Jack Sanger – Jack Sanger

Intelligence intelligence everywhere but who can stop to think?

A young man here in Ghana is expanding his knowledge of the world by asking questions. He came from a village in the north and much of what he believes is so indelible it is difficult to shift. He believes that female circumcision keeps women from being promiscuous, and many women ask for it. When… Know More
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Feeding the five thousand

A funeral. 500 mourners. The body of the deceased on display for the file past. In Ghana it is hard to gauge how many people will turn up. You don’t send invitations after all, you post the day of the funeral in the popular press. Ghana state television also has exceedingly long sections where the… Know More
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Laying to rest

The laying out of the dead happens in many religions. A final procession of the bereaved to gaze upon the face of the dearly departed seems inextricably bound up with primeval feelings. It is the equivalent of putting your fingers in the nail holes of Christ. It is a public affirmation before witnesses that this… Know More
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Jacking up Death

An amusing coda to the recent musings on death and how we might stage it arose the other day at a friend’s countryside retreat here in Ghana. A powerful figure on the political and economic landscape for decades here, my friend was commenting on a recent bereavement and the disposal of the body. As I… Know More
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Authoring your own Funeral

Did you ever see The Big Chill? Friends gather for the funeral of one of their own tight group. It was very funny at the time but what brings it to my mind was the soundtrack which included The Weight and other 60s and 70s rock hits from The Rolling Stones et al. Part of… Know More
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A Dying Art

Last week I heard of a birth and a death on the same day. Both events very close to me. The door to the place beyond seems to be a revolving one. Here in Ghana, much of people’s lives are spent doing the rounds of births, deaths and marriages. (The extended family can run into… Know More
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New lamps for old

The west exports lifestyle assumptions to the world, constantly. This includes medical accessorising, designer brands for every conceivable disease or malaise. The Ghanaian population are more and more hooked on the flagrantly disseminated notion, “new cures good, old cures bad.” Despite drugs growing on trees all around, they are quickly forgetting their bio-heritage and opting… Know More
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Another dollop of false consciousness

You may recall – or didn’t need me to tell you in the first place – that when people, mistakenly, believe something to be true when it isn’t and the evidence suggests it isn’t, they are suffering under an illusion we call ‘false consciousness’. Once it is ingrained it is hard to shift. Like creationism.… Know More
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Last Stop

O it was a moonless night suddenly filled with dark foreboding. The invisible birds had begun their metallic piping, the bats were squeaking among our ripe mangos and a thousand supplicants in a distant evangelical hangar were laying down a keening back beat. Then, like a solo singer to this orchestra of sound, there was… Know More
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You are who you write

I wrote a short story recently – which will appear for free on www.chronometerpublications.mewithin a week or so. It-s called The Sense of Being Sinbad and deals with the last three months of a man’s life. I sent it to a friend who is wrestling with the best exit strategy for one who feels everything… Know More
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