SEEING BLACK men in Orange Order sashes would compel some to consult their optician. But Ghanaian Richard Atchoe and Foli Bruce from Togo are no optical illusion.
Furthermore, the pair – visiting Northern Ireland last week as part of the marching season – say their parades in distant Accra and Lomé don’t cause a jot of trouble.
“In our parades we don’t have any controversy and don’t have any problems [during parades] with the Catholics,” says Atchoe of the Heroes of Peace LOL (Loyal Orange Lodge) Number 3 in Accra, Ghana.
His Togolese colleague concurs. “In Togo we don’t have these problems,” says the representative from Wisdom and Intelligence Lodge Number 7 in Lomé.
Nineteenth-century missionaries are believed to have brought the Orange Order, a Protestant fraternity, to parts of west Africa where it is heavily connected with the evangelical Presbyterian church.
A University of Ulster study found that membership is rising dramatically in Togo and Ghana, where the organisation’s international appeal and Bible-study are key attractions.
Orange lodges also exist in the Republic of Ireland, England, Scotland, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
African members have been visiting the North for many years, and this time around five men from Ghana and Togo participated in the annual marching season – where parades and activities take place across Northern Ireland, some sparking political and religious tensions.
Their trip is subsidised by the Orange Order in Northern Ireland and Drew Nelson, its grand secretary, contends that the African members prove that the Protestant- and men-only organisation is not as homogeneous as some think. Indeed, more would have come if not for visa and financial barriers.
“Sometimes we’re accused by nationalist and republican leaders of being like the Ku Klux Klan so when they see black people involved it puts the lie to that,” he tells Metro Éireann. “It lets people see in a very vivid way that we are a worldwide organisation.”
Nelson also notes that the Africans often erupt into song when the marching bands play – an addition that many Northern Irish Orangemen find invigorating.
During their stay in the North, the African members participated in marches and activities in Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal; Dromore, Co Down; and Bangor, where they spent the Twelfth, marking the day in 1690 when the Protestant Prince William of Orange overcame Catholic King James II in the famous Battle of the Boyne.
According to the Africans, they were compelled to join the organisation because of family traditions and love of God.
As Foli Bruce explains: “I like this organisation, we talk about God, learn the Bible, I love it.”
Problems at Northern parades, which have diminished in recent years, remain below the men’s radar.
