Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa
By Kemi Seriki
According to the New York Times review “Amid African Extremism, a Writer Finds an ‘Ordinary and Rare Kind of Bravery.”
There is an African proverb that says “Until the lion produces its own historians, the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” For generations, African stories have been told through the lenses of outsiders who in many cases possessive of pre-conceived stereotype and artificial slogans that continue to feed the negative narratives. Africa as many outside the continent believes it is one country that lacks civilization with people who helpless and plunging in poverty, corruption, and war. Most importantly, Africa is at the mercy of foreign liberators and redeemers who have extraordinary means to ward off the ailment of poverty, corruption, and war. There are limited stories of Africans who are well-adjusted or stories Africans who are taking the initiative on an individual level to fight for what is right. Alexis Okeowo, a staff writer at New Yorker, rescind these negative narrative in a thoughtful well-written book A moonless, Starless Sky.
Alexis Okeowo allows these heroes to tell their story in their own words so that the reader would recognize the relatability. In one of our interview, she said “I needed to practice empathy when writing. That meant telling the stories of their lives, their likes, and dislikes, their hobbies, the people they care for”. She connects the reader with emotional turmoil experienced by these victims of injustice, and she understands that interviewing these heroes would not help address the post-traumatic experience. As many may know, PTSD is the least concern for those countries providing foreign aid, media coverage and military intervention to the war tore countries in the world.
Okeowo non-fiction reveals the captivating and unimaginable experience of those resisting oppressive regimes from slavery in Mauritania, to militant forces of Boko Haram in Nigeria, to the terror of Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda and sexist misogynist system spread wide in Mogadishu. At the age of 22, Okeowo moved to Uganda for an internship at a local newspaper, and this resulted in spending six years in different parts of the continent while working on this book. During this time, Okeowo traveled at four different countries to in Africa. In Uganda, she narrated the story of Eunice who was kidnapped LRA solder and later forced to marry one of her captors Bosco who initially raped and assaulted her. Eunice and Bosco develop feelings for each other later form a bond and escape from captivity with their child who was born while in captivity. She detailed the brutality and mutilation experienced by those who were kidnapped by Joseph Kony’s solder, and documents the rejection suffered by those who escape face from the members of their respective communities after returning home.
In Mauritania, Okeowo introduced the reader to Biram Dah Abeid who was born into descent-based slavery from an ethnic group called Haratine. Biram is an abolitionist who was imprisoned by the oppressive regime for many years for fighting slavery in modern day world. His struggle was not only limited to his own physical and emotional pain, but the stories shared with him by his follower who are the member of the enslaved population. Arabic-speaking White Moors have historically oppressed the Haratines. The Moors, for centuries, raided villages in north Africa for dark-skinned natives which allows them to create an inhumane caste system. Just as Atlantic slave trade, was justified on biblical grounds, the Moors also defended slavery on Islamic grounds. Even though slavery was outlawed in 1981 in Mauritania, black African continues to live in bondage. Through his activism and bringing these atrocities to the worldview, Biram Dah Abeid force the government to do the unthinkable. The government began to criminalize the act and imprison those who failed to abide by the law. In 2013, Biram Dah Abeid received the humanitarian award, and he was regularly referred to as Mauritanian Nelson Mandela by many news media.
In Somalia, Okeowo introduced the reader to Aisha a 14 years old girl who loves to play basketball. In a country where Islamic extremist prohibits girls from engaging in sport or involve activity that is considered to be “haram” Aisha was left alone to face the ordeal. Aisha defies the oppressive system, and she continues to go out to play basketball games in Hijab even though she faced daily death threats and two kidnap attempts.
While in Senegal, Okeowo learned about the 300 plus girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria, and she traveled to Nigeria to cover the story. In Nigeria, she met a girl who managed to escape from the trucks the Boko Haram soldiers use to transporting the girls. She told the story of a man nicknamed Elder who formulate his military forces and strategic approach to ward off Boko Haram fighters from his city without any assistant from the Nigerian government. Elder refused to spare anyone caught as a member of Boko Haram, for example, his nephew who was a member of Boko Haram was captured and killed by his military.
Okeowo was born in Alabama, and she is a daughter of Nigerian immigrants. In the book, she discussed her parents’ resistant and concerns about her safety and the discomfort she may experience when she told them about moving to Uganda to intern at a local newspaper. She said to her parents “I was a product of your deferred returns to Nigeria and your constant yearning to be near family and compatriots” Like many African immigrants, Okeowo’s parent initially plan on returning to Nigeria after retirement. They already build a house in Nigeria with the determination of relocating as soon as they retired. But as years passed by, the idea became unclear, and the “definition of home” is no longer clear. When she insisted on relocating to the continent of Africa to gain experience of living another culture, the parent confessed that the fear they have for her is the same fear that prevents them from relocating to Nigeria.
As she commemorates Nigeria in the book, she stated “but of all the countries I wrote about, Nigeria is dearest to me. Because of my family heritage, and my connection to the country that resulted for living there for three years as an adult, it is a place I both love, and love to complain about. It’s dynamic, exciting, and frustrating country, with brilliant people and rich culture, that is also plagued by a political corruption that has seeped into all parts of life. Still, it’s a second home”.
I am inspired by the courageousness and resilience of these ordinary people who can stand up against injustice not only to free themselves from the bondage of inhumane establishment but to free others and generations to come. A moonless, Starless Sky is eloquently written, and Okeowo writing style is captivating. I highly recommended this book.