African Titanics by Abu Bakr Khaal

Author:Abu Bakr Khaal
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Darf Publishers
Published: 2014-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Many of my fellow travellers could not bear to hear of shipwrecks and drowning and would grow restless whenever we began discussing our dubious chances of survival. When confronted by the unhappy vessels themselves, their faces would be contorted by abject terror. No one can easily stomach the prospect of boarding a boat he knows is likely destined to founder. Even those who had not heard the term Titanics applied to the boats routinely referred to them as The Doomed.

It is hard to describe the fear that grips you at the hour of departure. You approach the boats in the darkness as they rock violently on the water. At that moment, you truly understand the meaning of terror. People lose control of their bowels. Damp patches spread across trousers. Many jump overboard before the boat has even left the harbour. Others are swept to sea without ever having resolved whether to stay or go. When the boat finally departs, a deathly silence settles over it. People lose all ability to articulate. The vessel appears to be a hollow shell, travelling empty and alone.

Later, tongues gradually loosen, but fear always strives to rein them in again. After some time at sea, doubts begin to stir as it becomes apparent the boat has drifted from its course. Mutual loathing sets in and panic attacks come in quick succession. Conflicts erupt for no reason. At one moment the air is filled with sobbing and the next with hysterical laughter. Occasionally, a voice breaks out in song. Someone reveals a clear, soulful voice and you wonder in astonishment why they are not a famous star. As the sweetness of their melody washes over you, you become fixated upon an idea: ‘If we get out of this alive, I must tell them to keep singing and take that talent seriously,’ you tell yourself over and over. Through all this, death rears its head from time to time, snatching away whomever it wishes, whenever it wishes. Amidst the hunger, thirst and death, as people begin to lose consciousness, others steel themselves for conflict. You shudder at the sight of them, sensing they are altered, no longer the people with whom you once shared food and laughter. Their jaws seem to stretch, primed to swallow you whole as they despoil corpses of random, valueless objects. You grow paranoid, convincing yourself they are feeding off the bodies themselves. You watch them fighting to the death, bent on destruction with every fibre of their beings. They have become animals, and you fear that you have become one too.

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