Don't Be Afraid of Fraudsters in Ghana (Part 2)
Most Ghanaian fraudsters aren't bad people. The likes of romance scammers may have ethical issues when it comes to the pursuit of money, but they usually aren't the type of people you would describe as the epitome of evil. They aren't the types of hardened criminals you more commonly find in places like the United States. AMBITION & SURVIVAL IN GHANA In anthropology, there's this concept called cultural relativism . As a (cultural) anthropologist, one's job is to study foreign cultures by actually living within them - as would a native - for an extended period of time. One thing I've learned living in Ghana is that people want and need money just as they do stateside, but the access to that type of cash just isn't here. For instance, the government of Ghana doesn't have the wherewithal to borrow trillions of dollars, as its American counterpart does. In the U.S., young, disenfranchised men who want to make money like grown-ups tend to get into e...