by Terry Minett
Greengage limps in, looking for food or money I think. He looks in my direction and gives a smile and a wave. He can see there is nothing for him here so he limps back out into the afternoon sun. I wonder if he has eaten today, probably not. Wait my mind is fading, I bought him some food earlier, this local brew is damaging my brain.
I have just noticed in the corner Bobo, a very interesting man. They say he is over one hundred years old, if he is, then he is looking good for his age. He is a very tall man and very upright, his shoulders are not showing any signs of sagging. His origins are from the north, this is probably true, the people from there are very tall. He was a soldier, he fought for the British, he also fought against them for independence. Some people say that he was also with the rebels. He obviously likes to fight, doesn't matter for which side. He waves to me, I acknowledge, he doesn't speak so conversation is not possible. He just sits on his own, drinks his beer, then goes home or wherever.
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Chapter 12
Bobo's Story
One late night in my village a man from the British offices in the capital arrived, he was dressed in military uniform. Next morning we were all told by the elder to meet under the tree. Waiting there was the man in uniform, he was a soldier. He told us that there was a problem in nearby Ethiopia. He told us the country of Italy needed to be taught a lesson, he needed the men from my village to come and fight. When we knew we would be paid to fight, everyone wanted to go.
After some training I found myself in a uniform fighting in this foreign country. I was young so I was very frightened when we went into battle. The war lasted only one year I think, or that is the time I spent there. I was then taken by boat to Madagascar; there we were fighting the Vichy. It was here that I was shot and wounded in the stomach. After months of hospitalisation, I was finally strong enough to travel back to my country. The British told me that my wounds still needed time to get better. I was discharged from the army on medical grounds. I had no job, no money, so I returned to my family in the village.
I was now a married man with children, my family and I lived in the same village that I was born in. There was now a movement fighting for independence from the British. I did not want to get involved in this; I just wanted peace for my children. One day British soldiers came to the village; they started to search people's houses. One old lady complained and was immediately struck with a truncheon around her head. The poor woman fell to the floor bleeding; when I went to assist her they beat me too. After they had gone we helped the old woman, it was then that I vowed I would fight these people.
I had left my family and gone into the bush, I am not sure how many years I spent there. We would ambush the soldiers, they fought well and both sides lost comrades. The soldiers were black, they were our brothers, the white soldiers would hide and let the black soldiers die. If we were captured they would use torture so that we would betray the names of our fellow fighters. I had a relative who was captured and tortured; he managed to escape from their camp in the hours of darkness. When we found him he had been beaten badly, but within a few months he was fighting them again.
One day in October we heard that a truce had been brokered and that we were to get our independence. Slowly all of the fighters came out of the bush, giving up their weapons. I was happy that I could go back to my family; I wanted to see my boys.
On returning to my village, I was very saddened to find out that a lot of the men here had been taken away. Some had returned others had just disappeared. My wife told me how the soldiers had come to the village; they beat people and raped some of the young girls. I was very sickened by this, while in the bush I had seen this happen, my own comrades doing this. My boys were safe, that was a good thing, they managed to hide whenever the soldiers came.
Finally the British took down their flag and left us to rule ourselves. All of the people were happy, for the first few years the British helped to restore government and the new government was good for the people. Slowly they changed and started to suppress the people like the British had done. Over several years the country was very unstable. One rebel group would form and overthrow the government. When they were in power they were like the previous government, so another rebel group, another new government. Stability was very difficult to find, but with the help of several European countries we finally had a government that was able to rule.
People said that I was a rebel with the CDF, this was untrue. I would always fight for a cause, be it my family, my country. The CDF were a brutal regime, thank God they did not get power in this country. They rarely fought the army; they just went into villages and killed, raped and robbed. They had no agenda; they were just criminals and bandits.
Several tragedies hit the village, bad harvests was a constant fear. Every year you waited for the rains, if they came the village was happy, if not we knew it would be difficult to feed ourselves. I was given the opportunity to work in the town, I talk to my wife and she agreed that it would be a good move. I went to start the job on my own, when I had accommodation my wife and boys came to join me. Life was good for all of us; my two boys got educated and ended up at university in the capital. Both of them moved to South Africa when they qualified.
My wife departed twenty years ago, my sons both live abroad, now I am on my own. I try to find work doing whatever people need me to do. Here we have no pension, if you have no money you die. I am a very old man, I am not even sure of my age. When you lived in the village, parents did not bother to register the birth of their children. I think I am ninety plus more years, but I do not know for sure. I think God will call me one day soon, but until then I will plough the field, mix the concrete and work to live.
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Chapter 13
Sam's Story
My father was a diplomat in the then government, he was posted to England and my mother and I joined him three months later. I was only four years old when I went to England. All of my education from infant school right up to senior school was done there. The schooling was good and I was able to go to university in Cardiff. University life was good, lots of parties, always going to the bar. Because of this I was always behind with my studies. Many a time I would start my work when I came from the bar at midnight, getting it finished to hand in that morning. I was always falling asleep in the classroom, but I managed to get a third class honours in mechanical engineering.
Father resigned from his post, he wanted to go back home. He told me that sixteen years in England was enough. He and my mother flew back one cold February evening from Heathrow airport; I went to see them off. I had decided to give things a go here, this was more like home really.
I spent the next three years in England; I never followed my vocation of mechanical engineering. I did anything that would make me some money; some of the things were illegal. One time I got into drug dealing, almost getting caught by the police and threats to my life from rival drug dealers. This was a crossroads for me; I decided that I would return home and join my parents
I had finished all of my dealings here, sold most of my belongings, just keeping a few valuable items. I had wished the few real friends I had goodbye and took a taxi to the airport. It was a beautiful day in July, the sun was shining, England was at its best. I boarded my flight and was soon up in the sky, leaving what really for me was home.
I stayed with my mother and father for a short time, not knowing what I wanted to do. My father suggested I go to a small town where he had a small house and a business. He told me I could look after the business there and I could stay in the house. Having nothing else to do, I accepted his offer.
When I arrived in the town it seemed so quiet compared to London or Cardiff, even the capital here seemed alive. My father's house was nice and the business was bigger than I had expected it to be. Within a few months I had settled in, the house was nicely furnished, and there was a steady flow of female company. The business ran itself, or David ran it for me, he was a very old family friend, so v
ery trustworthy. This gave me more time to do other things, a bit like I was doing in England, some legal, some illegal. One good little project was to go to the villages and buy all of the chickens; I would pay little for them. Transporting them to the capital they would be worth ten times the money I had paid for them. There were other similar projects, taking fish from the nearby lake and selling them in the capital, I could make big profits.
I had found a girl that I liked very much, after one year of dating we married in the capital. My parents were very happy for me. It wasn't long before my wife gave me my first child, a daughter. That was quickly followed by another and finally a son. Within four years my wife had completed our family.
I was now well established in the community, helping people always opened up new avenues of business. People kept telling me I should run in the government elections; they thought I could help the people. After talking with my father who had a lot of influence in the government, I was ready to stand for parliament. After weeks of canvassing the day came for the election. Many people told me that they had voted for me, things were looking good. The count was not finished until two days later, I was declared the winner.
Being in parliament opened so many doors. I was soon importing various things into the country and paying no duty. There was money paid to me from contractors who wanted the work from the government. I was in a position to make sure they won the contract, but I was not doing it for free, it was very lucrative.
I had impressed a lot of people and I was made a minister, which gave me even more power to make more money. Then one day everything changed. I had been put in charge of a project that was funded by a foreign government and an aid agency. The project was to build a state of the art hospital in the capital. The funds had been allocated and delivered into a government bank account specifically for the project. The contractors had been chosen, everything was in place, it was time to start the project.
One Sunday morning I went to answer a knock at my door. Opening the door I was confronted by several police officers. I was told to get dressed, and within minutes I was being whisked away to the police station. They told me that all of the money for the project was missing, I was number one suspect. I was absolutely astounded; this was millions of American dollars. Days went by; I was held in a cell only coming out to be interrogated. After one week I was charged with the theft of the money. I appeared in court two months later, in a trial that lasted six weeks. The jury found me not guilty and I was free to go. This was not the end of the matter; everyone thought I had stolen the money. I could no longer hold the position of minister, I was forced to resign. My world had fallen apart; not really, I still had my business ventures and the backing of my local constituency.
I was now spending little time in the capital and more with my family back in the town. I bought a new car and some prime land on the edge of town, with hindsight this was not a good idea. People were saying that I had bought the car and land with the proceeds of the hospital fund, this was not true.
They say time is a great healer, people soon forgot about my case; other events had come along and taken their interest. I was no longer Satan; I was just plain old Sam, a man for the people.
I was back to the old way of doing business which I had missed while I was a minister. The cut and thrust, trying to pay as little as possible for something and then sell at a highly inflated price. One thing I did purchase for a very low price was a local bar. The place was very rundown; it needed a new injection of money and ideas. There were rooms at the back, these I made respectable and made for a nice little turnover. I was a frequent visitor to my rooms, at least twice a week I would be there with different ladies; one wife was not enough for me.
My father passed away after a distinguished career, all of the papers wrote obituaries. His funeral took place in the capital where he was buried. There were many people from the government, he was a well respected man, I wonder what they thought about his son.
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Chapter 14
Afternoon Dream
It's gone quiet so I go to a corner of the bar and start to doze off. Slowly the darkness takes over and everything is gone. I am walking along it's dark, just me no one else is here. There are bright lights, they get closer and closer, the closer they get the bigger they become. There is a pain in my head, the pain travels through my body and then the lights go out. My eyes open slowly; I am lying on my back. I am in some water, the water is getting higher, it's thick, it's not water it's blood. I try to move but I cannot, the blood keeps rising until my head is submerged and everything is dark again.
There is a loud bang; I wake up from my dream. Joseph is picking up the piece of wood from the floor, another dog probably. These dreams are becoming more and more regular. My mind is starting to flip I think, I do need to take a step back and reflect on my lifestyle. Ok Ben, tomorrow you need to change things for the better. You sit in here drinking all day, your body and mind is slowly rotting away. Tomorrow is a new start, I will change, I have to change otherwise I will be dead soon.
"Joseph you woke me up," “sorry Mr Ben, it was the dogs again,” “well I didn't hear a yelp, so you missed this time,” “yes Mr Ben, this time my aim was not good.”
I need the toilet; making my way across the yard to the pit I meet Barbara. “What are you doing here, didn't he turn up?” “yes Mr Ben of course he did.” She must have another client, “what are you doing here?” “The last one was in a hurry, he needed to collect his wife,” “ha-ha, he's a loving husband Barbara.” These men don't care, they cannot stick with their wives, they have to play away. “So what are you waiting for now?” “you Mr Ben, the room is ready,” “ha-ha Barbara,” she is a funny girl. “No Mr Ben, the other client had a friend with him and this friend asked me if I was available in one hour, here I am.” From one man to another, what a way to make a living. “Well it's a good day for you today my girl, you can buy me a drink later,” “I will do that Mr Ben, no problem,” "Ok see you later.” I leave Barbara waiting for her man, and walk to the pit. Opening the door I get the surprise of my life, a bloody big dog. It's a stand off; I stare into its eyes. Slowly I move to one side allowing the thing to get through the door. We are both unsure of each other, then without warning it makes a dash for freedom. That did frighten me, the poor thing is trapped in here and it doesn't know what I am going to do. Dogs are mistreated here, so from the dog's point of view it thinks I will give it a big kick. Releasing my manhood I spray the pit, the smell is made worse when my urine hits the bottom and disturbs things. Doing myself back up, I go back out into the yard and walk back to the bar. Barbara's client must have arrived, she's not outside.
“Joseph,” “yes Mr Ben,” “give me another cold beer,” Ok Mr Ben.” Joseph goes to the freezer and digs out a nice cold beer, so cold there is ice in the bottle. I notice in the corner sat quietly is the local thief, Godfrey. He will steal anything from anyone, even his own mother. He has been chased so many times by the mob; he has been caught a few times too. Here it's mob rule, a thief will be beaten by the people, everyone will join in. If the person is lucky the police will come and take them away or a person will try to damp down the situation. I remember seeing Godfrey on the floor one day being kicked. One of the crowd picked up a large boulder and was about to cave his head in. I shouted and everyone stopped. Over the next thirty minutes I managed to get the people to take him to the police station. His crime, he stole a packet of sweets from a shop, he could have lost his life for this small misdemeanour. I shout over to him, “are you behaving yourself Godfrey?” “yes Mr Ben," “that's good.” That's not true, he is a thief, he knows nothing else.
Looking up to the ceiling I see several lizards now. The original one is not alone anymore; it will have to share the spoils. Tonight this place will be full of bugs; the light will attract a variety of nocturnal insects. The lizards will not go hungry.
I feel a tap on my shoulder, turning I am greeted by the smiling face of Bren
da. “Hello Brenda, where have you been hiding?” “Ben I told you earlier that I was going to prepare food for tonight, you are forgetting, Ben that is too much drink.” “Are you sure you have not been sleeping again?” "Ben I work hard in that kitchen.” I don't doubt her words; she is a hard working girl. “I am only joking my girl, do you want a soda?” “yes please Ben,” “Joseph a soda for Brenda and for you.” I really do like Brenda, she is such a credit to herself, she is real fighter. Bringing up two children on your own is one tough job. I think some of the men are not nice to her at night, they say bad things to her. Some have promised her great things, but once they have had their wicked way with her they throw her to one side. But Brenda always gets up, dusts herself down and continues with life.
This hawker I know very well, hard working lad. “Hi Richard, how is business?” “hello Mr Ben, it's good I am making enough to feed myself,” “that's good.” Richard sells pots and pans; they seem to hang from any available space on his body. He buys himself a soda and goes off into the corner of the bar and sits. It must be so hot out there, he needs to come in and relax. I wouldn't last a couple of hours walking in this heat.
Now there is a beggar in the bar, this one I have to give some money to. It's a woman, she must be eighty years old, she walks with the aid of a stick. How can she fend for herself now? she needs help. I drop some coins into her hand; she blesses me before moving back out into the hot afternoon sun.
Godfrey has disappeared; I didn't see him leave, let's hope he has not gone to steal. One day he will be kicked to death by a mob, this will be his fate. Richard is already sleeping, few hours and he will be back outside again. I hope Godfrey didn't steal from him while he is sleeping. Pots and pans would be a bit difficult I think.