Saturday, October 1, 2011

When Silence Is Not Timidity and Roaring Not Bravery


T

here is a story of a Mother Kite and her daughter told in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.It goes on like this.



Mother Kite once sent her daughter to bring food. She went, and brought back a duckling.
“You have done very well,” said Mother Kite to her daughter, “but tell me, what did the mother of this duckling say when you swooped and carried its child away?”
“It said nothing,” replied the young kite. “It just walked away.”
“You must return the duckling,” said Mother Kite. “There is something ominous behind the silence.”
And so Daughter Kite returned the duckling and took a chick instead.
“What did the mother of thick do?” asked the old kite.
“It cried and raved and cursed me,” said the young kite.
“Then we can eat the chick,” said her mother. “There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts.”


Mother Kite had at least a daughter to care. It may not have been against the law of nature when she sent her child to do what a bird of prey does well. But she was intelligent enough not to ignore the sense of foreboding that were to come even if there was no a deafening shout anywhere around. Had our leaders- who steal a loaf of stale bread from the starved child while they have a basket full of fresh brioches- had this knowledge, had they known what they do is against the law of nature, not because to oppress the weak is naturally wrong, but simply because to take what you do not need, to consume in excess is toxic to oneself, they would not have swallowed everything they chewed. Perhaps, if they had been a little bit sophisticated, they would not have snatched the kid his bread; had they been a little more tenderhearted, they would have shared one of their brioches with him.


But who knows? They might have thought all of these stuffs ahead. They say you cannot dispute the fact that the kid did not have strong teeth to bite the stale bread. They had to take it just to help him with the same reasoning they tell us they are the only hopes- The Great Nation Hopes- while they silenced whoever hoped and spoke it loud. And they ask yet, where is the challenger? Those who gather the crumbs from under their feet roar for they would not have the chance if they lived in a just world.


Smart they are not, for they ignored a matchstick is enough to burn oil soaked wet logs. Prudent they are not, for they do not rule with a just advice. They should know that silence is not always timidity. It has a voice. One surely can discern the dissatisfaction through it. However, it is up to the ears and the heart. But as of the ducks, I pray to you to know these ones are not Mother Kite. They take our ducklings if we remain silent, if they don’t do that they surely take their future. Believe me, I have been a duck-well until recently.