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Ghana!

Today I sit in a circle of women. Those who have been abused, left, forgotten; those who have seen pain beyond the realm of what we can imagine; those who have faced the decision of selling their children to stay alive. These women sit in silence with their foot on the pedal as they go about their daily rituals yet unphased by the radio news that we listen to. Playing aloud was the memorial service of a military man that had been stoned in the middle of the street for having his handgun on him while trying to purchase fruits in the market. I stand their still and pale at the thought of the image. An innocent military man, who chose to sacrifice his life for his beloved country but yet was only repaid with death. As the mother of the victim spoke, I looked across the women’s faces, they show hurt but not utter shock. Helena, a girl only months older than me, had a soft smile as she looked at me, it was obvious she could see my confusion as to why they weren’t reacting to the news the same way I was. She reassured me that this was not a common thing to overhear on the radio and indeed, it was hard. But she also made it apparent that they have all seen pain, some maybe even worse than this. But stoning an innocent man? Thinking as a naive nineteen year old, I thought that ritual had ended hundreds of years ago. It got the wheels turning in my sheltered brain…key word sheltered. Every girl on this trip has faced pain and hurt at one point or another in their lives. But pain was redefined today. Pain to these ladies is living in a male dominated world where they are left with kids and no job, most often leaving them with the choice of either selling their children to slavery or facing starvation. No, this is not across the nation of Ghana, but I would be lying if I said it was rare, too.

Erin Ratchick

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