Dumsor On Instagram: Amid Chronic Power Outages, A Space For Creativity Opens In Ghana
Amid chronic power outages, a space for creativity opens in Ghana.
<p><em>Image: <a href="https://twitter.com/BlackNarrator" target="_blank">The Black Narrator</a></em></p><p>Power outages in Ghana have become so well-recognized that they have been given a local name: <em>dumsor</em> (a combination of the Twi words for "off" and "on"). Since December 2014, the condition has <a href="http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=357482" target="_blank">grown increasingly worse</a>, especially for Ghanaians who live in the southern half of the country. Recently, they’ve battled frequent and lengthy dumsor spells that often last 24 hours, followed by 12 hours with light.</p><p>The increasingly aggressive outages have resulted in <a href="http://www.myjoyonline.com/business/2015/March-10th/coca-cola-to-lay-off-250-staff.php" target="_blank">scores of Ghanaians losing their jobs</a>, as the electricity schedule has made it nearly impossible for businesses to uphold consistent hours during the week.</p><p><div class="preroll-video"></div><ora-player></ora-player></p><p>Dumsor has become a cultural item. There is a <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gidis.Dumsor&hl=en" target="_blank">flashlight app</a> for Android phones named after it. <strong><a href="http://www.okayafrica.com/tag/sarkodie/" target="_blank">Sarkodie</a></strong>, one of Ghana’s most celebrated rappers, released a highlife-infused <a href="http://www.okayafrica.com/news/sarkodie-fela-kuti-dumsor-samples/" target="_blank">track in its name</a>. The <strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dumsor-Must-Stop/476392179204021" target="_blank">Dumsor Must Stop Campaign</a></strong> was inaugurated both by a protest in Accra and a trending <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DumsorMustStop" target="_blank">hashtag</a> on Twitter.</p><p>It has also become an outlet through which locals frustrated with the government’s handling (or lack thereof) of the issue can make light of the situation, and flex their creativity through the increasingly popular medium of short videos. Below, we take a look at how a few Ghanaians have been reimagining dumsor on Instagram.</p><p></p><div id="b4498" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="H7V0CR1506609801"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/1xw0UftSqE" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Instagram post by Accra Short Films • Apr 22, 2015 at 12:40pm UTC</a></p>
</div></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><div id="44da8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="Z3LAFD1506609801"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/1xwsB_NSp2" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Instagram post by Accra Short Films • Apr 22, 2015 at 12:39pm UTC</a></p>
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/1xwU9gNSpZ" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Instagram post by Accra Short Films • Apr 22, 2015 at 12:35pm UTC</a></p>
</div></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><div id="ba3f9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="GXKG0T1506609801"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/1xwIstNSpI" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Instagram post by Accra Short Films • Apr 22, 2015 at 12:34pm UTC</a></p>
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/3SCSx6t3HS" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Instagram post by Naturallyou • May 29, 2015 at 10:00pm UTC</a></p>
</div></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><div id="e3bb9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="A5EEX21506609801"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/3PIRlBS2Jf" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Instagram post by The Shade Room • May 28, 2015 at 6:54pm UTC</a></p>
</div></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><div id="f1ec8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="SEJRAU1506609801"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);
margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px);
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<div style="padding:8px;">
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<div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC);
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/3NaI1XkRIu" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Instagram post by Sujanthi • May 28, 2015 at 2:52am UTC</a></p>
</div></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><div id="30eca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RJNBYK1506609801"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px);
width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:8px;">
<div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center;
width:100%;">
<div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC);
display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;">
</div></div><p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;">
<a href="https://instagram.com/p/2-pIPSCBJm" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Instagram post by Augustine Akoto • May 22, 2015 at 9:14am UTC</a></p>
</div></blockquote></div><p></p><p><em>Tamerra Griffin is a Bay Area native currently living in Brooklyn. She holds an M.A. in journalism and Africana studies from New York University, and writes for BuzzFeed News. She loves transnational literature, pick-up soccer, chicken yassa, and live-tweeting her favorite TV shows. Follow her on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/tamerra_nikol" target="_blank">@tamerra_nikol</a>.</em></p>
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