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A train ride is an amazing if not daunting experience, and Jojo is pretty much aware of this.
While,he had paid for some rides to his rural home,he had equally stolen others taking advantage of the chaos that usually characterize the economy class compartment.
And although today,he has money enough to pay,he decides to play the hide and seek game with the train conductor once again.
After all the economy class is overly packed with standing passengers pushing, shoving and breathing heavily down each other's neck all for this cheap ride to the picturesque Eastern Highlands.
Some with considerable nerve are even flouting the non-smoking rule triggering howls and protests from whoever cares to shout in the process.
The scenario takes him back to the day, when old wise uncle Isaac had pointed the price train riders paid for the cheap rides.
He had mockingly likened them to the growing number of social welfare cases in the impoverished nation, considering the discomfort associated with the journey,let alone the amount of time it took to complete the 200 mile journey to the picturesque Eastern Highlands for example.
Bus travel was faster needless to mention the luxuries of music and videos that goes with it.
However the fare was almost double that of a similar ride in the train's economy class,where each standing passenger had to contend with the pushes,the shoves and the foil breaths like sardines in a can, each time the train approaches a railroad crossing or stop.
Old wise uncle Isaac now late prided himself in opting for the bus ride each month end he comes to collect his dues from the tenants who occupied his apartment in the ghetto.
He even argued that there was nothing economic in a train ride;as besides the discomfort,one was bound to spend more on snacks thus more than making up for the difference in the fares,due to the long hours you were to endure along the rough ride.
A 200 mile journey while standing in a crowded train was no mean feat for the likes of Jojo who has to watch out for the conductor doing his rounds along the corridors, while at the same time trying to secure his small luggage between his legs in case a thief decides to try their luck.
But from his precarious position notwithstanding,he can clearly capture the beautiful scenery outside.Of different trees, flowers, savanna plains,streams and rivulets, snaking through the vast expanse of forests in the midday sun.
It is a fascinating spectacle, and takes him back to to his childhood days when he used to think that the receding trees were infact speeding in the opposite direction.
At each stop, the amount of passengers disembarking would be replaced by an equal number of passengers getting aboard the snacking machine, making it difficult for Jojo to get a seat.
Besides,a seat on this day was not ideal, considering the risk of being flushed out by the conductor on his routine checks.
"For anyone,who think poverty is cheap, should try this",a guy standing next to him remarks".lt is incredible how one can endure such a travelling while standing".
"You can say that again,my brother",Jojo agrees"We have seen better days".
"The powers that be , have messed up the economy and we are now being made to pay the price".
"Thank goodness at least we still have robust forests like those outside.They are fast becoming rare as diamond, nowadays"
"They got spared only because they belong to those who control the levers of power - the corrupt Kleptocrats",he continues"Otherwise, they would have been at the mercy of those rowdy malcontents calling themselves war-veterans,who have done the same to our once viable commercial farms".
"It's the same story across Africa, where liberation movements have ascended to power through the barrel of a gun" he adds"They have now turned those guns on their own, holding them hostages in the process".
Then the guy offers his bottle of liquor and Jojo is amused."Hope you are not one of Kenny Roger's gamblers"
"Not really brother, thanks"
"Never mind,"he adds"But how much about trees do you know?"
"A little not much"
"Sure, what is that one outside"
"That must be msasa"
"Not really, that is mnondo"
"How do you tell them apart?"
"Thank you",he takes another swallow and pauses,"before continuing."A lot of people can hardly distinguish the difference between the two.Its true they hail from the same family,and one needs to study closely the leaves,the position of the seed pods of the two to spot the difference".
"It is always good to discover knowledge, even in this filthy train eh!"
"Moreover, you shall learn with time, that while the leaves are similar,on the msasa the longest and largest are at the end of the twig on the mnondo they are in the middle"
"But what do you think God had in mind when he created these vast bountiful forests,we see, the bird life and animals?".
"Of course he had you and me in mind.Do you know something about those blossoming muhacha trees,there?"
"In Zezuru culture, that tree is sacrosanct.It is under that tree, that traditional rites are performed to appease the spirits and gods of the land".
"Exactly"he continues"But from where l come , they use the marula species instead.It is even possible to ask for food when stranded under that tree and the gods would promptly answer with platefuls of food and water".
"But how often does that still occur today?"
"Not much really,as we have embraced foreign customs at the expense of our own"
Then,a flock of birds takes off from one big tree,at the sound of the siren,as the train approaches the half way station.
"These quelea species you know them?"Jojo feeling tipsy asks
"They are by their nature a menace ,a pest to all wheat farmers.
However they are a delicacy when properly roasted as a snack.Some enterprising farmers have found business selling roasted birds to travellers along highways".
"Now you see,why l say God ,Providence had His people in mind when he created the Earth and its vast endowments,yet we are at the fore front of ruining the same"
"You can say that again, brother,we certainly deserve all this poverty in our midst"
And before they know it,the train sounds its siren and pulls up at the last stop, facing a sign that reads Welcome to the Eastern Highlands.
Ever since my successful relocation to Kenya around fifteen years ago, not a single day has passed that I have not had a visitor. They all come and go, different ages, sizes, races. Diversity is a beautiful thing I think, the differences make species a sort of rainbow. Apart the colours do not make sense but together, they put a beautiful display in the sky that forces all things on earth to stop and stare. With these visitors, there's another thing that bounds them together, one that is rooted deep in their subconscious. It is what causes them to act the way they do, moving across this earth as though it belongs to them alone. The idea that bounds them together is this: Humanity can never be extinct. Perhaps in the short term, they are right, but if they keep living the way they're living, eliminating all other species without a second thought, the consequences of their actions will eventually catch up to them.
? Look at that sunset! Isn't it magnificent?? These are the words that I am all too familiar with and act as my cue to go off on my own. The visitors are all the same, especially those who come visit me in the late afternoon. They look at me with those teary eyes, filled with regret, the realisation of the consequences of their actions setting in? or so it seems. The second the su begins its descent into the earth, their attention is diverted away from me and towards the setting sun who never fails to put on a magnificent show in the sky even on the rainiest of days. These humans it seems, only live for the moment, never giving even a single thought to the long-term consequences of anything that they do. Don't get me wrong though, I love sunsets; but each sunset is a painful reminder that we are a day closer to the elimination of my species. A reminder of the burden placed on my mother and I, due to the actions of humanity, to ensure that our species is not wiped out. Is this the kind of burden a twenty-one year old is supposed to be carrying? Or, is this something that is unique to me?
I was born in the Czech Republic, 21 years ago, to loving parents. Everything about my life from birth until I was six years of age seemed like a celebration. Every day, the humans would come feed me, rub me down, and do a number of procedures on me to ensure I was healthy. It was soft living and I loved every minute of it. Every afternoon, there would be a lot of people coming to see me and my family. They'd stare at us, wave to get our attention and then feed us if we went close enough. A number would always back away when I run up to them, I guess they were scared. Perhaps they thought that I would hurt them, but I would never do that; especially when they have been nothing but kind to me.
I loved to play. Every morning I'd wake up early just so I had enough time to play with my cousins before the humans came in. Our home wasn't very big but we made the most of it. We'd go as far as the glass windows and then use our imagination to create a world of our own, where we were free to roam the land without limits and where we got to interact with humans. What a life that would be. One restless night, when I was around 5 years , I went to tell my mum of the imaginary world I had created. Her response to my imaginary world, completely shocked me. It was then that she decided to tell me the truth about who I really was. It was then, that everything changed in my life.
? Mum, I can't sleep. I keep imagining a world where there's a lot more space to play, and there's different things and people to see. A place far away and much bigger than this home we live in.?
Her face was grim, she took a deep sigh and then begun to speak.
? You may be thinking about Afrika. I've been thinking about it as well. For even though we have never been there before, we have ancestral ties to that place.?
? Afrika? What is Afrika?? I asked, more shocked than fascinated that my mother had been having the same thoughts
? Yes my dear. Afrika is a place, far away from here. Where the sun shines all year long, the food is good and never lacks. You can eat whenever you feel like it. Not like here where the humans decide when we should eat. A place where there's a lot of space you can walk for your entire life and never reach the end. Where there are different people and animals.?
? Why are we not there? I want to be in Afrika.? I exclaimed enthusiastically.
? Your wish may come true sooner than you think, my dear. I've heard the humans talking. Their experiment is not working as they hoped it would. We are dying faster than we are growing. They believe taking us back to Afrika might be the miracle to keep us from completely disappearing.?
? Disappearing?? I said quite scared. Sometimes, mother got lost in her words and forgot that she was speaking to me. ?Where will we go??
? Perhaps it's time for me to tell you the truth about your history. With the way things are going, it is better for you to know.
Long ago, our people used to live in Afrika. The land of abundance. There was a lot of space and everyone was free to move about. The only condition to this freedom is that they did not interfere with the freedom of the humans and other animals. An agreement had been signed by the leaders of all those who occupied the land and for years everyone did their best to keep their side of the agreement. Peace ruled the land and everyone was happy. Then suddenly things changed. It started with the humans. Some other human visited them and they changed their habits. They broke the agreement and begun terrorising us. There was a divide created between the animals and the humans. They begun killing us, for our skins, our teeth, our horns. Fortunately, we were stronger than them and with the permission from our leaders, we fought back. We killed them in their hundreds. There was blood everywhere, it was a sad scene but a line had been crossed.
Peace reigned for some years, then the humans came back, this time they came for our people. There was a rumour going round that we held the secret ingredient to the cure for all their diseases. We are strong, but they came with stronger weapons, suddenly our strength became our weakness. Parents were forced to leave their children who got trapped and children were forced to watch their parents get killed in cold blood. Every year, their weapons grew stronger which inevitable made us weak. Our numbers reduced greatly from thousands, they left us with less than one hundred in a few years. It was a disaster to our community. There was nowhere to go and nowhere to hide because our size always gave us away.
At the same time, a lot of other things were happening. Humans were putting up buying everywhere and carving out spaces for themselves alone, protecting them with electric poles to keep us out. Also, their hunger for more, caused them to turn on themselves. They began fighting and killing each other. Unfortunately for us, we were caught in the crossfire and suffered death, as a consequence of their actions.?
? So what saved us, how did we end up here?? I asked, curious to know more.
? There was a group of humans, they realised the severity of the situation; we were dying faster than we could give birth. These humans decided to act quickly to try save us. They thought that it was better to bring us here in this enclosed space, hoping that it would help us give birth. However, as you can see we have been dying because we have not adapted well. Now they are saying they want to take us back to Afrika, with the hope that we will be able to reproduce while there.
Now it's really late, go off to sleep.?
I wandered off to my bed with the thoughts of Afrika occupying my mind and before I knew it, I drifted off to a deep sleep.
? Oh wow! Look at that sunset! Quick let's go take pictures before we miss it.? The voice of the day's visitors brought me out of my thoughts. It was that time of the day again. Another sunset, another day closer to the elimination of my species from the face of the earth.
I have lived in Kenya for fifteen years and it has simultaneously been the best and worst time of my life. I arrived in Kenya with my mum, grandfather and a friend. Unfortunately, over the years we lost my grandfather and our friend. The death of the former caused a huge uproar among the humans, a bit ironic though because it is their actions that have led us here. Adjusting to life in Afrika has been hard but it has definitely been much better than our previous home. There's so much space, and different people and animals just live mother mentioned in her tales. I only wish that my cousins were here to enjoy it with me for the nights sometimes get lonely. I hear that the humans may have found a way to save us, but it is their last hope for there are no more males among us. I can only hope that this is not the end of us.
How rude of me, to have given m entire life story without even introducing myself. My name is Fatu, I am one half of the remaining Northern White Rhinos currently under heavy surveillance at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. I really love it here, but I'm sure I'd have loved it more if it wasn't for the extreme pressure placed on my mother and I to save our species. My life isn't a fairytale, my life is humanity's last hope to save our species from extinction.
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