Jamestown

Jamestown is a fishing port in Accra, home to a big population of indigenous people. It is one of the poorest areas in the city, with most people living in shacks or in rundown buildings. Surprisingly, the people were not very welcoming at first. Since my arrival to Accra, people have been eager to talk to talk to me, providing interviews and never refusing to have their picture taken. In Jamestown, the reaction was different… A woman accepted to have her picture taken if I paid her $100 dollars; a man walking by told me “the chief” wanted to see me because I had been snapping photos. I refused to see “the chief” and so the man ordered me to “delete every picture in the camara from Jamestown.” “Obrunni Obrunni” (white person) was shouted to my face numerous times with eyes that told me that I was not welcomed. But then, I walked a little further, away from the main market, and stripped off my terrified face and pretended to be cool with the evil stares that demanded me to get out and the welcoming vibe of Accra reappeared. Men and women missing teeth smiled for the pictures; children with scars that made it clear they were infected by HIV ran for the camera; a group of sisters sitting by their mothers bar asked if they could model, the answer was obviously yes. At the end of the day they were all saying “Bye Obrunni, come back!” I´ll settle with that.