Posts
WORCESTER — There is a Ghanaian sporting villain who still furrows brows and brings forth heavy groans all these years later.
His name is Luis Suárez, and in 2010 his goal-line handball denied Ghana a score in the dying minutes of a World Cup quarterfinals match. Sixteen years later, the memory still sears in Worcester, home to one of the largest Ghanaian communities in the United States.
“Agonizing pain,” said Emmanuel Larbi, the 33-year-old owner of Accra Girls Restaurant, of the moment.
Inside his small takeout spot in a nondescript Grafton Street strip mall on Monday, other Ghanaians had similar tales of World Cup woe, describing mixture of anguish and shock. They all smile about it now on the eve of Ghana’s huge game against England.
Some recalled where they were when it happened: at home watching with relatives, at school, inside their mother’s hairbraiding shop, at a crowded bar in England. For Aminu Ben, a 34-year-old who works in construction, the result ruined his high school graduation.
“I just went home,” he said.
Such is the power of the World Cup. And in the tiny storefront Monday, as a mountain of steaming jollof and a pile of waakye are brought out to a buffet table before the start of the lunch rush, that is the focus.
Ben likes his team’s power and pace, but questions whether its finishing is sharp enough.
Another Ghanaian, George Lamptey, a 33-year-old financial analyst, is among those who think the national team reflects different facets of the country they represent. The resiliency of his countrymen can be seen in its hard-tackling defenders, he said. Others chime in that little things, like the smiles of the players and the dancing celebrations after a goal, reflect the cheery positivity of Ghana. Like several people here, Lamptey spent parts of his youth in both Worcester and Ghana.
“It’s just a moment of joy,” said Lamptey of the World Cup. “It’s a time people can come together and rally around something we can call our own. It’s something to hold onto.”
Certain themes emerge during the discussion in the shop. People agree that back in Ghana, the pace of life is slower than in the deadline-driven rat race that can be American life. People, they say, seem happier in the West African country of 35 million, even though many don’t have much. America, people here agree, is much more individualistic; in Ghana, the family and the community is the focus, they said.
There is talk of the immigrant experience, navigating two different cultures, and learning as a youth to assimilate in ways large and small, from how to dress to how to play American sports. Their parents worked in various industries to pay the bills, from accounting to sanitation to food catering.
Ben’s brother, Abass, 34, said he finds himself isolated at times in the United States, doing different day-to-day tasks alone.
“In Ghana, that almost never happens,” he said.
But there is also appreciation for the US. Everyone has the same explanation as to why their family moved here for better economic opportunities, the classic immigrant tale of chasing the American dream.
The City of Worcester does not track demographic statistics regarding how many of its residents claim Ghanaian ancestry, one City Hall spokesperson said. But at least one research firm estimates there are a little under 5,000 Ghanaians in Worcester, which would make it the fourth largest community of that diaspora in the US.
But some in the eatery think that number is low, pointing it out that it doesn’t account for all those who live outside the city limits in Worcester County. That number, they said, could easily top 30,000. The community is large enough to warrant a consulate on Worcester’s Park Avenue.
In terms of the soccer, the predictions and prognostications here are all over the map. Some say World Cup success for Ghana this time around would simply mean getting out of a group that includes European footballing powers England and Croatia. Others say, no, they have to make the quarterfinals. Yet others say the semifinals.
Ghana defeated Panama, 1-0, in its first group-stage game, a win described by some here as a satisfactory if inelegant victory.
Predictions for Tuesday’s game against England were varied. Some say a one-goal win for their Black Stars; others, like a man who identified himself as Lion King, would be satisfied with a draw against an England team studded with Premier League stars.
“It’s a high mountain to climb, but we are a robust people,” said the 50-year-old engineer after picking up tinfoiled containers filled with fried fish and tsofi, a turkey dish. “We’re here to conquer.”
Others mention that the historical backdrop of Ghana versus its former colonizer, England, has not been lost on Ghanaian social media, where it’s meme fodder. But is the rhetoric of colonial suppression simply jokey banter? Depends who you ask.
“It is but it isn’t,” said a grinning Aminu Ben. “It’s in the back of everyone’s mind.”
Added Lamptey, “It’s a joke until after the game, then we’ll see what happens.”
Danny McDonald can be reached at daniel.mcdonald@globe.com. Follow him @Danny__McDonald.
No comments:
Post a Comment