African violet and other stories
Published by ‘amaBooks (2012)
ISBN 978-0-7984-5069-1

THE book under review this week is a collection of shortlisted stories for the 2012 Caine Prize, titled African Violet and other stories.
The 15 stories capture themes of poverty, violence, family disintegration, homosexuality and migration, among others.
Written from different perspectives, the stories are a reflection of various traditions and the impact of Western values on the African social fabric.
The first story titled ‘Bombay’s Republic’, written by Nigerian Rotimi Babatunde, is an eye-opening account of the ordeal of a Nigerian soldier fighting in the Burma Campaign.
The story shows the brutality of the whiteman, even as they got help from Africans to fight a war that had nothing to do with black people during the Second World War.
Africans are treated as mere instruments, no different from the guns; the only difference being that Africans were living tools.
Blacks took the flak of the war while the whites went on to claim the glory.
Babatunde shows how Africans were treated as brutes without the capacity to reason.
Despite suffering indignities, the Africans still served the whites.
Writes Babatunde: “Bombay did not mind that the baths were segregated, one for African soldiers and another for the Europeans.
The visitors always headed straight to scrutinise the Africans as they washed but never bothered to check out the lathering Europeans.
Reports had come that the pants of the African soldiers were sewn three quarter length to conceal their tails and the headman was bringing villagers to confirm if this was the case.”
In the story ‘Love Trial’ by Malawian Stanley Onjezani Kenani, the contentious issue of homosexuality is tackled.
Through sarcasm, Kenani shows that homosexuality is a practice which is not celebrated in the African culture.
The writer is brave enough to make it clear that conditions set by developed nations for ‘poor’ countries such as Malawi to get aid had forced the Government to embrace the abominable act.
As a result of a dependency syndrome created by the West, Malawi has been forced to accept what has naturally been rejected in the country in the past.
African nations, no matter what Western studies say, have never accepted homosexuality or regarded it a normal interaction.
A couple in the African society has always been made up of a man and a woman, never of man with man or woman with woman.
“Every week, news is coming that more countries are putting pressure on the Government,” says Kenani.
“Sweden has protested and so has Denmark.
“Ireland and Iceland are planning to raise the issue at the Universal Periodic Review, a human rights assessment that takes place every four years.”
These so-called ‘human rights’ are being shoved down the throats of the masses, which is a violation of the rights of a whole people.
The West threatens to cut aid to Malawi, it would rather have thousands of people die through unavailability of medicines as long as they do not embrace homosexuality.
“The results of aid being cut are beginning to show,” writes Kenani.
“There is no medicine in hospitals.
“Fuel has become so scarce that the Government has begun ‘fuel broadcasts’.”
Another interesting story is ‘La Salle de Depart’ written by Melissa Tandiwe Myambo.
Myambo highlights how the US has hoodwinked the world into believing that all is rosy in the US.
African families are especially targeted and made to believe that the ‘American Dream’ solves and drives away problems.
Ibou is sent to the US with the hope that he can change his family’s predicament, but instead, he is swallowed by the American culture and forgets the family that awaits him to bring solutions back home.
Writes Myambo: “Ibou looked away and pulled his red baseball cap further down on his brow and turned his iPod back on, jamming the headphones deep into his ears.
He looked like a character out of an American movie, especially with the pea-sized headphones plugged into his ears blasting a thumping, gritty bass that clashed with Uncle Djiby’s music.”
In ‘Mama’s Walk’, writer BM Kunga tackles issues of poverty, violence, family disintegration and motherhood.
It is a story of a man who fails to provide for his family as he spends his earnings on alcohol.
The writer reveals how this all leads to broken families.
“Papa, like the other men who worked in Daveland, the factory area behind Baragwanath Hospital, knocked off at 2pm on Friday afternoons, but he mysteriously arrived (in) the early hours of Saturday(s) morning(s), all the wages gone,” says Kunga.
Other stories in the book include ‘Urban Zoning’, ‘Moving forward’, ‘Table Manners’, ‘Bloody Buda’ and ‘African Violet’.
Indeed, it is a must-read.