Gold - Gather and Sell
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Galamsey is a Ghanaian term for illegal gold mining. This practice, led mostly by Chinese nationals and local power lords, has polluted the rivers and turned farmland into excavation sites. An environmental catastrophe threatening to destroy the country - yet largely ignored by the rest of the world.
The Gonja man said to me
“It’s raining while the sun shines”
My guest appeared bemused
I had heard it before
We both surveyed the wasted landscape
The rivers filled with green slime
The potholes like staircases
The workers covered in clay
Golden like the gem they seek
To our left they hummed a tune
“Galamsey! Galamsey! …”
I whispered to my companion
There’s got to be a better song than that
Then we walked away
Copyright © M Braimah Saaka | Year Posted 2017
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