Elmina

26 JANUARY 2023

I was woken at 5:00 by loud talking coming through a speaker mounted at a road junction near the guest house. It turned out this was a daily occurrence and was the way community news was shared around the town.

It was a relentless din - I was told it continues until 22:00 at night and you do get used to it!

I didn’t stay to find out. After getting some delicious breakfast I packed up and took a shared taxi to Elmina. Here I met Sonia and Byron and stayed in their place close to the beach and the Accra road.

Sonia’s home is full of information about Jamaican history and I was reminded of my time teaching in Tottenham. There were photos of some known freedom fighters, heros, singers and dancers. A real blast from the past and a gem of a place for stories. Almond Tree Guest House was also beautifully quiet. C350,000 per night.

From here I visited St George’s Castle, originally a Portugese fort which was then taken over by the Dutch and eventually handed over to the British. Again, we were toured round and shown dungeons and the gate of no return. As in each castle and fort I’ve visited so far, the dungeons sit under the churches attended by the governors and soldiers! Each guide finishes their talk by showing the pledge - ie. a commitment to each on of us to ensure this enslavement doesn’t happen again.

Close by on Java Hill sits a fort built to add additional protection to the occupants of the castle. There is a fantastic view from the top, right over the town and the fishing harbour.

I went on to visit the informative Elimina Java museum and learnt about the extraordinary community of Ghanaians who volunteered to join the colonial army fighting in Indonesia for the Dutch. The museum captures their story and how the soldiers often married Javanese women. Some settled in Indonesia. Some returned to Elmina and others took Dutch citizenship and settled in NL.