Black Americans returning to Africa

[XXPANTHAXX]

Black Americans returning to Africa

14:03 AEDT Tue Jan 11 2005

AP - As a young African-American wondering how to connect
with his heritage, Marcus Manns may have been alone in
thinking that his ancestral homeland had a great need for a
decent chiropractor.

"Before I left, I promised my mother these people needed me
here," said Manns, a 30-year-old from Bassett, Virginia, who
believes his move to West Africa fulfilled a "chiropractic
mission."

Manns is among a growing number of black Americans trading
potentially lucrative careers and relative comfort back home
for a new life in Africa, where the former slave-trading hub
of Ghana is wooing Americans with some of the easiest
immigration rules on the continent.

Fresh out of college, Manns landed in Ghana's sweltering,
exhaust-choked capital, Accra, four years ago with only
$US1,200 ($A1,600) in his wallet, no contacts, and no ticket
home.

"For me, coming to Africa completed a circle," said
Manns. "Being here gives me a sense of purpose. It makes my
life more meaningful."

Centuries ago, the Gold Coast - Ghana's name under British
rule - was a major slave-embarkation point, where thousands
of West Africans left yearly to become human chattel in the
New World.

Untold numbers of Africans died in slave raids or making
the "middle passage" in cramped, pestilential ships. Some
parts of Africa were left virtually unpeopled.

Ghana attracted many black Americans after, in 1957, it
became one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to
gain independence from colonial rule.

Its first president, Kwame Nkrumah, a graduate of Lincoln
University in Chester County, Pennsylvania, was a leading
voice for repatriation, enlisting Americans like the authors
W.E.B. DuBois and Maya Angelou to help spread the movement.

Post-independence euphoria was quickly shattered, however, as
Ghana fell into decades of military rule before embracing
constitutional democracy in 1992.

These days, the country's expanding economy, stable
government and laid-back, English-speaking population makes
it an easy holiday choice for tourists, who flock to the
chain of slave forts that still line Ghana's coastline.

For some, Ghana offers incentives to stay: It is the only
African country to offer black Americans "right of abode,"
allowing those who qualify to work and own property, said
Janet Butler, president of the African American Association,
a support group for expatriates. Applicants must first live
in Ghana seven years before fully qualifying.

The administration of President John Kufuor - who won a
second term in Dec. 7 elections - wants to attract African-
American businesses, particularly those in the
communications, technology and entertainment industries, said
presidential spokesman Kwabena Agyepong.

"The connection between Ghana and African-Americans is
obviously significant," said Agyepong. "We want them to feel
at home here, and we're making laws that will ensure that."

Up to 1,000 black Americans are living in Ghana, said Butler.

[IfasehunReincarnated]

nice article. i didnt know about the legal rights afforded repatriates.

[Jacuma]

Rita Marley shares her birthday cake with the villagers of Konkonuru at her Ghanaian home.

Did you know that Marleys have moved to Ghana? That's right, the entire clan of three dozen plus have packed up and gone to Africa, their new home
The signs have been there since last year that matriarch of the family, Rita Marley, widow of the late reggae megastar Bob Marley, was considering setting down roots in the West African country. But, who would have guessed that eventually the whole family, including 37 grandchildren, would have moved with her to a huge house overlooking Accra, now her permanent home?
Mrs. Marley is currently back in Jamaica for two weeks, during which she is making preparations for the release of her new album Sunshine After Rain. The album was named after a track she co-wrote with English musician Dennis Charles and his wife in London.
The most interesting revelation from our conversations, however, turned out to be the fact that she has moved to Ghana accompanied by the whole family and their house staff, including her cooks and two of their sons whom she has adopted, to a sprawling house on the hills overlooking Ghana.
In Ghana Mrs. Marley is known as Nana Afua Addobea*
"That's home now. As a Rastafarian, I had been looking for a base in Africa and Ghana is the most peaceful place there. There is lots of development going on and it's so peaceful," she explained.
"It's got to be heaven. Ziggy is in the mountains writing right now and Steve is on the road, Cedella is running her clothing line in Miami. We live in a big family house and the whole family is there, including 37 grandchildren," she said.
Since moving there, she said she has established a day care centre and school for children and has actually adopted at least 30 children. She is running her Rita Marley Foundation from Accra. The Foundation is a non-governmental organisation financed with money from the Bob Marley Trust as well as private donations which works toward the alleviation of poverty among the people of the developing countries.
The Foundation has already been involved in building a main road to Konkonuru; supporting the village of Fete Kekabre, on the road to the Cape Coast, with food, medicine and clothing; bringing water to Konkonuru and remodelling the basic school and distributing articles including books, soaps and toothbrushes to a number of villages.
"I see myself still as a Jamaican, but Africa is our roots and I was always looking forward to this transition," she said.
Ghana really seems to be the main attraction for people of African descent moving back from the west these days. Singer/actor Isaac Hayes now lives in a nearby village, where he has been working on the development of information technology and Jamaican music producer, Stewart Brown, who has repatriated there with his famous sound system, African Star, now lives in an Accra suburb.
"Nigeria is more like New York, but Ghana is a lot more like what we expect Africa to be," Mrs. Marley pointed out.
She says that she had no problem adapting to the culture and customs of Ghana and has been eating mostly Fufu, breadfruit, ackee and plantains.
She admits that she is still having problems digesting Fufu, which tastes like cassava. The Ghanaians, she says, don't eat ackee and were surprised to see Jamaicans taking a liking to it. And they don't roast breadfruit, but drink it as a juice.
In fact, she says, her family has now found that a boiled "turn" breadfruit, or a ripe blended oned, mixed with a Guinness and condensed milk is considered a powerful aphrodisiac.
The Marleys are so settled in Ghana that they are building a new studio there, which means they won't have to fly back to Jamaica to do recordings. She said that the studio will not be restricted to the family, but will be open to commercial users.
"They are very musical there and they love reggae. In fact they have a radio station, Vibes FM, which is just like Irie FM: They play good reggae music all the time," she said.
Mrs. Marley said she has been laying down the basis for her autobiography, No Woman No Cry, which is certain to create a stir in the book business when it is to be published.

[rebelAfrika]

There is also an excellent documentry on the subject of Africans from amerikkka repatriating back home. It is called "Through the Door of No Return" and you can purchase it (as well as "Sankofa") at Haile Gerima's website (in the section called "Sankofa Store") http://www.sankofa.com/