After listening to Pa Dacosta's cassette on the April massacre, I felt
inspired
by his ability to express himself with eloquence and in a poetic manner.
Again,
Pa Dacosta reminded me of how little interest we show in developing the
ability
to communicate in our various, rich mother tongues; to discuss abstract
ideas and
science without recourse to our "great" command of her majesty's mother
tongue
and most of all reaching our very people using phrases and symbols known
to them
for generations. In his book "Decolonising the mind" Ngugi described
how ordinary people met in places they usually meet, reading his works
in Kikuyu
and enjoying it so much, embracing it as theirs. Without underplaying
the essence
of knowing other languages I thought that by beginning to pay attention
to this,
we will not only be boosting our collective sense of identity but will
also
contribute to the demystification of the often nurtured notion that our
languages
cannot be used for scientific expressions etc.

This Poem is therefore a tribute to the longing for that day when we
will take
our languages seriously and develop them as media of communication in
schools
etc. as much as it is a tribute to the massacred students for whom Pa
Dacoster
stood and spoke with dignity, sincerity and heroism.

I hope to be able to translate the poem into English soon. I must
shamefully
admit that sometimes I am not even sure of the spelling. The phonetics I
leaned
on were developed, I think, by the curriculum development unit.
Nonetheless it is
a start and I cannot express how it feels thinking in my mother tongue
directly
and not having to translate my thoughts.

I hope we will refocus our attention on the urgent task of restoring
justice and
contributing to the elevation of  the awareness of our people to reach
such
heights that no person on earth will ever keep them oppressed and
ignorant. This
massacre cannot be just another passing event!


METIT (Pain)

Tunde bele lumu sorri sorri
Helako gena sorri
Gëj lum rey rey
Metit munako opa

Baken nimu nexey
Nga jëlko ci ngalaw

Yaangi melni ku jogey ci benen jamano
Hanaa xamuloone ci tey leñ necka

Te halel moi magi ëlëk
Te baken bu mos dunda
Dina mos deh

Bon nak Adina potindaa la
Ku naan joh sa morom
Ken du jur bopaam
Te ken du suul bopam

Hanaa xamuloone
Nit lumu touti touti
Mo gena maga taahi-kow
Tas tabax amoon nafi
Wai deh deki musu fe am

Yaangi fenafen be Yabi
Melni xobi warga bu saali
Fu ngalaw fouf nga jublu
Xoolalmala
Ngai yoloos yoloosi
Melni bukki burus
Nooma xoleh ëlëk?

Tekat Tan tanehnala
Ngir moon lu deh la lekka
Wai yow yangma lekka
Te deyanguma

Hanaa Xamuloone fi "be faw" amatufi
Xew xewi rek mofi sah
Bon ndook bul melni puruh
Nyam binga ne feef
Ci suma loho la jaar

Nganaan ñun nga buga selmal
Te xamulooneh fi jantabi feñnafi
Wai bu bor setey
Ku rus ñaw

Yalna sa adina baña seda
Benga gis lorangeh ginga warral
Tek ko xaleh yu hamul dara
Balaa la suuf di sedey ëlëk

Yalna ñu ëlëk tannal jamano
Ni Xaleh bi di tanney malo mi
Seppi tilim bici suñ bir
Ngir suñ ëlëk naak

Alpha Robinson

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