In Ghana, African-Americans worried about the American election

“If Kamala Harris wins, the situation will be bad. If it's Donald Trump, it will be even worse.” judged Daryl Landy, worried on the eve of the American presidential election, which takes place on Tuesday November 5. This former teacher from New York came to settle in Accra, the capital of Ghana, in 2019, to escape, he says, increasingly uninhibited racism within American society.

Five years later, he is convinced that the situation has gotten worse. “People chanting today”Make America great again” [“Rendons sa grandeur à l’Amérique”, le slogan des partisans de Donald Trump], want to return to a time when only a group of people controlled the country “, he believes.

Sitting next to him, his friend Wanida Lewis nods, looking serious. Before launching her activity promoting Pan-African cuisine in the suburbs of Accra, this woman from Maryland, on the east coast of the United States, worked for the American government, notably under the Trump administration. “No matter the outcome of the election, people are going to go crazy. We live in very strange times, where some people do not want to see their history changed and are ready to fight”she says. A situation that terrifies Daryl Landy: “I'm afraid for my family who are still there. I really hope that they will quickly have their passports to leave the country. »

A “year of return” in Ghana

Like Daryl and Wanida, many African-Americans in recent years have begun « repatriation »term given to this movement of migration, from the United States towards the lands of their ancestors, deported from West Africa during the slave trade, between the 16th^e and 18^e century. To encourage their arrival, the Ghanaian government declared 2019 the “year of return” and set up a program encouraging their settlement. Today, this diaspora numbers between 10,000 and 15,000 members, according to an estimate by the Association of African Americans of Ghana.

During the events organized by the association ahead of the presidential election of November 5, its president, Diallo Sumbry, acknowledged having perceived among its members “certain excitement about the possibility of having a first African-American woman president”. Especially since Kamala Harris is well known in Ghana. The Democratic candidate went there in March 2023 during an African tour, notably visiting the Cape Coast fort, a former hub of the slave trade. She had greeted “the fight for civil rights and justice, in the United States and around the world”descendants of slaves.

“However, when it comes to politics, the African-American diaspora in Ghana is far from monolithicnuance Diallo Sumbry. Some hate the bipartisan system, others believe that the presidential institution is itself racist and steeped in white supremacy, still others still believe in the American dream…”

“The future is here in Ghana”

Some, like Gary Emerson Fray, have also decided to completely lose interest in the election and its issues. At 62, this New Yorker came to settle in Ghana two years ago to create an NGO helping street children and, on November 5, he decided not to vote. The election that matters to him is that of the next president of Ghana, on December 7. “What I face daily are the effects of the failure of Ghanaian policieshe explains. My interest in what is happening in the United States at the moment has become very marginal. What really matters to me is the future. And it is here in Ghana. »

As the American presidential election approaches, the prospect of trying one's luck in Ghana seems to appeal to a growing number of African-American citizens. For several months, Diallo Sumbry, who is also the CEO of Adinkra Group, a company that helps « repatriation »receives “lots of calls from people saying they are preparing to leave depending on the outcome of the election, others assure me they will leave the United States no matter who wins. » The last time he observed so many requests was between 2016 and 2020, under the presidency of Donald Trump.