Expunged The Word Galamsey In Horner Of The Eight (8) Fallen Heroes

In the heart of our nation is a monster, that which threatens our very own existence, our water, children and future, that fiend is galamsey. Let’s set the records straight once and for all. The issue of galamsey is not just an environmental problem, it is a human crisis.

May 2017, in the Central Region Denkyira-Obuosi precisely, we lost Major Maxwell Adam Mahama, a gallant soldier brutally murdered. Respectfully, whereas I do not intend to remind his family of their pain, his death sent shockwaves across the country, a painful reminder of what it costs to stand up against this deadly trade. (following that unfortunate incident, the traditional council of Denkyira-Obuosi renamed the town NEW OBUOSI in August).

Many young men have perished in the illegal mining pits-buried alive, forgotten, lured by the promise of gold, but swallowed by the very earth they dug, for every pit dug, a dream is buried, for every ounce of gold taken, a soul is lost and it doesn't stop there.

Babies have died in the womb, never granted the gift of life, they were destroyed by the acid base chemicals such as the cyanide and mercury passed unknowingly from poisoned food and water into the bodies of their parents. Women across illegal mining areas are becoming barren, not by nature, but by toxins unleashed in the name of gold.

Those lucky enough to give birth often bring children into the world with serious deformities, limbs missing, organs undeveloped, some without genitals and others with lifelong diseases, what future do we give to such children? What hope do they inherit from us?

Most rivers, once teeming with life, are now full of death, fish have become poisonous, unfit for human consumption, the water we drink, cook and bathe with, is slowly killing us, the entire ecosystems are being erased, and as for the land and vegetation their destruction is too vast to quantify, forests flattened, farmlands polluted, food systems collapsing. Yet, we do all this in the name of gold?

So l asks, what will we buy with the money from galamsey when our soils are poisoned and can grow no food? When our women can no longer bear children? When our youth are crippled, or dead, and our rivers have turned to sludge? What happens when all that's left is dust and regret? And do not forget, America, Europe and etc. are enacting laws that continue to prevent us from seeking greener pastures abroad.?

Yes, lest I forget my main point. We must never forget these Eight Gallant Men who died in the recent helicopter crash-martyrs in the war against this galamsey.

Galamsey has taken too much from us, it has robbed us of our leaders, our children, our health, our food, and our future. It is threatening our very existence, I am making a heartfelt appeal to the President of Ghana-The Three Arms of Government and the Council of state to consider expunging the word galamsey once and for all, let the term galamsey be erased from our land completely.

It carries nothing but pain, it is a word of death, destruction, it is a monster we cannot continue to feed. Do not let the deaths of Major Mahama and the eight fallen heroes and all the unnamed victims be in vain. Let their sacrifice be the final chapter in the tragic story of galamsey forever.

As the Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine said “… the best we can do for our fallen heroes is to solve the galamsey problem”. Mr. President I humbly appeal to you to take a stand, resist and restore our land for the sake of your people our children and the unborn generation, simply expunging the word galamsey might not eradicate the problem but it would send a powerful message and offer some comfort to families of victims, reassure Ghanaians and help safeguard your legacy.