To God be the Glory for the life and times of Maya Angelou

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On my way home this afternoon, I was checking out my Facebook feeds (I know I am not supposed to do that but I was stuck in traffic) my heart was struck crushed when I read R.I.P. Maya Angelou which one of my friend’s had posted. It hit me so hard that I just started to cry. It felt as if I were losing a very close friend. (Now I really wish I hadn’t checked my FB feeds while being stuck in traffic).Just the other day I read her post on her FB page that her doctor thought it would be best for not to go to an award ceremony. Also her thanks to all the birthday wishes on April 4^th when she had just turned 86.Despite the sadness, I knew about her beliefs towards death, so now she is resting in peace. I am deeply grateful for having read many of her novels and poems although I still believe she had much more to teach us.

My all time favorite poem written by this great poet is “And Still I Rise”. Among her many novels my favorite is The Heart of a Woman (1981). Her last book Mom & Me & Mom (2013) made me laugh and made me cry, inspiring.

 As the great poet, author, educator, actor, director and activist wrote: " 'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.' and she sure made me, and other fans I am sure, feel loved in her lifetime. This quote has been shared so many times on the social networks. It is one that I always remember.

The world has lost a great icon. Maya Angelou, may you rest in peace. Thank you very much for all the inspiring words.
May 28, 2014 Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

And Still I Rise

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may tread me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

Maya Angelou

Here is a video where Dr. Maya Angelou reads her poem “And Still I Rise”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqo50LSZ0  

Terror Came While the Girls Were Asleep

        

         It was a dark cold night; the girls were sound asleep on their warm comfortable beds in their boarding school rooms. They had had a long tough day filled with tests and new subjects to learn and talk about. They never complained about school, though, because they knew that studying was precious and it could change not only their future, but also the future of their families and communities, as they liked to call their tribes. The place was a small city in Nigeria called Chibok, a poor African city, unknown to the Western world or even other countries in Africa.

On this night, the night of April 14^th something was about to happen that would change their lives forever, not only theirs, but their families and communities also. How were they to know that as of this night the world would hear of this city?

Lights were out after prayers, some girls giggled before falling asleep while others immediately fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Some of them felt very uneasy that night especially Adisa (whose name meant the lucid one), Akachi ( whose name meant God´s hand) and Chidike ( whose name meant the strength of God).

These three friends had studied together ever since they were little and now at twelve they felt even more like sisters. They would always sit next to each other during their classes and their beds were close to each other´s in the dorm. All of them wanted to become doctors in order to help their families and communities. They felt very privileged that they could go to that school, especially because of what was happening in their country. It had become a very dangerous place to live in.

 There was a group of terrorists called Boko Haram, meaning the Western education is sinful, that was terrorizing the country by abducting young girls, setting off bombs or just shooting at people; Christians , Western Tourists or anyone who was not Islamic. Hideous actions had been taking place since 2009 but had not made the headline news only the local news and small reports in some famous papers.

As  Adisa, Akachi and Chidike tried to fall asleep they talked about their future plans and how they would come back after medical school and set up a clinic in their community. Adisa wanted to become an obstetrician because she knew that a lot of women died giving birth. Akachi wanted to become a pediatrician because many babies died before reaching their first birthday. And Chidike wanted to become a GP. She believed that they would benefit more from this practice than any other and then later on she would pursue her studies. These plans comforted them as they fell asleep, besides helping their community, they would be together.

All of a sudden, they were startled by noises coming from the outside. They heard cars, trucks and motorcycles. They heard gun shots and doors being broken down. They also heard the other girls screaming. Their bodies started to tremble as fear overcame them. They knew what was going on for they had read similar stories in their History class. They looked at each other and decided that by being quiet they would probably be unnoticed for deep inside they knew what was happening. It was the Boko Haram.

They had heard about the Boko Haram many times before and they prayed that they´d be spared. They also talked about this group on several occasions trying to make heads or tails out of it.  But unfortunately, it was happening at their school and to them. This group of terrorists would abduct girls from schools declaring that God asked them to do so and sell some of the girls as slaves because they believed that Western education must be stopped. Some of the girls were sold but others were rapped 15 times a day. The virgins would be deflowered by the head of the group and then sold or rapped or killed. The girls couldn´t understand how God had asked this group to do such horrible things. The girls could read and write and knew what was written in the scriptures and it was far from what this group was declaring.

The three friends were huddled together under one of the beds gasping for their lives when the door to their dorm came tumbling down. They did not make a sound as not to be found, but to no avail.

Men dressed like soldiers carrying huge guns; and to their horror young boys not older than 12 also barged into their room forcing all the girls to get out and go outside. The three friends prayed silently but were found by one of the smallest boys who looked under the bed and saw them. They screamed and started to cry. The soldiers hit them with their guns forcing them out from under the bed.

The soldiers dragged them across the room and down the stairs by pulling on their hair and poking them with their guns all the way outside to where the trucks, cars and motorcycles were parked. Luckily the three friends were thrown onto the same truck; which happened to be one of the last trucks to leave the school. Luckily because they had talked about this before and they had agreed that if they were captured one day, they would try to run away together. It would be better to die trying to run for freedom in the wild than to be rapped or sold as a slave and die anyway in the hands of these men.

So, as soon as the truck drove off of the school grounds, the three friends jumped off and rolled to the bushes, encouraging some of the other girls to do the same. They got up from the hard rocky ground as quickly as they could and started running. No one looked back. They kept on running as fast as they could; being scratched by the trees and bushes. Gunshots were heard but none of the three friends were hit. Other girls also jumped off but when the sun came out the next day the only girls to be seen in the trees were Adisa, Akachi and Chidike, so they figured that the other girls had been hit by the bullets or recaptured. Local authorities spotted the three friends and rescued them bringing them back to their families.

Back at home, they still do not feel safe. Their family members do not sleep indoors as to not facilitate another attack. They feel for their 276 schoolmates who are missing and for their family members who are in so much pain and suffering. A worldwide plea to bring the girls back is underway.  Hopefully there will be a stop to this finally now that it has hit the media.

May 12, 2014- After having read the story about what is happening in Nigeria, I came up with this short story. I feel for these girls and their situation has touched me. All persons in this story are fictional and any resemblance is a coincidence. Although some girls managed to escape; this story is totally my idea of how it all happened. Nonetheless, it happened in a governmental secondary school when the students were called to take their physics exams, according to the news.

Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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Bibliography (These were a few of the articles I have read. I also watched the CNN news reports on TV)

Belly Ballot (African Baby Names) available at:  http://babynames.net/all/african    accessed on May 11, 2014

Buzz Feed World available at: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jinamoore/nigerias-bring-back-our-girls-movement-marks-one-month-anniv   accessed on May 11, 2014

BBC News available at:  http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27360712 accessed on May 11, 2014

Boko Haram, Wikipedia available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boko_Haram  accessed on May 12,2014

Nigeria - Bring Back Our Girls

As I watch CNN news on this gray Sunday morning, Mother’s Day, I am saddened by the news of the 276 girls who were abducted in Nigeria. As they show the story, my hearts goes out to the families who had their young daughters taken away from them on the night of April 14^th to become slaves.

As I watch the news reports I learn that Nigerians have been protesting their government to take action to find the girls and bring them home. People around the world have joined in, using social media to call upon officials to #BringHomeOurGirls and express solidarity with the families.

As they show the families you can see their anguish and pain. I have no idea what these girls are going through. I can only imagine the worst and it brings tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat. To end this, I can simply just turn off the TV. However, that does not feel right.

 One of the girls who managed to jump off the truck, according to her there were seven trucks, she and a couple of others said that they preferred to jump off and run into the bushes. She cried as she told the report that they just kept on running not knowing where they were going to end up. The families do not sleep in their homes for they fear these terrorists will come back and attack them in their homes.

My surprise is as to why this piece of news has only been given importance three weeks later. Perhaps if it had happened elsewhere the media would have made it mainstream. However, only after the Nigerians put it out on social networks have people been interested. I really do hope that this action makes a difference. I keep asking myself what I can do to help and the only thing I can think of is pray.

My prayers go out to these families and especially to these mothers whose hearts are breaking today on Mother’s Day.

 You can read more about the situation in Nigeria at : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27310183 

(May 11, 2014)Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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You are not Alone

It had been two years since she had gotten divorced in 1991 and gone back to her parents´ home. It was quite comforting and just what she needed after going through a rough seven years. However, her parents were getting old and they knew that in the future they would end up being taken care of by her as an imposition of her siblings. Mom and dad were afraid that she would have to sacrifice her life doing that and end up alone with an elderly parent or two and not being able to travel, study, go out with friends, in short: live life as she wanted to or deserved to.

One evening the couple came into her room and told her how much they loved her and all the reasons mentioned previously asking her to move out. It was time to move into her own place before they got older and her siblings would force this obligation onto her because she had no family of her own.

A huge mix of feelings filled her mind and heart. Besides feeling loved, touched and blessed to have these parents, she also felt abandoned, scared and lost. The time had come when she would have to depend only on herself. It was time to grow up. That night she cried herself to sleep.

Bright and early the next morning she decided that she would go and look for a place to rent. She asked her baby sister to come along for it would be comforting to have a loved one’s opinion. She chose to check out apartments at a neighborhood inbetween her workplace and her parents’ home, just in case they needed her during an emergency. They saw many apartments. She liked several, but the cost was a bit more than she could chew. On that very same day, she found the perfect apartment. Her sister loved it too.

It was in the downtown area. It had a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room and service area for the washing machine. It was 64-square meters approximately. When you walked in there was a small corridor, however, the first thing you saw was the bathroom; to the right there was the bedroom and to the left the living room. It was perfect, no garage though. It wouldn’t be a problem because there was a parking lot just down the street which she could afford and leave the car at overnight. It was all going to work out; she could feel it deep down inside.

That afternoon when she and her sister returned home, she told her parents about the apartment. They were surprised. They never expected her to leave so soon, after all they had just told her the plan the night before and within a week or so she´d be moving out. Everything was happening so fast.

The only pieces of furniture she owned were her bed and night tables, which she had bought when she moved back in. She also had a TV, which she brought with her when she left her husband. She couldn´t afford to buy a lot of furniture at that moment, so she decided that kitchen cabinets and appliances would be her first purchases. (In Brazil, when you rent a place, sometimes let´s say most of the times, it is empty. You might be lucky to have wardrobes and kitchen cabinets, but no appliances whatsoever. )

So after getting all the paper work in order and closing the deal, she went shopping for the kitchen appliances and cabinets. Her mom said she´d buy her a stove and her dad said he´d buy her a washing machine, which was very thoughtful of them. She also bought a small mattress and put it in the living room to take the place of a sofa. The store attendant said they would be able to deliver everything in a week´s time. She was thrilled.

She couldn´t move out of her parents´ before they had installed the kitchen. She had to go there and wait for the delivery men and also wait as they installed everything. It was all new to her especially being completely alone for the first time. She was a bit sad. She had to depend on herself and this scared her a bit. She would have no one to talk too. She knew that eventually she´d get used to it. Change was always a hard thing; but as they say, necessary. She couldn´t control the tears. Lying down on the mattress, she slowly cried herself to sleep.

She thought she was sleeping but as she looked towards the kitchen floor, she noticed a pair of feet walking towards her. She couldn´t budge.  The feet were not bare, but rather in leather sandals, Roman style. They were a pair of man´s feet. She noticed the roughness of the soles and the veins standing out. As she looked a bit higher, she noticed that he was wearing a white tunic. It looked like it was made of silk. Strangely, she was not scared. She felt at peace for the first time in a long time. The thought of how he had gotten into the apartment or who he was did not even cross her mind. There was a vibe of mercy and love flowing in that room.

Slowly the man walked towards her and he sat down on the mattress beside her. He gently picked her head up and softly set it down on his lap, like parents do to their children in distress or a shepard does to a sheep who has been saved. She did look at his face; she just stayed there and wept. Her cry was coming from deeply within; coming from her soul as if she had finally found a rock to base her life on. Love, compassion, mercy, peace came along with this man´s caress. All she heard was “You are not alone. I have always been and will always be with you.”

Having said this, he vanished as the intercom rang, and she scrambled to her feet to let the delivery men in she was at peace and knew that everything was going to be fine.

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(May 5, 2014)Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.