I moved into a new apartment in September, and just a month later, in October, my landlord asked me to move out. Here is why. I am a teacher at a private school in Ejisu, and I mostly spend my weekends and holidays visiting my elder sister who lives in another town. There were a lot of trees in the house, and it was home to a number of creatures, reptiles even, snakes, and bats even.
I am terrified of these creatures. In fact, you should see me run away just from seeing a cockroach in my cupboard at school. Because of this fear, and where I’ve found myself, I always keep insecticide spray or bug powder. Whenever I am leaving for my sister’s place for the weekend, I sprinkle some of the powder around my doorstep, especially near the holes, to prevent insects and other creatures from entering my room. I did the same thing that Friday before travelling to my sister’s place.
As soon as I got home on Sunday evening, my landlord called me, burning with anger. “Why did you do this? Why? What is that you’ve sprinkled in front of the house? What was your intention?” I explained myself and even presented the insecticide powder to him. “They’ve been disturbing me, and that is why I used it before going out,” I told him.
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It was through his complaints that I understood why he was so angry. He may have thought it was some kind of powder meant to harm him or his property. He went on and on, and when he was done, he gave me notice to move out of his house with immediate effect.
I was taken aback. I opened my mouth to plead with him some more. His wife was sitting there, so I thought I would try her, woman to woman, and beg her to speak to her husband on my behalf. I kept explaining. My landlord asked me, “Why would you come to a place full of these creatures? Why would you rent somewhere you know you would be seeing them? Why don’t you like them?”
That house wasn’t even my first choice, but I had to make do with what I could afford, and that was how I ended up there. Even, I didn’t know it was wrong to use insecticides in the house. Unfortunately, all my explanations and begging got me nowhere.
The next day, I started looking for another place to move to. It wasn’t easy. Before school, I would check around for available rooms, rush to school, and continue my search after closing. I had to find somewhere within my budget, and that made things even more difficult. Finding a room is already stressful, but having to do it because your landlord has suddenly asked you to leave makes the whole experience worse. I had barely settled into the apartment, and now I had to start the entire process again.
The stress alone, and everything I had to go through to move out, only God knows.
On the last day, after I had finished packing and was about to hand over the room key to the landlady, she made a statement that gave me goosebumps and made me question everything. I thought we had outgrown these old beliefs.
She said, “Anwofoɔ deɛ sunesune.” I looked at her sternly, gave her the key, and walked away.
I get it now. I am an Ewe who used insecticide powder in front of her doorstep. It could have been anyone else, and there wouldn’t be a problem with it, but because it’s me, an Ewe, there lies the problem. Wow.
I have since moved into another place, but the situation hasn’t changed much. My new place is almost the same as the old one. If you know Ejisu, then you know it is home to a rich variety of West African reptiles. There are all kinds of snakes, skinks, what we normally call shiny lizards, and different shades of lizards around the compound. It is not the kind of environment I would have chosen if I had my way, but finding an affordable place is not always easy.
Now, I am even afraid of doing something as simple as sprinkling insecticide powder around my space. Just last week Thursday, I almost peed on myself because I saw a millipede. Yes, it is that bad. I really cannot stand any kind of animal. I live here and may continue to come in contact with many more of them, and I’m afraid to use the insecticide powder for fear that my landlord would misinterpret it as something else. But beyond my fear of animals, there is something else I want to understand.
Why do some Ashantis seem to have a problem with Ewes? Is there a history between the two tribes that I don’t know about? Did the Ewes and Ashantis have some kind of disagreement or grudge against each other in the past that has continued to influence how some people see one another today?
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I have heard and experienced things that make me wonder whether there is an underlying issue between the two groups. This landlord experience is not the first time I have encountered this Ewe and Ashanti issue, and I would really like to understand where it comes from. Is it something rooted in our history, or are these just old beliefs that some people have refused to let go of?
I want to understand both things: how to overcome this fear of reptiles and insects and why my tribe seems to attract certain attitudes from some Ashantis. Am I reading too much into these experiences, or is there really a history behind them?
—Selali
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