Herbert Mensah

Press Release

 

 

May9, 2012

 

 

HERBERT MENSAH – We will always keep the flame of May 9th 2001 burning in honour of our true heroes and custodians of our beloved game, the supporters.

 

The Former Chairman of Kumasi Asante Kotoko Mr. Herbert Mensah has paid tribute to the football fans who lost their lives tragically at a football match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko on May 9th 2001. He noted that it was important never to forget those now gone because they are the real heroes of society and of soccer the world over.

 

The former Kotoko Chairman noted that the incident of May 9th 2001 represented the worst single day incident tragedy in the history of Ghana since independent and that it was imperative that we not only recognise this as a nation but give respect to the lost ones and support their families for as long as possible. 

 

It will be recalled that 126 people died when police fired tear gas into the crowd which resulted in a stampede as supporters sought to flee the gases. The subsequent reports of the incident drew severe criticism at the security services and questioned the operational management of the match and the stadia. It was reported that at the height of the tragedy, security services had fled from the scene and that there were no support services by way of ambulances and fire service which could have helped.

 

Since the incident occurred Mr Mensah and a group of committed parties have kept the flame burning by visiting the families of the lost ones and supporting them on a yearly basis. Mr. Mensah noted that throughout the period he had been supported by Alhaji Hearts as well as the media and sporting personalities including Edward Boateng of Hello FM, Sometimer of Hot FM, Frederick Acheampong, Rian Malan, Prince of Kessben, Ali Maradona of Kotoko fame, Elton Brobbey of Luv FM and Kwame Gapson of KFM in Kumasi. In addition Chapter O in Accra and others have worked with this group in various activities which has helped to make the yearly event a success.

 

The Former Chairman noted of 2012 that it was the 11th anniversary of the tragedy and that his efforts this year was aimed at the mother child. Activities were put together with this in mind and Kumasi was chosen as the location. In order to ensure that the children did not miss school, a lot of the activities were held over the previous weekend. 

 

These included interaction with the families, 

Route march through the streets of Kumasi, 

Soccer match between Hearts Chapter O and their Kotoko equivalent 

Various Media encounters 

The launch of the May 9th Remembered Facebook page 

 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/May-9th-Remembered/215260831907711

 

 

The highlight of the weekend for those families who joined the events was a visit to Manhyia and a meeting with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. At the meeting, Otumfuo displayed his generosity and understanding by offering to place the children present in His educational scholarship scheme.

 

Mr Mensah however said that this year’s activities would not have been possible without the support of certain key companies and individuals.. These himself aside in order of contribution were as follows

 

Otumfuo Osei Tutu |II

Interplast. 

Golden Tulip Kumasi

Kwasi Nyantakyi

TT Brothers

Lubeco

GNPA

Scheema

Kwabena Kesse

 

Concluding, Mr. Mensah gave a special thanks to those that contributed  and stressed the importance of continued recognition for the May 9th initiative.

 

To the families The Former Chairman insisted that they do not give up and that they should keep the faith. He then issued the following piece given him by one of this year’s organisiers Mrs. Bhavana Bagalwadi – 

 

There are times in life
When you feel as if the earth
Has opened up
And swallowed you whole . . .
And you seriously doubt
If you’ll ever stop hurting.
And it’s then that you need
To realize you can’t
“Make everything all right.”
All you can do is survive,
One hour at a time,
Then one day at a time.
But you are not alone.
There are many who care about you
And are ready to lend you their strength
When yours is all gone.

So hang on, because the sun
Will rise again . . .
And though you’ll
Never forget,
You will survive this
And go on….
~Linda Lee Elrod

 

 

Most things in life tend to be self perpetuating and as such, we can actually regulate what goes on by either action or inaction … this applies to most things material, and to some extent, spiritual … such is the strength of the mind!

Life’s challenge is not to be afraid of the unknown but to recognise the need to stand up for the things we believe in irrespective of general, and more often than not, cowardly concensus that retards progress!

There is a story about a coup d’état that took place in a small kingdom.

When the soldiers came looking for the king to kill him, he fled into the city and hid in a tailor shop. Immediately recognizing his important guest, the tailor, without so much as a question, shoved him under a large pile of clothing. Shortly thereafter, soldiers stormed into the shop, swords in hand, shouting, “We know the king is hiding here!” Stabbing the pile of clothes repeatedly, they missed the king by mere inches. Finding nothing, the soldiers stalked out and into the next shop. When the king emerged from under the clothes, he said to the kind old tailor, “Thank you. You saved my life, for this, I would like to grant you three wishes.” Surprised and excited, the humble tailor thought for a moment and asked, “First off, when your power is restored, I would like you to declare a National Tailors Day. Secondly, all tailors in the kingdom should be paid double. And thirdly…” he paused for a moment before saying, “I must say I am curious. I want to know something: How did you, the king, feel when these people were trying to kill you?”

“Done,” declared the king, and with that, he left the tailor’s shop.

The coup failed, and the king was returned to his throne. As his first order of business, he announced a National Tailors Day, also proclaiming that all tailors in the kingdom should be paid double. Then he ordered that the tailor be arrested and brought to the gallows. Terrified and bewildered, the tailor couldn’t imagine how and why he was being treated so badly. The noose was placed around the tailor’s neck, but just before the lever was pulled, the king intervened and shouted, “Release him!” The tailor turned to the king, still shaking with fear. When their eyes met, the king said quietly: “Now your third wish has been granted also. You now know what it feels like!”

The point of this story is that we may think we might know what others are going through, but until we walk in their shoes, we really don’t. This is why, when we are faced with a difficult person, it is wise to be compassionate and accepting.

Let’s face it. We all judge. We take a look at people and we judge them—by the way they dress, the way they walk, the way they speak. The problem is that sometimes we get so full of judgment that we leave no place for love. We get so full of ourselves—who we think we are, what we believe we are entitled to—that there is no space for others and there is no space for the Light.

This week, let’s remember that real spiritual growth happens when we grow our empathy, our ability to feel another’s pain. How? By opening up our hearts to care, rather than our minds to judge. After all, there is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it ill behooves any of us to find fault with others.

If you like this please share it with a friend. – KB

In a friendship,
We’re free to expose,
Parts of ourselves,
Nobody else knows.

But the thing that sustains it
And sets it apart,
Is not something spoken,
It’s a bond of the heart.

True friends are rare,
In a lifetime two or three,
I’m so glad it happened,
Between you and me!

Progressing and achieving something worthwhile in your life requires being ever-ready to extend yourself and experience effort. There are no free lunches in this life. At least none that satisfy your hunger for more.