Take Me Back!

Have you gone to public chat rooms? A person would ask you “asl”? Anyways, I would reply to him/her. The problem is most of them would ignore you the minute you told them you are from Africa. This is true for most part in chat rooms. They see Africa as a continent riddled with famine and hunger and never changing and backward people. I think this people are stuck on time. There are facts but perverted.

The irony is that, unbalanced trade, lack of good governance and growing civil wars has made African people to seek refuge to the same people who has took their ancestors life and plundered their wealth. I am not taking the failures of our government on the west, but they were and are still part of the reason.

          As a result, family of three has started their journey along with other villagers out from the famine struck villages of north western Ethiopia. This was the late 80’s, with already dead livestock and dried stream of water; and promised but undelivered food aid. It was time to make a long journey to neighboring country Sudan. During the wet season, with the harvest, it would have been short journey to reach the border.
           A father means the head of the family working in the field. Now during this famine season he would curse the day he started building family. Since his wife is very tired to walk on her own and his child still trying to suck milk out the mother’s breast. And each second the child would try to make sound, muffled. There is nothing in his power, to change what is happening from happening. At last gesture of defiance of his weakness, he take the child, half way from their destination, from the mother already loose grasp. My child for give me….he whispered to himself than to his child..forgive me… please…his words keep fading and coming up… for I have brought you to this harsh world, but no one seems to hear or care.

           Two, three, four seconds gone and the child seemed to sooth under the sobbing sound of his father; but he was gone, and not returning back.  His wife stopped and squatted as if the death of her child struck her; Seconds later, she lay on her side, on the dry barrel land. She seems to shrink bending every part of her finally resting her head on her knees. Now, she has gone too; forever, and it seems she has opted to be in fetal position; going back to her maternal bosom.

         No tears and only humming sound began to come out from the father. Seconds ago, father and husband, and year ago an elder of the village with cattle and goats.
There is no ceremony to follow the loss of family member; the wife of the village elder and child has died. But, two priests began to assist facing towards East making the final words to now dead mother and child. ..now lord receive the soul of your humble servants ……………….
           How many times have we heard people from Africa dying on their journey to Europe or even to go within their own continent? How many lives has travelled with one of the refuge-child, wife, brother and sisters or parents waiting to be feed…hope has faded in some far land or deep in the sea where the gods of the village has no reach.
*** In the memory of those perished and including the unknown mother and child in the picture