Another Man's War
Page 31
As far as I can tell, there is only one picture of David Kargbo that survives, and it belongs to a grandson living in the United States. It was taken in Bo, probably shortly before David died, and is in black and white. It shows a small man standing in a garden, his hair neatly combed. He’s wearing slacks and a shirt and tie. I would imagine this is what he wore at church on a Sunday. He is holding a cigarette by his side. The beginning of a smile plays across his face. Maybe I’ve looked at that photo a little too long, but I see a hint of mischief. David Kargbo looks like a man with stories to tell.
David and Isaac shared a bond that no one else could understand – they had clung to life, and cheated death, together. Now neither is alive to tell his story, but they are not entirely forgotten – not among their families, and not in a village in Burma.
I managed to speak to Shuyiman’s family one more time, after Isaac died. They asked for news of him, and, when I explained what had happened, their voices dropped and I sensed their sadness down the line. They also sounded frightened. They said soldiers had handed out a paper in Mairong telling everyone they would be killed or arrested if they tried to go to Kyauktaw to buy or sell food. Gangs of Rakhines had stolen their cows, and prevented them from fishing on the Kaladan. ‘Maybe it would be better if we left this country,’ Roshi admitted plainly.
He passed the phone to a man called Mohammed, who spoke some English. He said that he had been a student in Sittwe, but had abandoned his studies because of the violence. He had come back to Mairong and now he was trapped there.
‘Nobody but God can help us now,’ he said. ‘Please don’t forget us.’ Then the line went dead.
Isaac’s funeral ceremonies lasted for a whole week. At a service in the Anglican church in Surelere, half a mile from his Lagos home, friends and family sang ‘Abide With Me’. It was the same hymn that Isaac and David Kargbo had sung every evening in the jungle, at the time when they thought they were all alone in the world. The priest asked everyone to remember the Muslim in a distant land, Shuyiman, who had given Isaac the chance to rebuild his life in Africa after the war. Then the coffin was loaded onto a hearse, its windows decorated with posters showing Isaac’s face beneath the slogan ‘Triumphant Exit’. We drove in a convoy out of Lagos, past belching trucks, snaking fuel queues and police roadblocks. We navigated our way along the treacherous highways of Southern Nigeria, swerving to avoid potholes and street hawkers, through the hazy, scrubby hills of Yorubaland. Isaac was returning to Emure-Ile for the last time. It was the village he had once run away from but which was always close to his heart.
In Emure-Ile, Isaac’s coffin was paraded through the streets for an entire day. The pallbearers, in matching uniforms and jester-like hats, danced on and on, despite the clammy heat and their heavy load. The trumpeters and drummers, in the same uniforms, barely paused for breath. A school band marched ahead with more drums and twirling batons, traditional hunters fired their muskets in a series of jolting explosions, and even the motorbike taxi boys, the okada riders, performed stunts as they raced up and down, saluting in mock solemnity. Isaac’s daughters, in matching lace and brocade dresses and sweeping gele headwraps, performed the ajebure, the traditional funeral dance, behind the coffin.
The procession stopped outside the various homes of Isaac’s cousins, nephews and nieces, before eventually arriving at the new house he had been building on the edge of Emure-Ile, the sweeping modern bungalow that always struck me as so out of character with the rest of the village. Here the pallbearers opened the coffin, revealing Isaac’s waxy, preserved body, resting on a bed of frilly white material and surrounded by flowers. He was dressed in fine beige and cream robes, a white skullcap on his head, and he gazed upwards with a glassy stare. Throughout that night, hundreds of people gathered around the house and filed in and out of the room where he lay, to pay their last respects. Outside, they danced and ate and drank. Isaac had always said that nobody from the village should be turned away from his funeral. Many people wore T-shirts that said ‘Baba Sun re ooo!’ – ‘Daddy, sleep well’.
A final service was held the following day, at Our Saviours, the church that Isaac’s father, Joshua, had helped to establish one hundred years before, when he was one of the first to bring Christianity to Emure-Ile. Then we watched Isaac’s coffin being lowered into the dry baked earth. His daughters swayed and then steadied each other by the graveside, and filled their shovels with red soil. The other mourners bent down and picked up fistfuls from the ground. I thought of that day in August 1945 when the villagers threw dust at Isaac to see if he was a ghost. He did not disappear then, but this time his coffin was being covered by the slowly mounting piles of soil. Isaac, my dear friend, was vanishing from view. That’s how we kept busy, under the fierce sun, shovelling dirt over Isaac. People had stopped crying. The Yorubas say the end of a long life well lived is a time for celebration, not mourning. Death is not the end, just a transition to another place. The spirit endures.
Appendix: Key dates
Colonial period
Mar 1824–Feb 1826: First Anglo-Burmese War
24 Feb 1826: Treaty of Yandabo; Burma cedes Arakan to the British
1827: Royal Navy establishes permanent defence station at Fernando Po (West African coast)
1850s : British establish presence around Lagos, after quinine is discovered as a treatment against malaria
Apr–Dec 1852: Second Anglo-Burmese War; British annex Lower Burma, including Rangoon
6 Aug 1861: Treaty of Cession; Lagos becomes British colony
1884: Oil Rivers Protectorate established (later renamed Niger Coast Protectorate); British occupation of larger Niger Delta area
Nov 1885: Third Anglo-Burmese War; British capture Mandalay and Upper Burma, taking control of the entire country
1886: Royal Niger Company granted charter by British government; sets up headquarters inland at Lokoja
1897: British conquer Benin; occupy south-western Nigeria
31 Dec 1899: Royal Niger Company’s charter terminated
1908: Initial search for oil in Nigeria
1914: British amalgamate Northern and Southern Nigeria into the Protectorate of Nigeria
1916: Nigerian Council established; membership includes sultan of Sokoto, emir of Kano, alaafin of Oyo and other traditional leaders
1937: Shell and British Petroleum renew search for oil in Nigeria
1 Apr 1937: Burma granted separate administration from India under British colonial rule
1938: Burma Road, connecting Rangoon with Yunnan Province, China, opens
Second World War
3 Sep 1939: Britain declares war on Germany
Jun 1940–Nov 1941: British defeat Italians in the East African Campaign in Abyssinia; many African soldiers fight for both armies
8 Dec 1941: Japan attacks Malaya and Hong Kong; declares war on Britain
26 Dec 1941: Aung San founds Burma Independence Army
18 Jan 1942: Japan attacks Tavoy airfield, Burma; by end of January, Indian brigades retreat across Sittang Bridge
15 Feb 1942: British generals surrender to Japanese Imperial Army at Singapore
7 Mar 1942: British evacuate Rangoon
May 1942: British Army retreats into India; monsoon begins
Aug 1942: ‘Quit India’ movement launched
Dec 1942–May 1943: First Arakan campaign; British defeated
30 Dec 1942: British Chiefs of Staff Committee decides to send African soldiers to Burma
1943–1944: Bengal famine
Jul 1943: First West African troops embark from Lagos to Burma
1 Aug 1943: Japan establishes nominally independent Burma with Ba Maw as prime minister and Aung San as war minister
Dec 1943: West African troops from 81st Division cross frontier from India into Burma
17 Jan 1944: ‘West African Way’ jeep track opens, allowing soldiers from 81st Division to advance into the Kaladan Valley
5–23 Feb 194
4: Battle of the ‘Admin Box’ (the Arakan); first significant British victory in Burma
2 Mar 1944: 29th Casualty Clearing Station ambushed on Kaladan River
1–3 Mar 1944: Fighting at Pagoda Hill; withdrawal of 81st Division from Kaladan Valley
8 Mar 1944: Japan invades India, crossing Chindwin River
5 Apr–15 May 1944: Battle of Kohima (Nagaland, India)
16 May–22 Jun 1944: Japanese retreat with British in pursuit
8 Mar–3 Jul 1944: Battle of Imphal (Manipur, India); Japanese retreat into Burma, with British in pursuit
Dec 1944: West African soldiers advance down the Kaladan Valley again
31 Dec 1944: Japanese abandon Akyab (the Arakan port)
3 Jan 1945: British retake Akyab
23 Jan 1945: Battle of Myohaung (Mrauk U); Japanese in Arakan defeated by West Africans; afterwards, 81st Division withdraws from Burma, but 82nd Division fights there until the end of the war
20 Mar 1945: British capture Mandalay; Japanese burn portions of the city to the ground before retreat
27 Mar 1945: Burmese National Army revolts against Japanese
22 Apr 1945: Japanese abandon Rangoon
6 May 1945: British capture Rangoon
6 Aug 1945: US drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima
9 Aug 1945: US drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki
15 Aug 1945: Japanese surrender (VJ Day)
Independence and post-war period
Oct 1946: Last West African soldiers (a Nigerian contingent) leave Burma.
19 Jul 1947: Aung San assassinated
4 Jan 1948: Burmese independence from Britain
1956: First commercial discovery of oil in Nigeria (Olobiri, Niger Delta)
1957–58: Conference on independence and constitution for Nigeria (London)
1 Oct 1960: Nigerian independence from Britain
2 Mar 1962: Burma’s elected government overthrown in military coup; ‘Burmese Way to Socialism’ begins (1962–74)
15 Jan 1966: Nigeria’s elected government overthrown in military coup; soldiers rule Nigeria until 1999 (with the exception of a single civilian government, the ‘Second Republic’, which lasted from 1979 to 1983)
30 May 1967: Republic of Biafra declares independence from Nigeria
6 Jul 1967–15 Jan 1970: Nigerian Civil War
8 Aug 1988: Height of 8888 Uprising in Burma (pro-democracy movement)
18 Jun 1989: Junta changes Burma’s name to Myanmar
27 Feb 1999: Democratic elections held in Nigeria
Aug–Oct 2007: Saffron Revolution in Burma (anti-government protests)
10 May 2008: Burmese constitutional referendum
7 Nov 2010: Burmese general elections
13 Nov 2010: Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi released from house arrest
30 Mar 2011: Thein Sein becomes president of Myanmar
16 Apr 2011: Goodluck Jonathan elected president of Nigeria
2 May 2012: Aung San Suu Kyi becomes member of Burmese parliament
8–14 Jun 2012: Sectarian clashes erupt in Rakhine State (formerly Arakan)
Oct 2012: More sectarian clashes in Rakhine State, with reports of entire villages being burnt down
Acknowledgements
Many people have inspired and guided me as I wrote Another Man’s War, but of course my greatest debt is to Isaac Fadoyebo.
I met Isaac while he was still in good health and able to share his memories with me. He was a gentleman. After he passed away, his memoir, A Stroke of Unbelievable Luck, was my most important source of information. I hope that this book does justice to Isaac’s bravery and humility, but also to the wider significance of his story. He opened a door for me, and cast light on some of the most neglected aspects of recent African and British history. He made me think about the Second World War in a different way. Isaac was an exceptional man, but he was not unique. My wish is that this book will help Nigerians to see and acknowledge the many other Isaac Fadoyebos that surround them in their daily lives.
I relied on the co-operation and support of Isaac’s six daughters: Nike, Jaiye, Omoniyi, Tayo, Toun and Shomi. They welcomed me warmly into their family, not least during the busy and fraught days around Isaac’s funeral. They answered my many queries with candour, patience and humour, yet they never sought to interfere or steer my writing in any given direction. The same is true of Isaac’s sons-in-law, including Shex, Gbenga and Ladi, and his grandchildren: Ayo, Yinka, Lekan, Olumide, Seni, Temi, Tosin, Ronke, Ganiyu, Lolu, Boye, Akin, Seun, Funlayo and Moyo. They gave generously of their time. It was a delight to get to know them and hear their perspectives on Isaac’s life and Nigeria today.
Robin and Hugh Campbell were wonderful hosts in Lagos. They provided me with a base that was not only comfortable and convenient but also full of stimulating conversation and friendship. Sam Olukoya was a resourceful and patient guide. Mayowa Adebola negotiated the potholes and go-slows, all the while keeping me entertained with his analysis of just where Nigeria, and Arsenal FC, have gone wrong. Ayoola Kassim, thank you for your help with the Yoruba language, and your friendship over the years. Yinka Oke also helped me with Yoruba. An old colleague from BBC days, Abdullahi Tasiu Abubakar, corrected my Hausa. Ahmed Idris in Abuja facilitated my various Nigerian visa requests with great patience.
Moe and Maung were the Burmese guides who took me up the Kaladan River, maybe just that little bit further than we had permission to travel. I have changed their names to protect their identity, but they can be sure of my gratitude. In London, Tun Khin was my accommodating Rohingya translator.
In Sierra Leone, Lieutenant Colonel Fatorma Gottor of the Sierra Leone Ex-Servicemen’s Association went the extra mile to track down David Kargbo’s family. John Abdul Kargbo then took over, and enthusiastically helped me fill in the missing years of his father’s life. My thanks also to Colonel Paul Davis and Lieutenant Colonel Chris Warren at the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League (RCEL) in London, who put me in touch with Lieutenant Colonel Gottor. The RCEL is a charity that assists Commonwealth war veterans. It has a dedicated staff, but works with a small budget. Although this book is in part a tale of British neglect, the RCEL is very much the honourable exception.
Major Robert Murphy’s niece Veronica Brennan helped me with information about his family. Robert Murphy has other descendants in Australia whom I was not able to trace. I hope a copy of this book somehow finds its way to them. I also hope that there is a surviving relative of Captain Richard Brown out there who might read it. I feel sad at the possibility that no one in Captain Brown’s family will ever know the story of how his courage cost him his life.
A number of people read my early manuscript and made invaluable suggestions for its improvement. I benefitted from Peter Cunliffe-Jones’ and Andrew Marshall’s expertise on Nigeria and Burma respectively. Julian Thompson’s military mind guided me through the strategy and tactics of the Burma campaign. Adam Roberts and Simon Robinson are not only good friends but also fine writers and I’m appreciative of the time they made in their busy lives to offer me their cogent thoughts and encouragement.
Conversations with Professor Ian Brown at SOAS, University of London, and Wendy Law-Yone gave me insights into some of the complexities of recent Burmese history. I drew on many sources for my understanding of Britain’s African army, but Professor David Killingray’s scholarship in this field is outstanding. It was Professor Killingray, as well as Martin Plaut of the BBC, who recognised the importance of Isaac’s story when Isaac sent his manuscript to the BBC in the late 1980s, and it was Professor Killingray who dug out Isaac’s Surelere address for me. Fidelis Mbah kindly went round to Surelere in early 2010, and made contact with Isaac.
In 2011, I made a film about Isaac Fadoyebo for Al Jazeera, The Burma Boy, which was the genesis of this book. Farid Barsoum saw the potential in the story and commissioned the film (it is easy to find on YouTube). Producer Ian ‘Butch’ Stuttard helped me turn it into reality,
travelling with me from Nigeria to Japan to Burma. Cameraman Nick Porter captured our journey in beautiful pictures. Adrian Billing worked his magic in the edit suite. The Imperial War Museum in London allowed us to use their superb film archive. The result was an award-winning documentary that evoked a warm response from all over the world. I would also like to thank Salah Negm and Al Anstey at Al Jazeera, who subsequently gave me time off to write.
My agent Karolina Sutton patiently helped me shape my proposal and found a publisher prepared to take a chance. Robin Dennis at Oneworld has been everything this novice writer could have hoped for from an editor: critical but constructive, encouraging and thorough. Under her experienced eye, my rough early drafts were knocked into shape. Sam Carter made valuable contributions at the end, and Henry Jeffreys and Lamorna Elmer have done great work in publicising Another Man’s War. Thank you also to Mary Tobin, the copy-editor, whose diligence has spared my blushes.
The interpretation of the past is a very subjective exercise; for all the help and guidance I’ve received in writing Another Man’s War, the conclusions I’ve reached are, of course, ultimately my own. Likewise, any errors or mistakes are my responsibility alone.
My wife, Nicole, has, as ever, been full of patience, love and support. And while I was writing this book she brought me the greatest gift of all. So here’s to a new generation; may their spirits soar far and wide.
Image Section
Isaac Fadoyebo. ‘I saw people joining the army, and I followed suit. Not knowing that I was heading for trouble.’ (courtesy of Fadoyebo family)
David Kargbo. He and Isaac clung to life – and cheated death – together. (courtesy of Ramatu Kargbo)
Major Robert Murphy, Isaac’s commanding officer, pictured on his wedding day before the war. (courtesy of Veronica Brennan)