Breaking the Maafa Chain by Anni Domingo

Author:Anni Domingo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2022-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Trees line the narrow path to the water. I am yoked and my arms are tied. I can’t struggle even if I had the strength to do so. The guards push us on to the sand that moves under my feet, pushing between my toes. I drag and slide my feet, leaving my marks on the sand. I look behind me and can see the trees sway and the leaves shake. I see some monkeys screeching, jumping from branch to branch. My heart beats fast. Is that Jabeza come to say goodbye? My eyes let the tears fall for I know where I have been even if I do not know where I am going.

The water’s evil spirit foams and rushes forward to wash away any marks that could show I have been there. At the water’s edge our yokes are removed and tied by the legs we are thrown into the canoes.

The men pull at the oars and we are rowed out fast to the white devil’s boat in the middle of the water. The canoes full of slaves jump and smash around in the water as if laughing at us, playing, happy. Water splashes on my face. I lick my lips and spit for it is salty. How can anyone drink that?

The white devil’s boat is like some huge animal rocking and shaking, hungry waiting to be fed, to swallow us. It would need a lot of people to fill it up. The nearer we get to the canoe, the bigger it becomes. The smell coming from the boat is so bad it hit me in the face and almost stops my breathing. The nearer we got the stronger the smell. It is like the stench behind the huts, when Madu was collecting piss in big pots for dyeing the cloths. But this is worse, many times worse. This stink is not just of piss but also of emptied bowels by all the people of more than ten villages.

I stare into every canoe searching for Amadu but cannot see him. Did he get away? Has Amadu been sent to meet his ancestors? My tears, mixed with salty water, sting my eyes. There is no chance of escaping now. The pain inside fills every part of me. I have no space left to feel the outside pain.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.