Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, another year has passed. So many things happened to us as individuals, families, and communities in the Diaspora and the Land of Our Birth.
Some of these events were tragic. Others brought our dear nation, Ghana, to almost breaking point, but cool heads prevailed and the nation is surviving, at least for now. In our lives, homes, neighbourhoods, and communities abroad, so many eventful things also took place.
We lost quite a number of our community members to the icy hands of death. Some of these deaths, especially those involving some of our youth, were very sad indeed. We believe these and many more are why we take stock of our lives when a year ends and make resolutions when a new one begins. As a community here in Canada, we know very well that the community is ageing. We need to take health issues very seriously to prevent some of these untimely deaths that are happening.
We salute those community members who actively chipped in and contributed their best: energy, resources, time, and money to uplift the fortunes of our community. They should not rest on their laurels but strive to do better. Sadly, there are still several community members, in fact, the majority, who care less about the fortunes of our community. They participate very little or not at all in community events apart from the usual outpouring parties and funeral gatherings. We can certainly do better than that.
We therefore earnestly entreat all our community members to recognize the fact that there is always power in numbers. The other Diaspora communities who have succeeded in Canada did so out of, and through their collective efforts. They did not leave their communities’ fortunes in the hands of a few individuals and groups. The youth in our community are trying to do their best. Still, we need to harness their energies into fruitful collaboration with the adults to achieve something better for our communities across Canada.
In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), for example, there seems to be a developing divide between the youth and the adults in the community where the youth will organize opposing national celebratory events. This division does not augur well for community development. The adults and the youth need to come together to explore common areas where they can work together and leave areas where the youth and adults can do so separately. This is necessary if we are to move our community forward.
Finally, we must also pay attention to events happening in our homeland…the Land of Our Birth. After years of turmoil and declining fortunes, things seem to be looking in a downward direction, especially the economy.
As this is the year of Election, we wish all the political parties to abide by the election rules for a peaceful Election. We should continue to pray for the government and our people back home because whatever happens there, positive or negative, impacts our lives here since it triggers chain reactions and demands on us from family and friends at home.
We wish all community members, friends, and supporters the best in this New Year 2024 and beyond. May this year be a stepping stone to inspire and enable even greater success in the future.
Source: Ghanaian News Newspaper Editorial