Photos: How hope and despair can work together

drfiify — Mon, 25 May 2015 19:19:00 GMT

How hope and despair can work together.

drfiify — Mon, 25 May 2015 05:29:48 GMT

My exploring eyes gleamed over the landscape of Accra looking for somewhere to exhale. With no compass, I ambled past agglomerations of beautiful and ugly houses and knots of untutored people discussing politics before I became engulfed in a jungle of human beings that had always been somewhere around me and now pressed so close to me I could hardly move. People swarmed in, drifted up to me and drifted away. I wandered out into the entrance of the hectic market, glaring around like a man who came to the wrong party. Then I saw something that made my throat itch with laughter; A fabulously dressed Preacher man wearing an over-sized suit and a glorious neck tie with a knot as big as an apple boisterously chanting the Good-news through all the cacophony, to a crowd of nonchalant shoppers swarming up and down. His over-sized coffin-looking offering bowl strategically standing in the middle of the entrance could never be missed.
The Makola Market is your typical African Market and more. Everything here seems to be telling a story. The systematic flow of fast-moving people, the honking of slow-moving cars,the smiling faces of the tax collectors, the frowned faces of the market women and the hungry faces of the street children all tell a compelling story. A story about survival. A story about how hope and despair can work together.
Occasionally the plot thickens when a policeman arrests a recalcitrant driver or when a thief is caught red-handed. The drama that ensues will leave a bittersweet taste of laughter and pity in your mouth.
Everything you ever thought could be bought or sold can be found here: clothes, shoes, upholstery, stationery, cosmetics, fresh fruits, fish (fresh, smoked and grilled), designer bags and even the Proenza Schouler lace gown Beyonce wore to the 57th Grammy Awards. I got myself a piece of Kente cloth, a bead necklace and a Kumasi sandal with Adinkra symbols beautifully embossed on it.
You will discover true African ingenuity; how a public urinal can be constructed with just a few lifeless planks and rusted nails and how women transform themselves into mobile restaurants carting all sorts of sumptuous dishes and sauces artistically arranged in a large aluminum pan with a small rag carefully folded into a pivot and placed under the pan to make it feel lighter. Anyone who appreciates art will find inspiration in humanity, beauty in the chaos.
Do bring along your sense of humor. All of it. I promise you, you're going to need it.

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Photos: How hope and despair can work together

How hope and despair can work together.