President Obama just visited the African nation of Ghana, one of the most stable countries in Sub-Sarahan Africa. He toured Cape Coast Castle with his family and spoke movingly about his reactions to seeing this embarkation point for the slave trade.
For hundreds of years Ghana was a center of the slave trade in Africa. Men, women and children captured in the interior were brought to the coast and held in places like Cape Coast castle, built in 1653. English, Dutch and Portuguese in turn administered this trade in human beings.
I visited Ghana in 1990 and am very pleased to see that the election of John Atta-Mills in January of this year, while tense and disputed, was finally accepted by his opponent, the eight year President John Kufuor. When I visited, the President was Jerry Rawlings, who had taken power in a coup in 1979. He served two terms as President before stepping aside in 2000.
I wrote about my travels in an article you can read here.
My hope is that the disturbing reign of so many dictatorial, thieving strongmen in other African nations is finally coming to an end. The strong, stoic people of these countries deserve leadership that's commited to advancing the economies and well-being of all people.
For hundreds of years Ghana was a center of the slave trade in Africa. Men, women and children captured in the interior were brought to the coast and held in places like Cape Coast castle, built in 1653. English, Dutch and Portuguese in turn administered this trade in human beings.
I visited Ghana in 1990 and am very pleased to see that the election of John Atta-Mills in January of this year, while tense and disputed, was finally accepted by his opponent, the eight year President John Kufuor. When I visited, the President was Jerry Rawlings, who had taken power in a coup in 1979. He served two terms as President before stepping aside in 2000.
I wrote about my travels in an article you can read here.
My hope is that the disturbing reign of so many dictatorial, thieving strongmen in other African nations is finally coming to an end. The strong, stoic people of these countries deserve leadership that's commited to advancing the economies and well-being of all people.
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