Summary of article in Billed Bladet #43, 2010.
Jeg savner Marie - I miss Marie.
Written by Indius Pedersen (freelance).
Who had a chat with a very casually dressed Joachim standing in the surf at Coconut beach at sundown.
Indius Pedersen may be related to the incomparable Ulrik Ulriksen, just enjoy this excerpt: Prince Joachim smiles and is happy. Walking at the waters edge at Coconut off the coast of Ghana he enjoy the sun, which is slowly going down into the Atlantic. He gets a faraway look in his gaze, while he smiles quirkly. No one is in doubt as to who Prince would absolutely prefer to share this - his wife, (*) Princess Marie, who wait home at Amalienborg.
He neither cannot nor will he hide his longing: "I miss the Princess. Ten days is a long time when you would like to be at home". (**)
Joachim has been pretty busy during his stay in Ghana as patron for Care Denmark. Apart from having to do without his luggage for a couple of days, he crossed a precarious looking rope-bridge spanning 350 meters, petted a crocodile, associated with witches and handed out mobile phones.
The Care projects are designed as helping the recipients to help themselves.
Joachim has been in frequent contact with his oldest sons, who right now are on holiday in Japan with their mother Alexandra and Martin Jørgensen.
"I have a lovely relationship with Nikolai and Felix, whom I adore. They are great boys and we have no secrets for each other. And that can only work well, because Alexandra and I speak together in good way". (***)
One of the villages Joachim visited was one dedicated particularly for women who had become outcasts in their societies. In many cases the women had been accused of being witches, both on the principle that someone has to take the blame for a misfortune and because many people in that part of Ghana genuinely belive in witchcraft.
Being accused of being a witch is dangerous! So the women have to flee. Many fortunately manage to find shelter in a village for outcasts and the residents of such villages have decided that witchcraft doesn't work in the villages.
Now, it's easy for words like "superstitious" and "ignorance" to pop up in my head at least, when reading this. Until I think about what some people here in DK believe in....
(*) DK lesson: Actually "viv" = an archaic word for wife.
(**) This is wonderful! This simply calls for a song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1CeYaPrtbI&feature=related
(***) Good greif! Has he been chewing silly weed? It's not like Joachim to be that sentimental. Maybe the scenery struck a cord within him?