奧巴馬訪問 Ghana 加納

奧巴馬訪問 Ghana 加納



奧巴馬去完俄國，再到意大利參加G8會議，last but not least 連梵蒂岡教宗本篤十六世都見了後，就一個屈尾十飛咗去非洲 Ghana 加納 訪問，他沒有選擇他父親誕生的國家 Kenya 肯雅，而揀了 Ghana 加納，下面的 CNN 報導，已有說明。


《CNN》 President Obama reached out to Africa in a speech in Ghana on Saturday, praising the continent's achievements but condemning persistent wars, calling them the "millstone around Africa's neck."

"Despite the progress that has been made -- and there has been considerable progress in parts of Africa -- we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled," Obama said in a speech to the parliament of Ghana, a West African nation seen as a model of democracy and growth for the rest of the continent.

Obama's visit, the third by a sitting American president, highlighted the stability, political strides and painstaking economic progress that Ghana made in being the first sub-Saharan nation to gain independence, in 1957.

This is in sharp contrast to conditions in other continent hot spots cited by Obama -- Zimbabwe, where the society is in economic and political turmoil; Sudan, where fighting rages in the Darfur region, and Somalia, site of civil warfare. Congo and Liberia have also been in the throes of war.

"Here in Ghana, you show us a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees only tragedy or the need for charity," Obama said.

"The people of Ghana have worked hard to put democracy on a firmer footing, with peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections. And with improved governance and an emerging civil society, Ghana's economy has shown impressive rates of growth."

Location of Ghana

Obama said the kind of nation-building exemplified by Ghana doesn't have the "drama of the 20th century's liberation struggles," but he believes "it will ultimately be more significant."

"We must first recognize a fundamental truth that you have given life to in Ghana: Development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long," he said. "That is the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans."

Obama pointed to Kenya -- where his father was born -- as an example of unmet potential.

"Countries like Kenya, which had a per-capita economy larger than South Korea's when I was born, have been badly outpaced. Disease and conflict have ravaged parts of the African continent. In many places, the hope of my father's generation gave way to cynicism, even despair," he said.

"History shows that countries thrive when they invest in their people and infrastructure, when they promote multiple export industries, develop a skilled workforce, and create space for small and medium-sized businesses that create jobs."

Obama said the United States has committed $63 billion to a global, comprehensive health strategy.

Building on the strong efforts of President George W. Bush, we will carry forward the fight against HIV/AIDS. We will pursue the goal of ending deaths from malaria and tuberculosis, and we will work to eradicate polio.

"We will fight neglected tropical disease. And we won't confront illnesses in isolation -- we will invest in public health systems that promote wellness, and focus on the health of mothers and children," Obama said.

The visit by the first African-American president in the United States sparked a frenzy in the country as street vendors sold miniature U.S. flags, and massive billboards with pictures of a smiling Obama and "akwaaba, " the local word for welcome, were set up in the capital city.

"People in Ghana are printing clothes for this occasion," said Adrian Landry, general manager of a beach hotel in Accra.

"The fact that his father is African and he picked us makes us special," he said. "He is endorsing our strong democracy in Ghana. This is historic."

Before Saturday's speech, Obama said he picked Ghana partly because of its commitment to democracy.

"By traveling to Ghana, we hope to highlight the effective governance that they have in place," he said in an interview with AllAfrica.com.



奧巴馬在加納國會發表完演說之後，就聯同妻女去了 Cape Coast Castle 參觀。


【英文維基百科】Cape Coast Castle is a fortification in Ghana. The first timber construction on the site was erected in 1653 for the Swedish Africa Company and named Carolusborg after King Charles X of Sweden. It was later rebuilt in stone.

In April 1663 the whole Swedish Gold Coast was seized by the Danes, and integrated in the Danish Gold Coast. In 1664 the Castle was conquered by the British and was extensively rebuilt by the Committee of Merchants (whose Governors administered the entire British colony) in the late 18th century. In 1844, it became the seat of the colonial Government of the British Gold Coast.

The Castle was built for the trade in timber and gold, later it was used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Castle, or Castle and Dungeon, to give it its official name, was first restored in the 1920s by the British Public Works Department. In 1957, when Ghana became independent, it passed under the care of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB).

In the early 1990s the building was restored by the Ghanaian Government, with funds from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United States Aid for International Development （USAID）, with technical assistance from the Smithsonian Institution and other NGOs.


前聯合國秘書長 Kofi Annan 安南，就是一位非洲裔的外交家，他也是來自 Ghana 加納。如今美國有位非洲裔的總統 Barack Obama，黑人的地位，是否有真正，實質，顯著的提升呢？


伸延閱覽：
Obama at Ghana CNN Video
Obama's visit in Ghana CNN.com
Obama at Cape Coast Castle Ghana associatedcontent.com
Obama's Remarks on Slavery at the Cape Coast Castle theroot.com
Ghana 加納 或是 迦納 維基百科
Kofi Annan 維基百科
Cape Coast Castle Ghana 谷歌搜尋
Cape Coast Castle 維基百科
Cape Coast Castle 圖片 谷歌搜尋


我的舊文：
the Human Stain （flim）
還是米竭爾·魯濱遜小姐時她有沒有想過有這一天？