One Ghana, One Voice: Author Profile

Biography:

Edith N. Faalong was born to Mr. Joseph Y Faalong and Madame Hellen Tanye in the Upper West Region of Ghana. She currently lives in Accra, reading economics and geography as a third-year student at the University of Ghana.

Five Questions with Edith Faalong:

1. What inspired you to write "Without Roots"?

In writing "Without Roots", I was inspired by the plight of people who lost their homes to the encroaching sea and also by the late Kwesi Brew's "The Sea that Eats our Lands".

2. Have you ever been to Keta? If so, when was your last visit?

Yes, I visited Keta some five years back.

3. What comes to your mind when you first think of Keta, or hear someone mention it?

When I hear Keta mentioned, I think of a normal fishing town.

4. Do you think it is possible for people to understand Keta without having personally visited?

I think it is very possible for people to understand Keta without having personally visited it. That is why we write anyway...so people can understand and appreciate what they have not seen or been through.

5. Your previous poem featured on OGOV, "Sankofa," and this poem, both deal with the importance of history in our attempts to move forward - could you speak a little more on this theme, and how it connects with our theme of Keta?

I believe history is the people. It is the genesis, the basis. Without it, there is no people. It is our reference point to the future. From history, we carve our road to, and nature of, our destination.

With Keta, when we lose the land and homesteads, we lose history. And without origins and roots, we find lost, empty people. In effect, there cannot be a people without roots and origins.