Mentari

Detail from Guardian of the Gate.

Nenzima

Detail from Through the Gate.

Seydou

Detail from The Djinni's Tune.

Usman

Detail from Cables.

When all that's left of your child is a bit of hair

A recurring theme in folktales from different West African cultures is the mistreated child who sinks into the earth:

The Pineapple Child (from the Ga ethnic group of Ghana):

A hunter had 2 wives. The younger wife was childless, and wanted a child very much. One day, she was on her way to the farm with her husband when they met an old man who asked them what they wished for. They answered, "A child." The old man uprooted a pineapple plant growing nearby and changed it into a baby girl. The younger wife was delighted, but the old man warned them that they must never tell the child that she came from a pineapple.

The younger wife brought the baby home and spent many happy hours with her. The older wife, Adele, hated that her co-wife was so happy. She eavesdropped on the younger wife and learnt about the origin of the baby. Adele's resentment of her co-wife increased as the years went by, watching her rival dote on the growing child.

The Black Spirit of the Moon

Detail from in Genie of the Moon.

Prince Arren

Detail of Prince Arren in House of Enlad.

Bad things happen to men who betray talking animals to the authorities

Similar motifs can be found in stories from around the world, but the differences are just as interesting:

The Chameleon Harpist (from the Fulani of Niger):

While hunting deep in the forest, a hunter came across a chameleon who could sing and play the harp beautifully. The chameleon made the hunter promise not to tell anyone about him. But the hunter was so excited at meeting a talking chameleon that he couldn't help sharing his story with other humans, including the king.

The king sent guardsmen with the hunter to confirm his story. "If there is such a chameleon, I will make you rich. But if there is not such a chameleon, you will pay with your life." When the hunter brought the guards to the chameleon in the deep forest, the chameleon kept silent. So the guards assumed that the hunter had been lying and killed him. After that, the chameleon spoke, "He brought about his own death. I told him not to tell anyone about me, but he had to tell the world because of his greed."¹

The Fiddler Tortoise (from the Ga ethnic group of Ghana):

The Persistence of Friends

In appreciation of the organizations that worked towards the release of gay Nigerian asylum seeker Udoka Nweke, including, but not limited to:

Black LGBTQ+ Migrant Project of Transgender Law Center
Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Freedom for Immigrants
Haitian Bridge Alliance

Full list is here.

Nweke fled homophobic violence in Nigeria. He asked for asylum at the San Ysidro port of entry in California in December 2016 and was detained by ICE immediately. He was put in immigration detention for nearly 2 years. Because of his orientation, Nweke was subjected to violence and verbal threats in Adelanto Detention Center. He made 2 suicide attempts during his long detention.

Nweke was released in September 2018 pending his asylum appeal.  Public Law Center will continue to represent him in his asylum case.

Asylum seekers released on parole often have to wait months for their work permit and have no income to rely on. As Udoka enters next stage of his asylum process in the US, the #FreeUdoka team asks you to consider making a gift to his survival fund.

Illustration is available on Creative Action Network.

Contemplation

Detail of the Timorese boy from Voyage.

Romance in Rain City

ShaCorrie Wimbley, a Kansas transplant, and Saja Tunkara, an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone, met in Seattle in 2007. ShaCorrie recalls her initial response to Saja, the first foreign man who tried to chat her up. "I was not very nice." But Saja did impress her as kind and patient. "He called every day for a year until I answered the phone."

Fast forward 10 years to 2017. ShacCorrie and Saja are now married, with 2 children. ShaCorrie says of her husband. "He cooks, cleans, does laundry, makes the kids lunches, and gives them baths. I never have to ask for help. He just did it. We have built a life together. We have been through so many things that would have destroyed any family..."

ShaCorrie applied for US permanent residency for her spouse, but the petition was denied. They decided to wait for the outcome of his years-long pending asylum case, which was also later denied. On top of that, Saja was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a neck tumor.

Saja was scheduled for a tumor-removal operation in January 2018. But because he had remained in the U.S. to support his family after his asylum case was denied, ICE took him into custody shortly before his scheduled operation. ICE did not allow him to keep his hospital appointment. In the weeks that followed, a local organization, NWDC Resistance, received calls from [inside the detention center] saying, 'There’s a guy with tumors on his neck that we can see, he shouldn’t be here, he should in a hospital.'"

It was not until April 2018, after spending months in pain, that Saja was allowed to have his operation, by which time nerve damage had led to permanent decreased mobility in his arm.

Saja was deported in October 2018, after spending more than 9 months in detention, during which time he acquired vision and breathing problems, in addition to more tumors. ICE did not allow him his wife and children to say goodbye to him. The Tunkaras miss each other terribly.