A MURDERER’S MIND
ANY SOUTH AFRICAN WITH THIS IN MIND DOESN'T DESERVE THEIR FREEDOM WHICH WAS BLOODILY FOUGHT AND WON...
A KENYAN WOMAN WENT THROUGH SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THIS STORY. (I WROTE THE ABOVE JUST AFTER THE XENOPHOBIC VIOLENCE ERUPTED IN SOUTH AFRICA BUT NEVER KNEW THAT A CLOSELY RELATED EVENT WOULD OCCUR. LUCKILY, THE WOMAN SURVIVED.)
"They all need to get out. I saw them stumble their way in with their rags dreaming of riches. What filth? They come in the name of refugees only to steal my job. What the heck were they thinking, if at all they were... They came over with their Zimbabwean millions. Ha, ha! The land of poor millionaires. I heard that they minted out a half a million note which can only buy a soda!
It’s not my problem after all. It’s our leaders who ignored them. They heard their cries from the broken borders but chose to shut their ears. I saw one of them yesterday in the shop where I used to work. With her wide smile, she wooed the customers whom I used to serve. Her short spacy beady hair and dark seasoned skin that could have been smoother were it not for her lack of sleep. She works twice the hours that I used to for half my pay. At least she’s eating though. That fool! I don’t have any job. Her husband even managed to get my best friend’s miner job. Now my kids’ bubbly eyes are turning into a hollow look. My son used to run up to me with a toothless smile but now he is just cramped down by the corner with hunger in his eyes. My family is never happy.
Why did Thabo Mbeki not listen to a crying and oppressed nation? Why did the African Union applause when Robert Mugabe said the British have no business interfering in Zimbabwe ? Worst of all, why did I take my job for granted? But she was the one who came with all smiles covering her ill desperation. She pleaded with my boss whose love for profit was quick to see a good deal. He would after all pay no tax for this illegal immigrant laborer. He is also to blame but why bother with him. My problem is with her. She must already see me coming. Look at her! She’s already smiling. She probably thinks I am a customer. I got my bottle. I got my old sock dipped in. This ‘drink’ should sort her out. My friends understand. These guys are taking over businesses everywhere. Even before I enjoy the fruits of my relatively young freedom, these guys come to take it. I fought for my country until the white supremos backed down. They should go back.
Hey! Why am I questioning myself? This paraffin will do. This matchstick will do. This bottle will do. Psss…Look at her smile. She played with fire and now she’ll burn. I warned her. All of them should go!!!"
It’s not my problem after all. It’s our leaders who ignored them. They heard their cries from the broken borders but chose to shut their ears. I saw one of them yesterday in the shop where I used to work. With her wide smile, she wooed the customers whom I used to serve. Her short spacy beady hair and dark seasoned skin that could have been smoother were it not for her lack of sleep. She works twice the hours that I used to for half my pay. At least she’s eating though. That fool! I don’t have any job. Her husband even managed to get my best friend’s miner job. Now my kids’ bubbly eyes are turning into a hollow look. My son used to run up to me with a toothless smile but now he is just cramped down by the corner with hunger in his eyes. My family is never happy.
Why did Thabo Mbeki not listen to a crying and oppressed nation? Why did the African Union applause when Robert Mugabe said the British have no business interfering in Zimbabwe ? Worst of all, why did I take my job for granted? But she was the one who came with all smiles covering her ill desperation. She pleaded with my boss whose love for profit was quick to see a good deal. He would after all pay no tax for this illegal immigrant laborer. He is also to blame but why bother with him. My problem is with her. She must already see me coming. Look at her! She’s already smiling. She probably thinks I am a customer. I got my bottle. I got my old sock dipped in. This ‘drink’ should sort her out. My friends understand. These guys are taking over businesses everywhere. Even before I enjoy the fruits of my relatively young freedom, these guys come to take it. I fought for my country until the white supremos backed down. They should go back.
Hey! Why am I questioning myself? This paraffin will do. This matchstick will do. This bottle will do. Psss…Look at her smile. She played with fire and now she’ll burn. I warned her. All of them should go!!!"
A KENYAN WOMAN WENT THROUGH SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THIS STORY. (I WROTE THE ABOVE JUST AFTER THE XENOPHOBIC VIOLENCE ERUPTED IN SOUTH AFRICA BUT NEVER KNEW THAT A CLOSELY RELATED EVENT WOULD OCCUR. LUCKILY, THE WOMAN SURVIVED.)
