Oh Really?

Agbogbloshie
It did not leave my mind once I heard it on BBC Radio, a report about young children
fossicking on the worlds biggest e!dump, Agbogbloshie, nicknamed "#odom and
$omorrah% &hen I heard the description of this place, the word "$ehenna 'cf%
(atthew ) * +,- came to mind% $ehenna, or the .alley of /innom, was the place
where apostate Israel and other nationalities would sacrifice their children to the
Canaanite gods, notably to (oloch 'cf% 0 Chronicles 0123-% It was deemed an accursed
place% 4ater on it became 5erusalems rubbish dump, a place where the fires were
always burning% 5esus uses the place symbolically as a place where both body and
soul would be destroyed in un6uenchable fire '(atthew +,201-%
7he BBC reporter walked the $ehenna of Accra coughing and developing a serious
headache even during the short time he was there% /is guide showed him children as
young as five, dragging magnets behind them to attract metals% One little one was
found crying bitter tears as his magnet had been forcefully taken off him by older
boys, his livelihood 8eopardi9ed% Another one, a twelve!year!old looking about half
his age, was smashing a television screen with a stone% 7he reporter interviewed some
of the children and heard how they spent from dawn till dusk every day to help the
family income% 7hey matter!of!factly mentioned the various physical discomforts 'see
Al8a9eera report below- they endured as being an accepted part of life% 7he reporter
could not stay any longer, overcome as he was after a mere fifteen minutes by the
poisonous fumes that substitute for o:ygen in that place%
Agbogbloshie is the world;s biggest e!
waste dumpsite and is located close to
Accra, $hana% <lectronic waste ! 7.s,
=Cs, /i>i systems, refrigerators ! defines
the landscape of this former wetland and
recreation area% 7raders from <urope, ?#,
China and India label their containers as
@Aevelopment Aid@ or @#econd!/and
=roducts@, and in the end, up to ),,
containers 'per month according to the BBC report B /C- find their way, illegally, to
7ema /arbour, 0, miles east of Agbogbloshie% Customers around the globe e:pect
proper recycling, but illegal dumping has become a lucrative business% In
Agbogbloshie )! to 0)!year!old boys smash stones and simple tools against 7.s and
=Cs to get to the metals, especially copper% 7hey will earn appro:imately D0%), per
day% In8uries like burns, untreated wounds, lung problems, eye damage, and back
problems go hand in hand with chronic nausea, anore:ia, debilitating headaches and
respiratory problems% Almost everyone suffers from insomnia% #moke and invisible
to:ins 'especially cadmium- harm the careless workers because they often don;t know
about the risks and walk around in flimsy footwear like flip!flops% (ost of them die
from cancer while in their 0,s 'http2EEwww%al8a9eera%com-%
7his economic horror story is created by recycling companies outside Africa and with
the criminal cooperation of interested political leaders in $hana% 7he BBC reporting
team tried to talk to political leaders at both national and local level, but they found no
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one willing to be interviewed% 7hey even raided the relevant offices trying to catch
some official or other off guard, but to no avail% All ducked for cover the moment the
news team showed%
$hana is currently the fastest growing economy in the world and one of the biggest in
Africa% It is rich in natural resources such as petroleum, gas, gold, and diamonds% It is
considered one of the most stable developed countries in Africa% In terms of religion,
over G0H of the population is Christian% 7hese many positive factors make the
perceived indifference 'or denial- of the Agbogbloshie situation all the more heinous
and ine:cusable% <specially the strong Christian presence in this nation would make
one think that strong voices would be raised in opposition to such a killing field
e:isting in the nations capital%
7he 4ord $od created man in /is image and set man on earth as /is image bearer
'$enesis +20I!0G-% >rom that perspective every human life is precious and to be
treated as such 'cf% $enesis J2I-% In the Book of =roverbs, chapter I2+G!+J, the 4ord
lists seven things which are an abomination to /im2 7hese si: things doth the 4ORA
hate2 yea, seven are an abomination unto him2 A proud look, a lying tongue, and
hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet
that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that
soweth discord among brethren% 7he perpetrators of Agbogbloshie are guilty of at
least five of those abominations% 7he recycling companies unload their cargo under
false pretences 'they can recycle responsibly in countries such as $ermany and other
&estern nations, but that comes at a financial cost-, they shed the blood of the
innocent 'see Al8a9eera about workers being ignorant of the dangers-, the heart is set
on money!making at the cost of human lives and environmental destruction-, the
lives direction of the perpetrators is toward feathering their own nests at the cost of
the innocent, and they present a false picture regarding the importation of the
poisonous material while keeping silent when media seek to call them to account%
K>or the time is come that 8udgment must begin at the house of $od,L declares the
Apostle =eter '+ =eter M2+Ga-% 7he $hanaian =resbyterian Church 'over half a million
members- is doing a lot of good work in terms of health and education, along with
other churches in the nation, but there appears to be disturbing silence in the church
general regarding the social and environmental abomination which is Agbogbloshie%
If there is any agitation against the e:istence of that $ehenna, this author has been
unable to find evidence despite e:tensive searches% Also, the guide to the BBC
reporter confessed to being a rather lonely activist against this economic wickedness%
In a country where three!6uarter of the population professes to adhere to Biblical
ethics, Agbogbloshie ought to be an anathema% It is to be fought tooth and nail by all
those who worship the /oly Creator of those who bear /is image also on the worlds
largest e!dump and who are dying there daily on account of vicious greed%
Ar% /erm Candman
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