It is with grave concern I write this piece because in less than a week I have observed 3 young person’s literally running mad as they walked on the streets.
It is a Wednesday morning and I see this relatively young woman probably in her late twenties as her looks suggest. She is about 100 metres away from me.
She looks normal walking with her black handbag striped on her shoulder. She wears a green knee length dress, matched with a black 3 inches casual slippers. Her braided hair styled all back.
What struck me to look at her intensely to get all these details was how the morning sun reflected on the ring around her 4th finger. They sparkled in gold but the diamond crown on the gold radiated the more. An indication she could be newly married, or in years, she probably hasn’t worn that ring beyond 3 years.
Her sudden discomposure made me slow down behind her. Her handbag was let down. Then she removed her slippers and held it in her hands and continued walking. She shook her head vigorously amidst occasional laughter. It was strange because she had no phone in hand nor an ear piece or any Bluetooth device.
Was she loosing it? I asked as she kept flipping her dress. I knew should I continue watching, my boys will have more than their eyes and their little minds can contain. I mustard courage and drove on. This was on Wednesday morning of last week.
On Friday, another horrifying incident happened. It was in the afternoon, 15 minutes past 3pm. There was a sudden traffic build up on the school’s junction. Being the 4th car trailing the slow moving Honda, I couldn’t rest but get down to see why the first car wasn’t moving since there was no obvious barrier ahead. To my dismay, a young man sat in the middle of the road, and wouldn’t move left or right. He looked ‘normal’ in his shirt but ‘abnormal’ as he had no pants or boxers on. His visibly dangling p.nis beneath his kempt hair and ‘regular’ shirt made us onlookers wonder what had “suddenly” gone wrong with him. After about 10 minutes, he stood up to continue going and we moved on.
Just this Tuesday morning, I see another woman with a luggage, a mini mattress tied in a big black polythene. She walks barefooted on the street soliloquing in Twi about money.
Counting that I had just seen another ‘newly’ mad woman in less than a week, I sobbed and asked why?
1. Is the economy biting too hard? Causing “vulnerable” men and women to loose it?
2. Are they getting free access to regulated drugs and so they are abusing it?
3. Are they offending hard-hearted people who are giving them out to the unseen world to be taught a lesson?
4. Is the country’s legal system too weak or corrupt that disputes are longer settled in the courts physically but the spirit world?
5. Could it be the side effects of ‘normal’ medications? Eg. Opioids?
I can’t have enough random questions.
6. Are they bottling up too much because there is no shoulder to lean on or no hand to wipe their tears? And so they explode this way? Particularly the first woman in the wedding ring.
I wish I knew why so I could better advise. Nonetheless,
a. Please let’s be kind out there.
b. Let’s try to forgive even if it hurts, knowing that is the only way we could also earn forgiveness.
c. Carefully read the side effects of drugs before taking them.
d. Be a soothing ear to someone, but please don’t be a running tongue.
e. Give random smiles and exhortation, they could be they only cork that will seal that ‘mad’ explosion.
Above all lean on God so no lesser power can thwart your destiny into the path of madness and also because only God can provide for your unending needs in this economic downturn.
NB( I couldn’t add their pictures because of the value of human dignity and ethics of writing…)
(I am the Ghanaian villager)
By Afiba Anyanzua Boavo Twum