Pages 26-27
He recalled vividly his conversation with one of
the young lads that was attending at the university; a student called Kebi. The
young man had a strong posture that radiated pride, and was studying to be an
Engineer. He had met with him as they sat on a bench in the university’s park.
The young lad initially sat down next to him
unaware that he was not a native, but after the greeting, Kebi became aware
that the man ‘sounded’ like some white men from overseas.
“So what is your name?”
“My name is Kebi Husi.”
“I am Prof. James, but you can call me Sniffer, I
don’t mind.”
“You are a professor?!”
“Yes.”
“I don’t believe it. You are a black man and you are
a professor.”
“You can be anything you want to be in life if you
set your mind to it.”
“I am studying to be an engineer. I am lucky to
have a bursary, my mom is a domestic worker and my father was in exile.”
Sniffer sighed. He had heard similar stories
of tragedy and pride a lot in this single week.
“So where do you live?”
“A few kilometres from here, in a location.”
“Oh, I see.” For a moment, Sniffer wanted to know
what life was like in there, but he did not want to offend Kebi, by asking.
“I will move out from there as soon as I finish my
studies and get a job. We only live there so that my mother can be close to her
work.” He was thoughtful for a moment, “Actually my mother has done so much for
me, I wish she could stop work once I get a good job and move into one of these
suburbs,” He continued pointing in the direction of the effluent suburb the
park was close to, “Then my mother will be so close to her work and she won’t
have to ride on those rough taxi’s or walk a long distance in the mornings.”
“I see.”
“And you?”
“Oh, I live and work in Canada.”
Kebi smiled “Yes, I can tell from your accent that
you are not from here.”
“Yes, I’m only visiting for a few days. So what’s
life like in the…the settlement?”
Kebi shifted his weight slightly; a bit uncomfortable
then he looked back at Sniffer with a bit of a frown on his face.
“No lights…or proper sanitation at the worst, but
it is manageable, depending on if the ‘settlement’ as you call it is
recognized.”
“No electricity! How do you study?”
“Make the most of your day time and if necessary
improvise in the evening if you have to. But like I said I have a bursary which
covers my accommodation for my university years, if I didn’t have a bursary I
would have to do some garden work to raise some money to buy candles.” He shook
his head and smiled, “I never wanted to be a garden boy, no not for me, thank
you…”
