Conflict in Whispering Valley

As long as anyone can remember or recall, the Ebonu Tribe has lived in the Whispering
Valley found in the Upper West Region in Ghana. Written records and research has
proved they have been there for over 1,000 years. The Whispering Valley is a vast place
known for its clean streams, rolling grasslands and wide open spaces. The area is dotted
with over 1,000 mud and straw huts that the tribe members occupy. A person can spot
5,000 to 10,000 heads of cattle if you drive through the dirt roads that cover the 5,000
hectares that make up the valley. No government facilities such as schools or hospitals
exist on their land, but the people are registered to vote and while known as fierce
fighters. They live in peace with their neighbors who value the cattle they raise and pay
top prices for them.

The Ebonu tribe is pastoral. They are fiercely independent and heal themselves with
herbal medicine and school their own children. They graze their cattle in Ghana from
June – December and walk to neighboring counties of Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast
in January - May each year to graze their cattle there and to visit their families. They
cross borders without interruption. The people of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso
know their ways. There is a chieftaincy structure for their tribe in Ghana, Ivory Coast
and Burkina Faso. The Ebonu in each country speak the same language and they act as
one big extended family as they promote intermarriage across borders while sticking to
their own ethnic group.

While the Ebonu of Ghana had traveled in February last year, a government surveyor
found oil on their land. The government moved quickly and gave a private company,
XYZ Oil, drilling rights. XYZ Oil gave the government of Ghana 300 million dollars for
these rights. When the Ebonu returned to their homes in June they found much of the
grassland for their cattle had been destroyed, the water was polluted and their serene
environment was noisy, dusty and heavily populated. The Ebonu tried to co-exist in this
environment for six months, but finally filed a complaint with government officials.
They were ignored. The Ebonu hired a lawyer and sought relief in court.

During the nine months it took for the case to come to court – the Ebonu people
suffered. Their land was no longer suitable to grow the vegetables and yams the women
grew to feed their families. The children in the valley begin to show signs of
malnourishment and they had to leave the valley to get safe water to drink. Their cattle
which were once prized at the markets became almost worthless. Rumors spread that the
cattle had been contaminated by toxic fumes from the oil industry.

The Government and XYZ Oil started a campaign in the media. It stressed how the oil
money helped the sick of the Ebonu and all the children of Ghana. It characterized the
Ebonu people as ‘selfish’. They stressed how other people in Ghana had experienced
disruptions and large scale relocations for the greater good. They cited the Akosombo
Dam project as an example.

The court case was tense. The judge sent the parties to mediation. The government
offered the 1,000 Ebonu families compensation of $10,000 each. They refused the offer.

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The judge heard more evidence and ruled in favor of the Government. The Ebonu left
court with a threat. ‘Vacate our Land in 30 days or Regret!’

Thirty one days after the court ruling small bands of Ebonu people from Burkina Faso
and the Ivory Coast arrived in Ghana. They took the women, children and elderly of the
tribe out of Whispering Valley. They started a campaign which followed this pattern:

1. They used dynamite to destroy XYZ Oil equipment;

2. They planted land mines around the oil site (and they had clear markings of the
Burkina Faso military on them);
3. They attacked police officers sent to protect the staff and equipment of the XYZ
Company, killing 5 officers;
4. They got funds and more tribesmen to fight from Burkina and Ivory Coast;
5. They retreated across the borders of Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso for safety,
food, water and more weapons and fighters when the small units of the Ghana
Army pursued them.

XYZ Oil is losing money and their workers are afraid to go to work. The government
cannot protect them as promised and the Ebonu keep sending messages: ‘Vacate Our
Land or Regret!’ Citizens in the Region will not assist or report the Ebonu and they
publicly express to Government and all who will listen, ‘The Ebonu will never leave the
land where their Ancestors are buried’.

The fighting continues.

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