“My Eyes Saw Chains”
This is a fictional story about slavery based on factual information on the Middle Passage
journey from Western Africa to other countries.
by Amanda Senior
Appropriate for grades 4 and up
Yes, my name is Imani Abutu, you have requested that I share a piece of my life story with you, is that correct? Well, to be honest, I have not spoken a word of it to a single soul in many years, twenty-two years to be exact. The horror of those wretched days are vivid in my mind. They say that your senses trigger specific memories, and today I have decided it’s time for me to share with you the chains I saw many years ago.
I ask for no interruption as I open these wounds that I have been trying to take care of and heal for so many years. The wounds I speak of are not physical, but emotional scares impressed upon me against my will and the will of many others. Close your eyes and take a journey with me to my freedom land, Africa, the land I treasured, loved, and was torn away from to be placed into the cold arms of slavery.
Papa always left our hut at sunrise to hunt with the other men in the village, so when I awoke that humid morning in July, it was not strange for me not to see him. That day mama was weaving colorful cloth to sell at the market later on that afternoon. We, my brother Hebre and I, helped mama with the chores around the hut. Hebre took care of the animals and I washed clothes, prepared food, and if grandmama was tired, she would let me weave brilliant purple and royal blue fabrics with her. Her hands were dry like the ground when it has not tasted rain for months, but the love in her heart was bigger and deeper than the great Congo River. Grandmama talked about the possibility of change that could occur any day now. She told me to remember that the strength inside me was strong. I was to rely on that strength to keep me strong so that I would not give up.
The sky was beautiful as it always is when the sun sets on the western part in Africa. I enjoyed sitting in a tree where I could imagine I was above everyone else, telling them the story of the sun setting and saying its goodbyes to today. That day I ran home after I caught the last glimpse of the sun setting, and as I arrived at our hut, I saw grandmama, mama, and Hebre sitting on the ground talking with the other women in our village. The facial expressions of these women were puzzling and alarming. The possibility of papa or some of the other men in our village being in trouble was of great concern. I slowly walked toward the circle of women, and sat behind my mama, listening intently to what was being said.
How could it possibly be true, this news about a neighboring village? I looked across the circle, and I saw two women who were not a part of our village. They had escaped and they hoped to find shelter in our village. It is custom where I’m from to show hospitality to your neighboring village people. They told us in the midst of tears and shortness of breath that men with white faces had come during the night and taken the men, women, and children of the village away. They placed metal cuffs on their hands and linked them together with chains. These two were the only survivors of that horrifying raid.
I couldn’t understand why they had been taken away, and where would they have taken so many people? I moved away from the circle, stood up, and walked to the edge of the village hoping to see my papa. I stood there for a long time, and still there was no sign of papa or any of the other men in our village. Mama told Hebre and me to go to sleep, and she assured us that papa would be home when we awoke in the morning. I never doubt what mama says, but this time as she said that, I looked into her eyes and I saw tears as well as fear. Grandmama couldn’t even look at Hebre or me. I knew that night was going to change something in my life, and it was possible that I would never see papa again.
As I nodded off to sleep, grandmama whispered in my ear, “Remember that you are strong inside, don’t give up Imani, don’t give up, no matter what happens!”. I rolled over, reached out my arms, hugged my grandmama and promised her that I would follow her advice. Was what happened in our neighboring village going to affect my life in the near future? The answer to that question was yes, and it did.
I awoke in the middle of the night to screams of terror and cries for help. I jumped up, and was surprised to find only Hebre and me in the hut. No sooner did I walk over to Hebre, then I saw a man with a white face, possibly the same man the women of our neighboring village had spoken about. I trembled with fear because I had never seen a man like this, I believed he was a ghost sent from the evil spirits. I screamed and yelled as loud as I could, but no one came to my rescue. He placed those metal shackles on my hands, and linked Hebre and me together with a chain. He pulled the chain with great force until we were in the middle of our village with the rest of our people.
There was not one person in my village without chains on their wrists. Mothers carried their babies, and children that were able to walk, even if they were only three, had to walk on their own with the shackles and chains on their arms. The journey was long, and we as a people were silent. What could we have done for these white men to treat us this way. There was no way we could have trespassed upon their property, because the property of Africa belonged to its people and its animals.
We were taken to the House of Slaves, a slave factory, operated by the Dutch, Portuguese, French, and English slave traders. Others that were already at the house of slaves told us that we would be kept there for a while, and then they would place us on ships. The House of Slaves was a terrible place to be, there was no sunlight in there. Day after day they would work us until we fell to the ground from exhaustion. The chains and shackles never left our hands and feet. We were no longer called people, but slaves. As I observed what was going on around me, I realized that slaves were still people, strong people, but if we didn’t get out of the House of Slaves fairly soon, many people would die. My heart ached because I couldn’t see the sunlight, I wondered when that day would come when they would set us free to go back to our village. That day never came.
Approximately two weeks after we arrived at the House of Slaves, word traveled among my people that they would be letting people go. We could not understand the language of the white men, but many of us assumed by the gestures that cool August day that today would be the day of our freedom. Little did I know that stepping out of the House of Slaves, into my precious sunlight, and onto the floating ship would be the worst experience of my entire life. We never saw papa after that day he didn’t come home, but I had high hopes I would see him again, I was sure of it. Daily I reminded myself of the importance to be strong and never give up. I would search for my papa until I found him. Papa was a strong man, they could not destroy him and his spirit. I’m papa’s little girl, so I decided to fight like my papa would fight.
Mama, Hebre, Grandmama, and I stepped onto the floating house they called a ship. Occasionally, I could overhear the white men talk about the ship as though it were a person. It carried the name “MERCY”. I didn’t not know what mercy meant at that time, but I do now. I would have named the ship “CRUELTY” because things happened on that ship that no one could ever or would ever want to imagine.
http://asu.alasu.edu/academic/advstudies/2c.html
Lesson Outline (This story would work well into a unit for Black History Month)
I. Imani’s daily life in Africa.
A. Papa hunts and mama weaves cloth to sell at the market.
B. Imani watched the sunset with delight.
II. The story from the nearby village.
A. Grandmama tells Imani to be strong.
B. The village people are captured and chained together.
III. The House of Slaves
A. The way of life in the House of Slaves.
B. The transfer of the slaves to the ship, Mercy.
Questions
- What did Papa and Mama do for a living to support their family?
- What did Imani love to do at the end of the day?
- What happened to the people from the neighboring village?
- Where were Imani and her family taken? What did Imani dislike about this place?
- What did Grandmama always tell Imani to do?
- Make some inferences about what may have happened next in this story?
- What was placed on the wrists of the West African people? When you read that, how did that make you feel?
Answers:
- Papa hunted with the men in the village for food, and Mama wove cloth to sell at the market.
- Imani loved to sit in a tree and watch the sunset at the end of the day.
- The people from the neighboring village were taken/kidnaped from their village by the white men.
- Imani and her family were taken to the House of Slaves. Imani disliked the fact that they couldn’t see the
sunlight and they worked them so hard that many people would be weak at the end of the day.
5. Grandmama always told Imani to be strong and to never give up.
6. The answers may vary based on the prior knowledge students have about the Middle Passage and slave trade from Africa to North America, South America, and the Caribbean.
7. Chains and shackles were placed on the wrists of the West African people.
(Answers will vary for the second part of this question)