marking/marching ghana’s independence day

on 6 march, my camera and i attended ghana’s 55th independence day celebration in the heart of tamale.

"long live ghana"

in the days leading towards the event, i saw children from tamale to chereponi marching in their school yards. it was amazing to travel along the yendi road and see urban and rural rehearsals for the independence day parades that took place all over the country.

"aim high, strive and persevere"

every year, ghanaians march to mark independence day as a way of paying tribute to members of the ghanaian ex-servicemen’s union who were shot when marching to present a petition to the british governor in 1948.

should these marches continue?

i initially thought this was a beautiful way of embodying the action of the ghana’s ancestors, those who sacrificed their lives for freedom. i later heard that a child in ho died during a parade rehearsal. actionaid has called for an end to these marches, “suggesting that the independence day should be a platform where the children are taught how they can contribute to making their country greater instead of dying needlessly in the name of independence day march.”

capturing independence day in tamale

when i attended the parade in tamale, my eyes (and lens) gravitated towards the students present.

the future of ghana

a young girl carefully adjusts her ghanaian flag

this lovely smile jumped in front of my camera

more beautiful smiles

while i only witnessed one incident, 13 people collapsed during the celebration

marching - it's not easy-o!

a look of serious concentration

this lovely boy was more easily distracted

way too cool for school

special socks

handkerchiefs pinned neatly to uniforms

"great woman, great nation"

at the end of the day, the most memorable moment was when a young girl quoted kwame nkrumah’s powerful words in a poem: “our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of africa.”

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