Memories from the war

Image from mgafrica.com

 

Chika was six years old in 1969 when the Biafran war was its worst in her country, Nigeria. It is 2015 and still, she remembers a particularly dark day from that time. As had become the norm, there were loud noises from gun shots and bombs all around the area. That particular day, it was very bad and soon, information filtered into the village of approaching enemy soldiers. People began to run – many abandoning everything but their children as they took off into dense bushes around them. As the eight child of a eleven children family, she ran as fast as her six year old legs could carry but it wasn’t fast enough to run alongside her older ones and parents. Her mother carried their seven month baby sister on her back with a wrapper and their twenty month old brother in her arms. Her father was ahead with their three year old in his arms. Her older ones were running too. Chika was left to fend for herself and would have run faster – except that her legs, badly misshapen by sickness of the bones, would not let her.

When she fell for what felt like the twentieth time, she screamed out – ‘Mammaaaaaa…Mama’, hoping her beloved mother would turn and give her a helping hand. She didn’t. With tears rolling down her cheeks, her mother turned and called out sorrowfully.

‘Chika, you have to try and run. I can’t help you, my child. You have to save yourself.’ And even her words were delivered while she was running further away.

Crying bitterly, Chika began to crawl, wincing in pain as the harsh brushes bit painfully at her skin. She kept crawling through the dark until she fell asleep and when she woke, she continued to run..and crawl. Sometime that morning, she found her family, hiding and waiting, hoping to see her. At her appearance, her mother ran, picked her up and hugged her so tight.

‘God is good, Chika. You found us. I knew you would. I knew you would.’

Chika was relieved but till this day, she has never forgotten that life could possibly force you to make certain sacrifices…and that if not for providence, she might have possibly lost her family forever.