It
is Friday afternoon: the blazing sun is high in the sky.
An event has taken place in this little village along the great
North Road.
Leah Chilufya is fourteen years of age.
She is in Grade eight at a nearby Basic
School.
She is hanging in a tree almost dying.
During this time of the year, most trees are in fruition.
It is Chilufya’s habit every time she comes from school to
run to the bush to collect some fruits to satisfy her needs.
She keeps some to take to school for her friends the following
day.
Mostly,
she collects Masuku fruits. This
time she tries another variety of fruits, the Mfungo.
She dares to climb this big tree to the branches and starts
collecting the fruits into her dress, which she has improvised as a
bag. She is pragmatically
practical. She has
collected enough and she starts climbing down the tree while holding
tight her “bag” full of Mfungo against her chest.
She
starts sweating all over. She
makes a wrong step and she is caught between a “V” branch of the
Mfungo and Mulombwa tree branch that extended itself into the fruit
tree. Her leg is broken
and the left hand is caught between the two trees.
Luckily enough, this happens along the road.
She still can shout and call for help.
TRAVELLERS PULL BY
All
of a sudden, some travelers pull to a lay-by to relax a bit.
They hear Chilufya crying.
The people in the car are specialists going for a consultative seminar organized by a body of the UN.
In the group, there is a theologian, a psychologist, an
economist, an environmental scientist, a politician and a
constitutional lawyer. They
are very experienced people with many years of practice in their
fields. The last person to
join them is an old man from the neighbouring village who is going to meet the local chief.
He is one of the consulters to the chief because of his wisdom
and sense of tradition.
Chilufya
cannot cry anymore. She is
exhausted. These men and
women stand a distance looking at the poor girl.
They open a debate on how they can serve the girl.
THE DEBATE
The
theologian using his philosophical background introduces some theses
of how God can save the girl. He
even asserts that even if she died, God will give her a new life in
heaven. God cares for the
poor! He proposes a
prayer.
The
psychologist remarks that the girl probably lacks care at home or she
is a victim of child abuse by parents and probably Chilufya suffers
depression. She recommends
a counseling session for the girl and she proposes that the case
should be reported to the Police Victim support.
The
economist reacts that this is the impact of debt burden and high
poverty level in Zambia.
Why should people depend on wild fruits as if they were
monkeys? He condemns IMF
and appeals for debt relief.
The
environmental scientist warns that such precious trees should not be
cut to save the girl. He
promises to ask researchers to get a variety that will not need to be
climbed to collect the fruits. He
promises to make a project proposal to the UN general meeting.
The
constitutional lawyer and the politician argue against poor policies,
call for a revised constitution that will include “Child Care
Act”. They both agree to
move the debate professionally in the next Parliamentary seating.
The
old man stands at a distance and sees how the specialists argue
intelligently. He does not
understand all they say. They
use very technical and specialized expressions which he did not learn
from his colonial teacher from England
whose father forced Zambians to pay taxes.
The dialogue and interventions are very professional and the
way they address each other is highly dignified.
Before
he comes closer to speak, a bus carrying some musicians approaches.
They stop to see what is happening.
They only start singing and Chilufya becomes a part of the
song. They jump into their
bus and off they go.
The
old man says that this girl, half naked, has no manners.
Children of these days cannot be advised.
They have lost their culture.
The schools just spoil them.
Such lack of “Mucinshi” (respect) was never heard of when
we were young like her. Maybe
the girl has been bewitched. After
all, how many girls climb trees and they never end in such a fate?
The solution for him is clear: mucapi
–call the witch-finder!
While
all these debates were going on, a shepherd looking after some cattle
in the Lilungu plains comes to glance.
He sees a girl that is familiar to him.
He knows her parents. He
dashes to the village and calls the father.
Chilufya’s father, seeing the half naked man, takes him for a
lunatic. The shepherd had
taken off his shirt to pick some lice which had colonized his garment.
MATTER OF THE HEART
At
last, the father arrives at the scene.
He sees the daughter Chilufya, hopelessly exhausted, yet still
holding the bag of Mfungo, waiting for a saviour.
The father in a loud coarse voice shouts: “Chilufya, you
Chilufya, my child!” She
recognizes the voice of the father.
She knows that she can survive now.
The voice of the father is full of anger and warning, yet deep
with sorrow and compassion. Chilufya
raises her head, makes a last struggle to pull herself out of danger.
She drops down still carrying her “bag”, into her
father’s open hands. The
specialist travelers look on. Unexpected
of the politician, he sighs: “this is a matter of the heart!’
THEOLOGICAL
REFLECTION
Christmas
reminds me of that anger of God who sees our mistakes and
hard-heartedness, yet with compassion, opens his hands for us to be
saved. When Jesus was born
the door of salvation opened, the new hope dawned.
The church is the open hands of God.
Jesus’ message was uncompromising.
Nevertheless the specialists of the time, the debaters, the
lawyers and traditional bearers looked on with no concern but for
their status.
Jesus
spoke of love and justice. Simply
the message of care for the neighbour and trust in God.
He admired human expertise but he wished it were put at the
service of humanity and preparation for a life after.
In Jesus, God came to the scene of human
misery, the
race
that suffers to bring hope.
Life on earth is a struggle.
We cannot always make proper steps.
Often we miscalculate and in our struggle to fend for our
needs, we sometimes trouble ourselves and cause pain to others.
Do
people hear the cry? Do
they care about the less privileged in life?
Am I absorbed in debates on economical consequences, moral
impacts of my actions, analyzing the situation, looking for my
security, referring to tradition, or making doctrinal theses?
As I travel do I hear someone crying for help?
May
the Lord help us to hear the voices of all who cry calling for help.
While considering other effects of our actions, we pray for
God’s wisdom to dare and save life, for strength to carry those we
love, to be effective witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whose
apostles we are.
Venerato Barbaine, M.Afr.
St Anne’s Parish
Kasama
