I don’t know about you but sometimes when the world blames a person or a people for something bad, I kind of feel that my country people will behave differently. I figured that even if the general public disappoints, those in my circles will surely bail me out.
Boy was I wrong!
Last Saturday whilst surfing twitter for juicy content to contribute towards, I stumbled upon a tweet about a Lebanese supervisor in the Ghanaian restaurant Marwarko, dipping the head of a female staff in a bowl of blended peppers.
I was horrified and quickly looked into the details of the tweet to verify the authenticity of the story. The tweet was true and quickly spiraled into a trending topic with the hashtag #BoycottMarwako.
I was unhappy about the whole incident but more disappointed with the direction being taken on social media by some Ghanaians. It was here that I realized the Trump qualities of banning or getting rid of specific people resided not only in America but in Ghana as well.
I hate feeling that my colour, race or nationality brands me as a certain kind of person, usually with a negative context to others of a different background. So when my country men behave the same, I get disappointed because I thought they should know better.
After all that we went through to gain our independence and the discrimination we sometimes face when we go abroad, I expect us to be more understanding in an effort to spark a change in this stereotype nonsense of which I believe Trump brought to prominence, that the world is all of a sudden gung-ho about.
I got rid of that Trump gene a long time ago and I guess people are still holding on to theirs.
This is social media anyway so I guess people are just being expressive but this unfortunate incident has seen the rise of a petition that wants the culprit not only prosecuted, but deported with the restaurant also closed down. (What a Trump move)
In my personal opinion the closing down of the establishment is uncalled for especially when there is no evidence suggesting the business is also involved in such abuse.
All of a sudden, this poor action on the part of one man has managed to support the stereotype that Lebanese business owners abuse their staff and thus should have their business closed down.
Though there may be some truth to this stereotype, the incident is not about Lebanese bosses and their Ghanaian staff. It is about a superiors poor conduct with a staff member which as a Twitter user put is something that is akin to not only Lebanese superiors and their subordinates but everyone in the world.
In fact many Ghanaians have heard stories of Ghanaian women from all walks of life treating house helps or maids in similar or worse conditions. In these cases, the matter was either forgotten and never resulted in a petition. That however does not justify their actions but rather puts them in the same boat as this Lebanese culprit.
So clearly there is some kind of double standard here. Do we only get enraged when such abuse ensues between people of different race or nationality? What does that say about our integrity as humans? If you ask me it just makes us Ghanaians sound just like Donald Trump and it’s sad to see that many people all over the world are towing that line.
I was all for the petition but I can’t agree with the terms put up. Why must a business be brought down because of the poor actions of one man who clearly went against the companies policies as reflected in the statement by the restaurant towards the incident.
Let’s keep it One HONDRED! Let’s ensure this lady gets justice. Let’s not in the process sound as if we are opposed to foreigners. We all know how Ghanaians can’t get enough of them. Let the morality and ethics yardstick however be the same for them. No preferential treatment whatsoever. We are all one people.
You can check out the contents of the petition here
PETITION CONTENT
Official site for Poet Rapper Hondred Percent
This is my first comment on your blogs and i must say i agree with you most of the time. But on this issue i disagree with you on many fronts. I dont find much wrong with the #BoycottMawarko movement. I dont think there is a #BoycottLebanesestuff movement. The social media rant is targeted at Mawarko and quite rightly so. Mawarko as an institution should have structures in place to protect their employees especially Ghanaians considering that we have built a nation that the owners of Mawarko are harvesting economic gains from.
I have grown up hearing so many stories of foreign employers trampling over the dignity of their ghanaian employees. Think about it; can any Ghanaian go to Lebanon and do what the Lebanese supervisor did? Never! you will probably be sentenced to death. The argument about Ghanaian women treating maids in a way akin to what was done by the guy does not hold. I grew up with 3 other male siblings. We would fight each other at home. I would literally beat my younger brother up at home. But outside of the home you touch my brother and i will kill you… The fact that some ghanaians treat others in a certain way doesnt give any foreigner the right to do same… If same thing happened in any other institution be it local or foreign i will be in support of the hashtag to boycott them… Unfortunately we cant #boycott “Auntie Araba” who treats her maid that way.
Thank you for your comment. Let me ask this question are we going to boycott any business whose staff abuse others?
Also just because Ghanaians don’t go to Lebanon and do what the supervisor did does not justify Marwako being boycotted.
I supported the #boycottMarwako movement mainly because I had not seen or heard a statement from Marwako. Once I heard one from them acknowledging the wrong of the supervisor and saying that that’s not how they do business, I saw no need to co tinie the boycott.
Marwako is not the one who abused the lady. So why should Marwako suffer because one person made a bad move. The same treatment should be given to all people regardless of race, nationality or color.
Your argument about your brother and beating is not one I would use in this case because that’s like saying that it’s okay for the lady’s older sister to dip her face in pepper but if another person does it then there is trouble.
If you are beating your brother without his consent for him doing no wrong then you were wrong. Someone else gave him the same beating for him doing no wrong is also wrong.
All I am saying is that lets not stereotype this issue because it seems as if this one incident has amplified the notion that Lebanese companies abuse their staff. This is similar to how just because some one is black in America or sports a beard or wears a hijab then they are a threat. One bad incident does not give the right to generalize and say all others are like that.
Looking forward to your response.