Empathy

1. How do you think the boy in the cartoon feels? - > what emotions why?
I think there a lot of things in his mind, but also his feelings, I think he feels sad, happy, tired, bored, stressful, miserable, at the same time because he knows he's gonna get money but he knows that he will still work even though he gets money because he can't have fun like the rest of the kids are playing.

2. What hopes+dreams do you think he has?
I think he dreams being a normal kid we see nowadays. He is working in bad conditions, of course he would want to take a rest and stop working.

3. What could we do to help?
I think we should give them some educations.

My Slave Diary

                                                                Diary entry 1

Dear Diary,

I woke up in the middle of the night because I had a bad dream. It was about people coming to take us from our village Kasi-Kasi but I don’t think about it anymore because I know that is never going to happen, I mean, our village is safe and sound and hard for people to find, so it doesn’t matter. I woke up and the sun was shining bright in front of my face. Mom was already up by that time. She always wakes up early to make us break fast which is very delicious, and that is fried fish with ketchup sauce. DELICIOUS!

My sister, Kutu and me. We went out to the market, to get some uncooked rice for our mother. She asked us to. After we brought back the rice. After we did that, Kutu and me decide to play a game called “Die gejaag spel” which means “The chasing game.” it is really fun playing with Kutu even though she is just 9. She is very good at it. My father Kaku came out from the hut and said. “Bulu! How old are you?” “I am 17 Father”. “And you are still playing with 9 year old? You have to be a man and do what the other boys do. HUNT. And you go playing around with your sister. I’m sorry Father, I will do this again”?

I walked in the house with embarrassment; everybody was looking at me while laughing. I went into the house looking very disappointed, my mom Kalimu said, “ What is wrong dear, are you okay?” “I am fine”. “You know I can help you right Bulu? I am your mother”. “I’m fine, I don’t need help from anybody, I am not a little kid anymore”. My mother just kept quiet. I felt very bad after doing that to my mother. It felt like I didn’t respect my mother. So, that night, I apologized, and she said it was fine my dear and she went back to sleep. I felt better then.

Diary Entry 2

Dear Diary,

The next morning, I went hunting with my father, he thought me some skills, so that when I grow up, I’m not going to be a coward. My father always says to me “Courage son, courage.” But I never knew what that meant; I have been trying to figure that all these years. I am scared to ask anybody; well they might think I am stupid, which will be embarrassing. So, back to my hunting story with my father, Father went to get some water by the river but I continued with my hunting. I had my spear aimed at a monkey up the tree, I was walking slowly and never even move a single muscle but something was distracting me.

It was not father, it was not the monkeys, but it was something dangerous, coming towards me, I could feel it. I knew it was a human, I thought it was the boys practical jokes but then it wasn’t, I knew it wasn’t.  I could feel the leaves crunching down the floor moving faster and faster and faster. It was coming towards me. Then I saw a human, it was white, had shoes on clothes, and a hat covering the eyes, He looked exactly the man from my dreams, so, what do I do? I ran, as fast as I could. I ran to the river to look for my father.  I looked and looked and looked but he wasn’t there. I had no choice but to leave that forest. While I was running, I saw this 2 big fat ugly man running towards me. I didn’t want to run to the village because I know that they will also be in big trouble as well but It’s he only way to get help.

I felt the shivering in my body, I felt fear but my father said I can never grow up to be a coward. I ran to the village. I shouted, “Help! Help! There is a man outside, he’s trying to get me, and he was holding an axe.” The boys and I went out to look for them. While we were looking for that 2 ugly fat man in the forest, there were noises that sounded very strange, it was coming from the beach and so, my and people went to check what was that noise. Suddenly, we saw this big gigantic boat. It had a big sail that was pushed by the wind. They had a big driving wheel, which will turn right, or left. Everybody was shocked and stunned. I said, “Let’s go, that is not important, what’s important is we have to hunt for those fat ugly people and kill them.”

We were walking down the forest and I felt something was wrong. SUDDENLY, there was a big net falling down from the tree. It caught me it caught everyone. I was panicking at that time; I was struggling out to be free and was also trying to help the others and I failed. They caught us. They were all looked mean and big. They laughed at us looking at us like fools. I was very angry. I had to stab one of those people. They were all shocked. I just wanted show them that I have no fear in me. They punched me in the face and at my stomach; it felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was bleeding in the mouth and I wiped it away and act like it was normal, nothing happened. They brought us to the big ship we saw just now. I never knew it was theirs. I should have burned it earlier. Luckily, I had my diary in my little pocket in my shorts. To me, writing is the best because it calms me down when I’m writing.

They brought me to this dirty little room ready for us with handcuffs to chain us up; it hurt when they put the handcuffs on us. It was pressuring on my veins, it felt like I was going to burst out all of my veins. It was night; I could see it from the little round windows on the side of the room. The boat was shaking like nobody’s business, I vomited a lot and everybody did as well because we were not used to the sea shaking a lot. I tried to get some sleep, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about my family, I miss them so much, I wish they were okay. At the end I felt very tired and went to sleep.

Diary Entry 3

Dear Diary,

It has been 3 days since I have written anything in my diary.  Yesterday, I saw the captain. I don’t what is his name, but his face looks very evil. He has an assistant, he is meaner than the captain, and he is the one who asked the people to torcher us.. I couldn’t stand it, every five minutes; I would just vomit like nobody’s business, I wasn’t use to the ship moving around. I have got one thing to tell you, I just hate this place. Every single time people die in that room. I just couldn’t take that place anymore. I feel like I want to jump out from the ship.  Every single day we get punish by that big demon assistant of the captain. We were whipped, beaten and sometimes kill.  We were treated like animals, not just animals but properties.

One day, I was being called to polish the captain’s shoe, I showed that filthy “why would I want to” face. I spit at him with the anger coming out. I screamed and I almost punched his face but I was caught, they took me away and got punished. They took me to this other room I got tied up with my both hands stretched out but my feet was still with the chains on. They took the whip and whipped as hard as they could. I screamed and screamed and screamed but I thought again, why am I screaming when nobody is going to help me? Tears came out of my eyes? I said to myself, why am I the one? Why? I prayed to Allah that he can give me the one thing that I one back… my life I had before.

I was sent back to the room. My whole body was covered with blood, all my people looked at me with shock. I was so tired at that time, I felt like I could just faint, but I stayed strong. They gave raw fish to eat, with flies flying around it. I just couldn’t it eat, to me it was disgusting but I had to, to stay strong all the way.

I was sleeping, I had a dream about my parents and my dear little sister, and oh how I miss them so much. But something woke me up, there was this person calling help across the room, he said he couldn’t breathe, he continued calling help, I tried to help him but I’ve got chains on my hand and feet. He was panting and panting, and then at last he stopped breathing. I knew he was dead. I prayed to that man so that he could rest in peace. The man was awake as well. He also saw that man who died, he prayed as well and he gently shut the man’s eye.

The next morning, we had to wake up at 4:00 in the morning, to clean he deck, it was tiring for me because I didn’t sleep all night because of that poor man passed away but I still had too.  Or else I’ll get punish again. I don’t want again do I? While we were scrubbing the deck, I saw the helpers carrying that dead man’s body. They were almost going to throw them into the sea but then I yelled and said “Hey, do not throw that poor man into the sea, or else I will chop your head off.” “Sure you can! Now scrub the deck!” that man said sarcastically while shouting across the ship. I couldn’t do anything else but just to hole my anger inside. They threw him in the sea like what they would to a fish. I hated them so much.

It has been a week since haven’t written anything on my diary, we were still in the ship, we know we are landing somewhere but we didn’t know where, I was worried they might go to their country and send us there to become more horrible torturing slaveries. I was sitting down in the room, the smell of dead people. Carcass. The people didn’t even bother to clean up the room and today we haven’t been doing anything at all, didn’t scrub the decks, didn’t wash the toilets, nothing. I felt relieved then. Because I just could relax and sleep in the afternoon.

I woke up again in the middle of the night, just kept on thinking about my family, closed my eyes and imagining the village with bright green grass on the ground. Tall, big, gigantic trees. The sky was clean and clear, the fresh air, the sounds of children playing with laughter’s and my mother’s smell of cooking, it was great just imagining them happily but suddenly the ship stopped.

Diary entry 4/5

Dear Diary,

I stepped into this new world; there were buildings, cars, clothes, different looking people, and horses. We had none of that in our village, I was shocked, but they looked very nice. We were herded to walk into the city, I saw some of my people was being forced to work, selling some crab cakes. I felt very angry because they were my people, I know how they feel like. These different white people with no feelings looked at me with disgust. I stared at them with anger. I showed them that I am not scared of what you will do to me. 

We were again being pushed into this big cage, the outside of this cage; white people were surrounding this podium. Suddenly this man comes up the podium and gives a speech. Suddenly, they brought up a women, she was one of my friend in the village. Her name is Asilia. She was pushed up the podium. She was screaming for help, She was crying, I couldn’t see my friend getting tortured like that. They checked her teeth, body, face, and hair. The man started mumbling numbers and the crowds started rising up their hands, I knew what they were doing to her. Selling innocent people.

She was sold to this man for 150 pound. She was taken away. Suddenly they took me out from the cage, I felt angry, and they were pulling me so hard, that my hand hurt. I was on the podium; everybody was looking at me I was an animal but they looked very different. They were checking me, in the tongue, hair, body everywhere.  I wish I were never brought here.

This man I was sold to, looked very nice. I rode with him on the horse ride. It was unbelievable because the man was so nice to me. He said “ Hello, my name is Jerry Buntman, don’t worry we are not going to hurt you, call me Bunt.” “ Hello, my name is Bulu.” I said bravely. His wife looked at me with disgust, I couldn’t stand her face, she looked like she was very mean and indeed she was, her name was Lily Mquire. I was sent to their house, it was so gigantic; it was so big until my eyes popped out. IT WAS HUGE. I was comparing this house with my house. Very different.  I stepped into the house; the wall was pink in colour. And there were stairs, carpet floors, kitchen, rooms, toilets, it was amazing, but then Lily, Shouted, she ruined the moment “Bulu, Now you are going to be called George.” “But..” “No butts, you are going to be called George, do you understand me?” “Yes master” “ Now go clean up the house, NOW!” Bunt interrupted “ Honey, I told you, no screaming’s” Lily looked at him and stared for a long time and walked straight to the kitchen.

I was cleaning up the whole house for about 4 hours non-stop. It was tiring but I kept on going and going, I felt so so tired, and just sat down on the stairs and rested my head on the wall. Suddenly, Bunt went out to meet some friends. I didn’t really care about that. So I wanted to rest my eyes and went to sleep.  The scream came right into my ears and just woke me up. It was Lily. She pulled my ears down the stairs through the kitchen and out to the back door.  There were some few of her people waiting outside the back door. They took me and tied me up and forced me to turn around. They took this long belt, and they whip me and whip me and whip. It was very painful, hurt, misery, everything at that moment was horrible, suffering and I went blur, I couldn’t see because they whipped me more than 50 times. I was brought in again.  I was cleaned up with oil, so that I looked very shiny. She was cleaning me up because she knows that Bunt doesn’t like torturing slaves, He wanted to treat us like normal living person but I guessed it didn’t tuned out very good did it?

That night, I was forced to sleep outside where the bugs, ants, stinky cows, horse. It was torturing but it’s better than getting whipped by a horrible “ladylike”’ woman.  The next day I was forced to wake up at 5:00 in the morning. Just to plant some seeds in the field, She passed me some seeds that were so beautiful and smelled great.  “Go on! HURRY UP, YOU FILTHY ANIMAL!” Lily said.

I had to dig in and dog out and repeat for about 40 times just for the seed, plus that, I have to water it. That took me about 3 hours.  Suddenly Bunt asked me to walk down the street and get some rice grain.  While I was walking down the alleys, I saw my people; their masters were torturing them all. I was shocked because they were my people, I thank to myself for having a very good place and master but not Lily of course. There was one of the women, they weren’t listening to the master, so the master, cut off her ear, and she screaming in pain. Some of them, they chopped off their testicles; some of their body was burned with fire. They were vicious.  

I came running home crying in the room alone, with the rice grain on my hand. I felt misery, pain, horrible for not helping them, I felt like it was my fault.  I had to go because Lily was shouting for my name and she was calling and calling and shouting and shouting, it was frustrating. She brought some of her man and they hold my head, hands, feet, even my mouth, to quite me down.  She took this hot blazing boiled water, and pours it onto me. It was tragedy, it was horrible. I felt my heart burning. I couldn’t stop screaming until Bunt heard me and came right down, and he was shocked. “Let go, LET GO OF HIM!” He quickly turned the tap water to cold. And gently put me down the water, it hurt but then it was cold, so it was relief. He went down, and I heard screaming’s over, and I hear Lily crying. He warned Lily by saying “ I will leave this house if you treat him like that again.”

So this is my life now, I never got the chance to see my family, my sister, never ever. Now, this is the part where I leave the diary alone and stop writing. It hurts me, I know it’s my inspiration but there’s always an end to all. Right? I see torturing every single day but I guess I just have to live with it the rest of my life.