The air was heavy with odors of hatred
He soon will have to discover that he was not his father’s only son
It has happened before in this very house
He held in within his teeth a memory of a forgotten love
He was brought here by his Congolese only father he has never seen
He thought he will be loved for a day, a month, a year; he thought he will be loved for life
He was only twelve, ohhhhh ! He was nine when he was taken from his native Congo to Togo
To be a refugee in his father’s rented house.
Today, he is fourteen and already has on his CV four years of working experiences
He still held in within his teeth a memory of a forgotten love, a forgotten ghost smile
He is not yet an adult but he knows he has to get up and go to work, go to the market and find a daily work,
To be abused and come back home with 500 or 1000 CFA just enough to buy himself pure water in a funny shaped plastic container.
He has been my dear friend for the past 10 days or so
I took him to the Police to seek help for him, with a secret hope to have his Congolese dad arrested, for abuse, negligence and stupidity
In my world, this would have carried few years of jail time
but he knew nothing will come out of it
He was afraid to lose a day of work for nothing
He has been to the Police before, three years ago, two years ago, and last year.
He is only fourteen
He has no faith in the system, he has no faith in the adult world.
He has functioned in within the adult world for over four years
He is only fourteen and today is his birthday
I wish him well.