By: Modern Ghana

While surfing the Internet this afternoon,I came across the ugly and distateful images of galamsey activity at Wassa Akropong and I came to the realization that galamsey has gone out of control.I was plunged into a lot of introspection and disappointment.

I recalled how the world once rallied to condemn the blood diamonds of Sierra Leone, whose profits fueled brutal wars and unspeakable atrocities, including the severing of limbs and the murder of innocents. Unfortunately, Ghana, once known as the gateway to Africa, now faces a different but equally devastating crisis of illegal gold mining, known as galamsey.

This time, however, the world has turned a blind eye. Objectively, gold from Ghana is more bloodied than Sierra Leone's diamonds, and the impact is just as destructive, if not more so. The environmental destruction caused by galamsey is leading to a human crisis that we are either ignoring, overlooking, or taking for granted.

The institutions, companies, and countries that buy Ghana’s gold are complicit in this crime against humanity, and they must bow their heads in shame. It is time for a global boycott of Ghana’s gold until galamsey is eradicated. Anything less is an endorsement of destruction.

The diamonds that once sparked war in Sierra Leone were infamous for the bloodshed they caused. Entire villages were destroyed, and men, women, and children were mutilated,many had their limbs hacked off as a form of terror. These atrocities led to sanctions and boycotts on Sierra Leone’s diamonds.

In Ghana, the destruction is quieter but just as vicious,perhaps even more so. Galamsey has turned fertile lands into toxic wastelands, poisoned rivers with cyanide and mercury, and left communities shattered. Children are being born with deformities, some without limbs, due to exposure to these deadly chemicals. Just like the victims of Sierra Leone’s civil war who lost their limbs to the sword, Ghana’s innocent children are losing theirs before they are even born. They will never know what it means to live a full life and reach their potential.

Entire communities rely on contaminated water sources, and heavy metals are entering the food chain, causing irreversible health problems. The gravity of this crisis will be even more glaring in the coming years. Families are displaced as their lands are rendered uninhabitable, just as the Sierra Leonean people were driven from their homes by war. These are not isolated incidents; they are a direct result of illegal gold mining operations being funded by international buyers who care more about profit than human lives.

It is a sickening irony that the world once rallied to stop blood diamonds but now offers a ready market for Ghana’s bloodier gold. This double standard is not only hypocritical but dangerous. How can the world condemn the sale of diamonds that destroyed Sierra Leone while turning a blind eye to gold that is poisoning the people of Ghana?

The only explanation is that it is beneficial for these foreign buyers to allow galamsey to flourish. The demand for cheap gold fuels the destruction, and the world’s refusal to intervene suggests complicity. To the buyers of Ghanaian gold: you are aiding and abetting the destruction of our nation. You are just as guilty as the illegal miners who are tearing our land apart and poisoning our people.

What has happened to the big talk about human rights, environmental protection, and sustainable development? If these values meant anything to them, they would not offer a market for this blood gold. By continuing to buy from Ghana, these countries and corporations are colluding with criminals and condemning our people to a future of disease, disability, and despair.

Ghana’s forests, once lush and full of life, have been razed to the ground to make way for illegal mining sites. The soil is so polluted that crops will not grow, threatening the nation’s food security. Farmers who once relied on the land for their livelihoods are left with barren fields, unable to feed their families.

Despite all this, the international market for gold remains strong. Gold buyers are well aware of the source of their precious metal, yet they continue to purchase from Ghana, ensuring the cycle of destruction continues. These buyers cannot claim or feign ignorance. They are fully aware of the suffering they are enabling.

This is a call to the appropriate global institutions, particularly the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council, to take decisive action. Just as the Kimberley Process was established to prevent the sale of blood diamonds, there must be a similar system for blood gold. Ghana’s gold must be blacklisted until the government can prove that it is being mined ethically and sustainably, without the devastating effects of galamsey.

Even as our economy may depend on such an export, our lives matter more. What is a country without its people?

Countries that purchase gold from Ghana,especially those in Europe, North America, and Asia must impose sanctions and cease all gold imports from the nation until the galamsey crisis is under control. By continuing to buy gold from Ghana, these nations are not just trading in precious metals, but are creating misery for the good and innocent people of Ghana. These countries should know that they are enriching themselves, and enriching and empowering irresponsible individuals,crooks who believe that money is the only thing that matters in the world.

These countries should also consider that when our country is destroyed, there will be a large exodus of our people to their countries, legally and illegally. Since they do not want Africans there, they should stop aiding deviants who have made it their agenda to make life unbearable for us.

The world cannot continue to turn a blind eye to this atrocity. Future generations will judge us harshly if we fail to act now. The same nations and companies that proudly proclaim their commitment to human rights, environmental protection, and sustainability are turning a blind eye to the destruction of Ghana as long as they can profit from its gold.

Ban Ghana’s Gold and Save Ghana.The American Embassy,UK,the UN and others must act now or they will be considered complicit in such a heinous crime against the hospitable and good people of Ghana.Ghana deserves better. The world must act, or history will remember this as yet another tragedy where profit was placed above humanity.