Captured but made for Freedom

Caption; Some Pacific Island slaves 

By FIDELIS SUKINA

Having been tricked in to a job offer by two young seemingly innovative Entrepreneurs Sylvester woke up in a dark room in chains.

He sat down in the corner lost and afraid trying to recall what had happened the previous night.

He was a free man like any other person born in to this world, but he couldn’t prove his innocence he had left everything at home before stepping out and meeting his fate, it was not by chance that he had fallen into this dastardly deed. It had all been planned out, being invited to dinner getting drunk and ending up in chains, a similar story to many others.

He begged for help, for justice, but like property he had been sold to the highest bidder.

He thought of his wife and children, and cried the loudest of cries screeching, but to no avail,

“Help me, Help me!” he screamed but every scream got him a lash on his back  

For a young black man to be sold into slavery was not unusual, even when laws prevented it, those were dark days for natives.

He never thought he would be taken from his own land and kept in darkness to be taken away to work the plantations in fields yonder.

“Please I am free man, I have a wife and two kids” Sylvester cried “I need to see them take me back to my home land” he wept in bitter dispute 

“Shut up you stupid idiot your nothing but a slave sold by your people” the slavers shouted at him

What a sad situation for a man born into the world raised by a loving family and having one of his own, only to be stripped away by colonial imperialist.

 Thrown into this new world he had to strategize, he and his other captured countrymen were smuggled into a small boat; they had nothing encouraging to say to each other but the simple advice of survival.

  “Never speak of who you were, never fight for justice you will be killed” said one of the captives

“Putting my head down, forgetting who I was, how can survive? I want to live” Sylvester replied with his head down

But not all the captives had given up, one of them Josiah, a hard man who never bowed down to the introduced authority, had a plan

“I suggest we take down these devil forces, a mutiny on this vessel” Josiah suggested

 “That’s impossible these people are merciless, they’d strike you down with no second conscious” Sylvester replied

The plan was quite concrete but most of the men feared death, they rather slave and hatch a plan during their exploitation than rush into what most saw as a 90% chance of failure.

It was really hard to convince the masses, they had been conditioned to submit to the master, fear was a way they exerted their authority to get their capitalist endeavors realized.

But it was now or never the thought of family and the sweet taste of freedom was just a mutiny away.

As they sat and continued to bask in fear and self-pity, Sylvester saw the perfect opportunity; he saw the men needed a leader to take them through.

“I don’t know what to do, but I have to do something” Sylvester whispered to Josiah “I see it’s now or never”

“What are you going to do?” a cautious Josiah replied

“Just wait and see” said Sylvester as he crept toward the sleeping guard.

Before the guard could wake up properly Sylvester struck him with a piece of timber, as the guard screamed, everything just went into action as if they had it all planned out exactly in uniformity.

The captives were never tied up or chained when thrown into the bottom deck, this proved an underestimate.

The renewed freedom fighters stormed the upper deck, meeting a formidable arson of wary slave traders.

The first shot was fired into the chest off a captive, everyone receded, but Sylvester forged ahead as if he was a gladiator fighting for his freedom, it was inspiring, he managed to bring together a band of broken down captives and together they got back their freedom.

They cried tears of joy and of sadness for their fallen brothers who helped them win their freedom, and as they sailed back to their motherland they threw overboard their dead brethren, and said a silent prayer.

They did not know their names or where they came from but they cherished their comradely, knowing their sacrifice would not go in vain.