Expert: Ernest Tufft - 1/11/2011

Question
Hello, I am 28 years old African American and I have traveled to France, Italy, Switzerland, China, Japan, Mexico, and Germany.  I always travel alone.  I would really now to visit Africa, probably Accra.  Is Accra a safe place for me to travel alone?  I always keep my money in a money belt that I keep under my clohtes.  I do always travel with a camcorder that I use to make video journals of the countries I have traveled to.  Would I be safe with something that expensive looking (only $100) walking around by myself with Accra?  What is your opinion?  Thanks.

Answer
Vincent

The misperception that Americans have about travel abroad is that other countries, poor ones in particular, are generally more dangerous for travelers because of wealth discrepancy.  In reality, the USA and Latin America are quite a bit more dangerous than world average, due to a wealth of guns and a self-sufficient frontier mentality that says "me first".  Many African countries have a strong tribal affiliations and with that a  pride in hospitality, and so much so that theft by anyone can be dealt with quickly by social outcast from the tribe.  A cry for help in the street will often be responded to, the thief apprehended, your belongings returned, and the thief dragged away in handcuffs.  Unfortunately, with the introduction of industrial life, and because of terrific tribal warfare, some corners of Africa have become very dangerous, but Ghana is not one of these places.  West Africa is general is this way, including Burkina Faso and Mali, two of the world's poorest countries.  West Africa is certainly much safer than Mexico.  We soon found our worries about our luggage being vandalized in the hotel room, or even the smallest items being taken, were silly fears compared to anywhere else in the world we have traveled.

When my wife and I visit (both white skinned Americans with dark hair), we took ordinary looking, but rugged daypacks to keep our electronics, passport, travelers checks, cash, etc.  This worked out very well as we often saw our other luggage being handled quite harshly by volunteers anxious to please by strapping the cargo in with the rest on the rooftop or crammed in the storage bins below.  This service to us often came for no reason other that we were in fact very rare and they were happy to see us.  During our public bus travels in West Africa, we were often the only white folks aboard, and we carried in our backpacks as much wealth a the rest of the bus passengers combined.  I believe that African-American's are treated with similar respect overall.

Despite the disparity in wealth, West African's are not dummies, they understand the history of slavery very well as it had a profound effect on the labor supply and tribal economies in this region.  So African-Americans have much to discuss and share with folks all along the way.  Indeed, although West Africa is as rich in musical tradition as any place on the planet, young people from Accra are very familiar with popular African-American music forms, and often know as much about it as you.  There are many aspects of genetics and culture which will make intelligent African-Americans feel very connected.  But, even white Americans can feel more connected with African tribal culture, in many cases, than Europeans and Asias are able to experience.  However, because African-Americans are materially more poor, and overally more culturally and linguistically more similar to their brothers and sisters in the USA, most African-Americans will ultimately come back to the USA having a greater sense of kinship with white, brown, yellow, and red Americans.

As far as the camcorder and camera, I do have a recommendation.  Safety is not a concern, but sometimes in villages the excitement caused by this equipment can be overwhelming.  I traveled with a hand-held portable printer that allowed me to produce a passport sized photo that I could given the tribal person, in exchange for their photo.  Portrait taking African tribal personaiities is among the greater photographic pursuits, in addition to photography of wild animals, and this can be rendered much more cooperative if you come prepared to leave an image, as well as capture one.  The camcorder monitor is a great way to show children and adults what you have captured, allowing them to appreciate your efforts.  If the equipment is durable, allowing them to take their own family image, or to picture you with a family member, would be recommended, but expect them to be clumsy and impulsive.  Getting focused on faces, not the background, or accidentally dropping the equipment are among the greater challenges you'll face in this method of image capture.  I would recommend bringing the most durable compact equipment possible, regardless of price, and prepare for the worst in terms of battery storage.  Getting recharged even at the hotel can often be a challenge.

See my pages of additional writing and photography under my user name atufft at Virtualtourist.com  Please read and rate them as these travels are much more exclusive to a limit audience of world travelers than are my images from Mexico, Europe or Asia.

Good luck!