Paapa shangoO

Paapa Shangoo, from Ghana, first visited Globe Aroma around seven years ago. He was introduced here through friends and emphasizes the feeling of togetherness that the arthouse incites. Also, for Papa Shangoo, Globe Aroma is a place in which he is able to occupy himself with creative practices and his artworks revolve around painting and dancing. Sometime, his friend Romeo comes to paint with him in Globe Aroma and they often depict themes about Africa, specifically Ghanian life and history in their works.

“Follow your history, remember backwards, you do not want people to forget about your history. Everything you do has already been done before. With my paintings, I want to illustrate where I am from, who I am, how my ancestors lived before me” (Paapa Shangoo)

Paapa Shangoo was not present during the February 9 police raid, but he and Romeo heard from friends about the violence of the event and are strongly against how the arrested migrants were treated.

“Some of us do not have documents, but they come to Globe Aroma to show their talents. They should not be embarrassed, the people here are not criminals. We are all the same, but the Belgian government acts as if we are bad. But the fact is, if there are no possibilities for people, then they have to find a way to survive” (Paapa Shangoo)

“We are supposed to be one, one people, one nation, but here, people are taught to discriminate. People without papers are treated worse than dogs” (Romeo)

Papa Shangoo relates his feeling of being differentiated in Belgium to a global context and condemns the blatant discrimination based on the possession of legal documents. He sees the importance of reciprocity, of helping out people who are worse off than him with or without papers the way Globe Aroma provides refuge for its community of migrant artists.

“When people first came to Africa, they also did not bring documents. Christopher Columbus did not bring documents. Vasco da Gama also did not bring documents. They are also immigrants. Our forefathers, they did not need anything from Europe. Do you know the history of the Mali empire, or the Ghanean empire? They did not need anything from Europe. Europeans they came to us. Now everything has changed, why do they treat us like they do?” (Paapa Shangoo)

“If you are in a bad situation, I will help you. if I am in a bad situation, I will help you. We are all persons, When I get an injury I bleed, just like you. Unfortunately, the situation in Brussels today mainly shows the differences between us” (Paapa Shangoo)