SPIRIT OF EGYA ATTA ALIVE IN AMSTERDAM - HOLLAND

As Ghanaians in the Netherlands gather to mourn the death of their late President John Evans Atta-Mills, community leaders representing them are in disarray as to who organizes the funeral on the said date (10th August 2012 ). Some community leaders representing a fraction of the Ghanaians in the south-east part of Amsterdam where a majority of Ghanaians reside, have taken to the air-waves announcing funeral arrangements for the late President, and soliciting funds for the occasion to the dismay of others that think this should not be happening at a time like this where Ghanaians look up the Ghana Embassy in The Netherlands to pioneer such an event. (meaning no monies should be collected from people who themselves are struggling to make ends meet).

The Ghanaian community in the Netherlands, have immensely contributed to the progressive development in Ghana as a whole, and with the rich relationship between the Netherlands and the Republic of Ghana, developmental projects from the Netherlands into Ghana have been well seeded. However, underneath all the fanfare and glitter lies a very dangerous and sinister evil which has plagued the community, and has therefore led to notion of a “ united front “ becoming the illusion most sort after by the youth of today.

Historically, Ghanaians in the Netherlands have pioneered quite a number of initiatives (ie. Kente Festival, Dancing with the Kings, Face of Ghana, etc ) to enhance their lives in both the Netherlands and in Ghana and which have been copied by other Ghanaians in other parts of Europe and the diaspora at large. The concentration of Ghanaians in the Amsterdam South East led to the formation of various groups and associations that represented the ethnic groupings within the Ghanaian community (ie. Fanteman Association, Oguaa Foundation, Kwahu Union, Asanteman foundation etc etc ) , which were at a time supported by the Dutch government who gave these organization financial subsidies to enable them execute their projects locally, until such time that the Dutch Government bought into the idea of how relevant it would be to have all these various organizations and associations under one umbrella, thereby giving birth to an association called RECOGIN – Representative Council of Ghanaian Organizations in the Netherlands ( http://www.recogin.org/ or http://www.recogin.com/ ) in 1993.

Recogin in effect, was to oversee all the numerous Ghanaian organizations and associations in the Netherlands. Today 2012, the relevance of this organization to Ghanaians living in the Netherlands has been reduced to tit bits , with many young people in the community not truly understanding its relevance to the community, not to mention there are other organizations that are rivaling RECOGIN for lack of vision/purpose that could have gone in to solidify its core essence to the community. Break-away organization supposed to be under RECOGIN have gone ahead to create other bodies aimed at mimicking or re-inventing the same wheel which was meant to power Recogin to address the concerns /issues/challenges facing the Ghanaian immigrants of the Netherlands.

Momentarily, organizations such as the AKASANOMA (formerly Sikaman) , Recogin, Cogha etc etc etc not to mention the hundreds of Churches around the Amsterdam South East part of the city, unfortunately do not hold nor have a united front to steer the Funeral of our late President. Sampling opinions of both old and young Ghanaians in the Amsterdam area, has shown that the lack of direction from the Ghana Embassy is what has led to this division, as well as lack of vision by so-called community leaders who seek self gratification at all times is why Ghanaians in Holland find themselves in this quagmire. The death of our Late President John Evans Atta-Mills, should be a wake up call to all Ghanaians home and abroad, to reflect on the importance of PEACE and UNITY to a people polarized by envy, selfishness, illiteracy and without any nationalistic commitment nor focus.

As at Press time today, the Ghana Embassy in the Netherlands, can confirm that it would be holding a funeral session in Den Haag on Friday 10th August 2012, for all those that wish to come mourn with them the death of the late President John Evans Atta-Mills. Ghanaians should patronize this, by attending the funeral in Den Haag in their numbers and those that are unable to attend can also flock to the Egoli Building in Amsterdam South East where the Ghanaian umbrella organization Recogin intends to hold a funeral session as well.

The spirit of unity should begin to open doors in the hearts and minds of Ghanaians, especially in the Netherlands to light up the beacon of hope, life, and togetherness as shown by members of the two political giants ( NDC & NPP) last weekend, to commemorate the life of late President Atta-Mills who stood for peaceful co-existence and tolerance. Ghanaians in the diaspora must all be concerned about their utterances when it comes to issues pertaining to our national interest. Ghana deserves to be respected first as a sovereign NATION so as to enable us respect each other and the differences that make us all unique in our own right as Ghanaians. We owe it to our late President to ensure that his funeral does not deepen the wounds but rather bridge the gap.

Rest in Peace Egya Atta, Ghana misses you, infact the World misses you.

FACE2FACE GHANA

Email: [email protected]
Concerned Ghanaian Youth group in the Netherlands.