in this world, we only see through a glass darkly.

  So what can you and I learn from this? Can we take the same thought of only seeing the world's problems through a glass darkly and apply it to the people around us? Can we realize that the person who cut us off on the highway, the friend who hurt us with a cutting remark, and the little boy who insulted me on my walk today; we only see their lives through a glass darkly. Just as we can't see the beauty of heaven and can only imagine what it must be like, we can't see a person's pain. We only see through a glass darkly.