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    Aliou
    Aliou
    Aliou
    Ebook83 pages1 hour

    Aliou

    By Eric Reese

    ()

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    About this ebook

    When Africa feels like everything except home...

    A young man is determined to seek a way out of poverty after the death of his father. Countless chronicles of many who have fled to Europe have highlighted calamities on its pathway while diaspora crushes much more than dreams of gaming glory.

    However, there does exist a bastion of order, known to fellow Gambians as 'The Backway'. Many African migrants and refugees have died, been ransomed or have been taken into slavery crossing the desert sands of the Sub-Sahara on their journey in search for a better life. 

    It was only yesterday; Aliou was in charge of his own destiny; excelling in high school, having a crush on a girl he tutored in his village back home and helping his cousin overcome addiction in the country's capital.

    Today, he must take on the role of protector and provider. His young life is the only hope in his eyes.

    This young adult adventure of wit and poise delivers one of the most powerful storylines of today's calamities of poverty and escape.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEric Reese
    Release dateSep 20, 2019
    ISBN9781393966470
    Aliou
    Author

    Eric Reese

    "Every book I write goes into uncharted territories others won't pen."   About me: I'm Eric Reese, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I've worked as a community organizer, educator, graphic design, human services and a number of other fields.  I'm the recipient of the first Mayoral Scholarship of Philadelphia (1993), the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers Human Relations Award (1989) and a few other awards and scholarships nationally and globally.  I've always had an interest in writing especially from the old-journal-in-the-morning days as many of my books today reflect my experiences here and abroad.  When I have time for myself, I love traveling, mediating and researching new marketing tactics. One of my weirdest experiences was when I once lived on a top roof in an apartment building in Beirut for a few weeks until I found somewhere to stay during the war in Afghanistan. Every night, I'd listen to BBC radio and hear the chaos while not be detected.  Some say that my lively and energetic character has made me many friends across the world. I really hope so; with many friends come many enemies. In the future, I'd love to own a large home somewhere in a quiet peaceful spacious area where my neighbors are not close but not far. Now I live wherever is called home at the time in hopes of achieving my goal one of these days. You can contact me at feekness@gmail.com

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      Book preview

      Aliou - Eric Reese

      1

      I’m A Gambian

      There was something almost magical about the sounds of the birds at dawn. In Gambian villages like this, it was a reminder that even though the darkness had found its way to the village; the sun would always rise again. The birds would always remind you of what it felt like to be alive, to wake up, and to find you have all your limbs still attached to your body. They also would remind you that your family was still in one piece and spread across your compound. The sound of the cock is always a beautiful sound to hear.

      Sometimes, families would wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of the bloody cries of war and the heart-breaking sobs of death. Tribal wars were a part that had become almost routine to the Gambian people. Sometimes, a neighbouring village just woken up and raided another village, just because they differed over something petty.

      Aliou threw off the threadbare material that served as a blanket. It was time to be up and about, and even though the weather was chilly, he and the other children from neighbouring compounds made their way to the village stream to fetch water that would be used in their separate compounds. The water they would use for their morning bath before they made their way to school.

      The school was a few miles away from the small village. The village comprised about twenty compounds, and occasionally you might find over fifty people in a compound. Some were family members from remote villages who had run back to the town after their places of residence had gotten attacked, and others were guests that had been given shelter.

      In Aliou’s compound, there were about fifty people. He shared a room with ten other boys. Each given a limited spot to declare as his own. Sometimes, the youths spent nights arguing over who wanted or deserved a spot, with the bigger ones bullying the little ones and seizing control of the best sleeping spaces. Unfortunately for Aliou, he was one of the younger boys.

      His father had three wives and twelve children. Growing up in such a huge household was both a blessing and a curse for him. There were good moments and bad ones. Although his father's three wives usually got along, there were still those occasional squabbles to deal with.

      Squabbles that turned into something big when care was not taken, or until the neighbours went out to meddle. Sometimes, when such disputes took place, a wife might refuse to feed the other wife’s sons if it was her day to cook. As far as she was concerned she controlled the day, and no one could criticise her for what she preferred or preferred not to do when the kitchen was concerned.

      Despite the cold wind blowing, the children had no choice but to have their baths from the cold water from the stream. The little ones, like Aliou, would bathe in pairs so that the other ones could take their turns in due time, and bathe before school. Sometimes, when the older ones were feeling rowdy, they would take control of the baths, and the younger ones would have no choice but to bathe outside.

      The trip to school was fun, as they went in groups with the children from the other compounds making the journey more entertaining. Sometimes, they would stop by the roadside to play with insects and lizards, until the older ones would chase them away. On other occasions, they would disappear and skip school for a whole day.

      The school was an old building that made the villagers wonder how on God’s green earth it was still standing. Its walls had cracks all over, and the paint wasn't even that visible anymore. Children from various villages attended the school and that caused the class to be overcrowded. This encouraged the bigger kids to skip the boring classes and go to nearby farms, to steal mangoes and other fruits till the farmers noticed their presence and chased them away from their farms. Once, Aliou got caught by the owner of a farm where he was stealing fruits. When he tried to run away, he tripped over a rock and ended up with a deep gash on his knee. He received six painful strokes of cane when he was reported to his father.

      Aliou’s father was a strict man of average stature. Aliou's memories of his dad were mostly of him punishing him for disobeying rules. Occasionally, he praised Aliou for doing well in school. His father hardly ever smiled unless his friends would come around with big business plans or some money- related issues. Because of this, his lips would stretch into twice its size and his yellow teeth would flash for the world to see. It was when Aliou had grown up and looked back that he realised that there were a bunch of things he didn’t know about his father.

      Although, he knew his father's favourite meal and when his father bought new clothes, Aliou didn’t know why he would always buy more brown outfits. He was tall and had a full head of hair. Though Aliou's father was not rich, he had always tried his best to provide for his household. Life was hard, and that was why Aliou wanted to make it big someday.

      Only two people in the village had got scholarships to the big institutions in the capital. Aliou's cousin, his father’s elder brother’s son was one. He remembered the big party that was thrown in the compound that day. There was a bunch of celebration and Aliou had seen his father's brightest smile that day. The best part that day was the meat that was avail‐ able. Aliou, his cousins, and their friends took more than they could eat, and they all ended up with upset stomachs later that day.

      Aliou remembered how he boasted to his friends he too one day will have such a big party thrown, and that there would be more meat than they could

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