I Will Be Silent

An emotional monologue on rape, genocide and conflict.

For ‘Karim

“We used to have peace, but now we have only war.”�"Halima

I will not speak of the dead
for that is another matter.
I will not speak of those
driven out of their homes
to find shelter in a camp
fenced with strings.
I will not speak of those
raped at dawn. Or of children
shot in the head.

I will not speak of them.

I will not speak of the woman,
round and heavy, like me,
who will give birth to a child she’ll be ashamed to name.
Neither will I speak of
a dozen other women, like her,
and a village which will beget b******s.
I will not speak of the slash�"deep in my thigh,
made by a knife: a brand of ownership,
the mark of a slave.

No; on such matters I’ll be silent.
Rather, I’ll speak of warm fires. Of oases, dates,
and night songs.
I’ll speak of things that once were.

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

I heard her through your words. Carved in the heart. Who can fail to be moved by the witness accounts of what has taken place in a war scenario. Appalling atrocities, and yet it makes it even more important that the warm fires, the oases, the dates and night songs are remembered. There has to be hope. Without it, there is nothing. An excellent read Valentine Okolo. Conveyed with the passion of one who cares deeply about injustice.

Chris

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Another very emotive write which comes from the voice of a witness to the real atrocities as you and the world feels powerless to put a stop to such human tragedy and punish those responsible for it and those who take advantage of it to enact their own sordid devilment.