3 Americans have racked up 1million dollars of debt. To pay off this debt, they have enlisted the Discovery Channel to capture a horrendous, gut wrenching exploitation of a ‘Jungle’ called Ghana. The discovery Channel follows the incredible journey of George Wright VI, Scott Lomu and Travis Fotheringham as they employ their Caterpillar excavator to plunge through the ground in search of gold. This manual form of mining is called Galamsey in Ghana and it is also illegal, immoral and dangerous. So why do I care? I am from Ghana and it breaks my heart to see 3 able bodied Americans go to this welcoming and hospitable country called Ghana to fell trees, destroy precious farms and rape the motherland with their excators until the land bleeds brown mercury tainted water.
Ironically the Discovery channel which presents itself as the silver screen guardian of the planet is supporting this neo-colonialism. You don’t need to be a Ghanaian to be outraged. Anyone who cares about the environment needs to step up and tell The Discovery channel to BACK OFF and stop promoting illegal activities that poison the water that Ghanaians drink. To the racist Utahns who call my country a jungle, let me offer you some free advice: Ghana was first colonized in 1412, in 1957 we put a stop to that Nonsense! Get out of my country and take your bloody excavators with you!
Read about how galamsey poisons our environment http://www.ammazingseries.com/fools-gold/
Amma, I agree with your sentiments! sad thing is while our Government (those we elected to protect our interests) are so busy getting theirs and haggling over power, Our beloved country is being looted and plundered with no benefits, but at immeasurable cost, to Ghanaians. Time to hold our Government to account! What policies have they put in place to stop this exploitation? What enforcement and penalty measures are in place? We, as Ghanaians, have a long way to go in making our Government accountable to us!
Hi Amma,
I’ve watched a few episodes of this show here in the UK. To be honest, one of my MAIN thoughts is “why not get a JOB in the US rather than pillage the land of Ghana”. Something doesn’t quite make sense, for example, according to the show, the “boys” have spent around 6-figures of borrowed money just to get equipment, etc. to Ghana in order to mine for gold that they are not 100% sure is there. Excluding the fact (for the moment) that they are not 100% sure there is gold “in them thar hills” I also find it atrocious that they are pillaging Ghanain land. Then again, there are Chinese, Indian and I’m sure a whole host of other nationalities trying to reap rewards off the land. Therefore, it’s not a Discovery or American issue but a Ghanaian issue in my opinion.
As Violet mentioned, you all need to hold your own Govn’t accountable but, easier said than done. The unfortunate reality is, the almighty dollar is mightier than pride, nationality, etc. That can be said for ALL POLITICIANS throughout the world!
Anyway, despite all that, I am still surprised that these 2 Americans are “risking everything” (ie, other people’s money) to gain the quick and often-fast-lost riches to pay off their debts. They are neither pursuing “long-term” financial gain nor worried about their investors cash….let alone Ghana’s environmental surroundings. Despite being American myself, I have NO sympathy for what these 2 fools are doing. I find it despicable they are ruining Ghanaian terrain (even though MANY other more non-concious characters are doing the same - think the Chinese, etc) all the while they could be back in the US trying to find work in THEIR OWN country and facing up to the debts/burdens they have put upon themselves.
Anyway, nice blog, good idea to bring this topic up.
Best of luck in the new year!
Cheers
I saw this on American tv and I was outraged to say the least. Do the government know how ghana is being portrayed on this show that airs on discovery channel? I think the crew filming
This show must be asked to stop as it portrays a negative image about ghana.
Yes, the show is awful. These hapless and mostly brainless guys are superseded only by the apparently brainless Discovery Channel, which I used to respect. Not any more.