By Magdalena Jakubczak - Originally published in Siecmilosci (Translated from Polish by Agata Grabau)
“Africa O! Africa,
When will you rise from slumber to shake
Down dusts from your eyes, Africa?
When will Pharaoh roar,
Or Magi turn bombs into bread Africa?
When will Nubian dance raise the dead,
Or Ashanti drums scare the foe...
O! cradle of creation?”
‘When I realized that I couldn’t see the sky I almost lost my mind." Long days in political prison. With no windows. With no hope. Looking for the truth, revealing examples of corruption. He escaped from Cameroon because of persecution. Arrest in Ghana. Political emigration. Nostalgia. Loneliness. Fight.
Africa
This is the life of Simon Mol (Simon Moleke Mo – Njie), Cameroonian journalist staying since 1999 on political emigration in Poland.
Life in Africa could have been beautiful and carefree, but it wouldn’t have bean real if Simon hadn’t realized the evil, injustice, people’s harm in his Africa. Just like he had awaken, finding Nelson Mandela as his role-model, he now calls his Africa to awake: Let wisdom descend one more time from the realm of the Ancestors, to feed their starving minds – Africa... my Africa.
Buea
Simon was born and bred in Buea in a catholic family. His family spoke English (the language of about 20% inhabitants of Cameroon, the rest speaks French), but they can also speak in the mother-tongue of his clan – Bakweri. In his country there are about 300 dialects. No-one can speak all of them but there are some words which are so important that they sound similar in some of the languages. One of these is “heart” – muema. Simon says that although he is in Poland now, his muema is still in Africa, with all the places, people, traditions, nature that he loves and goes back to in his poetry.
Njiah (the way)
Simon Moleke Njie (pen name Simon Mol), left Cameroon after the publication of an article exposing corruption. At first he applied for asylum in Ghana where he received the political refugee status in 1998, but he had to escape further after breaking the prohibition of publication, given by his host country. Before leaving Cameroon, Mol was arrested at the airport and imprisoned for two weeks. Accused of being a part of the Anglophone Minority Movement, he was forbidden to publish in Cameroon.
South-West Anglophone area of British Cameroon became in 1961 a part of the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In 1972 the separation of institutions was canceled after a Referendum and the country was called the United Republic of Cameroon. Since 1980 the nationalism of the Southern Cameroon developed and groups fighting for independence were set up. The Government has been fighting with this groups and the leader of this movement, Justice Alobwede Ebong is in prison since 1999.
Despite restrictions imposed by the government, Mol published an article revealing a corruption scandal in the government administration and he was forced to escape. In Ghana he continued his journalism career, working for an independent weekly newspaper and carried on with studies in the same subject. In Cameroon he had to interrupt his studies because of the educational crisis.
The Common Wealth Press Union and the Ghana Journalists Association helped him after his arrival in Ghana. When he went back to his journalism work he received threats of criminal charges if he resumed publishing. He was helped by human rights activists to secure travel documents so he could flee to a place where he could resume writing. While attempting to leave, he was arrested at the airport and detained for six weeks. After his release, the Ghanaian Centre of International P.E.N. played a decisive role by appointing him as the official delegate for the 1999 Congress of International P.E.N. held in Poland. Upon arrival in Poland he applied for a political refugee status.
Simon’s journey through unknown places started a long time ago. It hasn’t been easy since then. Even here, in Poland, in Warsaw where he lives he was harassed: once he was attacked at Plac Bankowy by Nazi- skinheads.
In Poland he became one of the founders of the Association of Exiles in Poland and he is its Secretary General. He also realizes his hobby as a footballer with the soccer club Mazura Karczew.
Mbii’ti (lonely)
As a journalist Simon realizes his mission in the English-language magazine Warsaw Voice. He is also the editor-in-chief of the bilingual and bi-monthly magazine Voice of Exile, and he also writes for other magazines, like Poezja dzisiaj (Poetry today). Recently his article about the poetry in Cameroon was published in the literary magazine. His second poetry anthology, titled Goddess of Mount Africa was released not long ago. Africa, my Africa was his first publication. He’s also set up a theatre group Migrator Theatre and he’s written four plays for it and the plays are performed by foreign actors living in Poland. An accolade for his activities was the title of Anti-fascist Man of The Year, handed to him by the Nigdy wiêcej (Never again) Association.
In the evening of Saturday 25 of February, Mol performed at the Botanical Garden of the University of Krakow as a guest-poet in one of the programs Poetry and music in the garden, frequently organized by Violetta Zygmunt of Stygmator Theatre.
Before the spectacle (which took place in a garden's basement, in an atmosphere lit by gentle candle lights) began, Simon went walking around, looking at the flower ornaments known from his home place.
The meeting began. Mrs. Violetta introduced Simon to the audience and invited us to a great poetry evening, which will stay in my mind for a long time.
Simon's mature poetry started in prison, where his life underwent a dramatic change. He says of the moments just after his release: I was bled emotionally. This solidified into a pulsing pain and crystallized into tears. None whacked me but I was crying like a baby. I was alone, in this crazy world my deep experiences didn’t physically exist. Nobody could see or understand it and there was no point in talking about it. So he decided to talk through poetry. My psychical experiences found their way into poetry. My soul was awake all the time, guiding me through the traps of spiritual evil and political madness.
One has to hear the power in the deep voice of Simon reciting his poetry. It penetrates the depth of the heart, soul, mind, moves the deepest feelings, the deepest layers of humanity. A poet is a special person because he can describe feelings, - says Simon. For sure he feels like this special person, he feels the responsibility that lies on him, this calling that he was writing about even in Africa. Humans have to look for themselves, to find themselves in the Universe, in nature, in daily life, in others. And that's how Simon looks himself. His poetry is very emotional due to this fact, scarred by suffering, pain, but also hope. In the recitation of the Polish versions of his poetry he was supported by Polish actor Jakub Kosiniak, but we could also hear the poet telling his works in a language of his new fatherland.
Yellow
No break in Time.
No past, no future only Yellow bringing buried years
With Yesterday’s freshness of Yellow-
Real, near, immortal.
Season’s, scents, thoughts, acts, breathes, feels
And Yellow totaling ‘a second’ that
Could be bought with thought
And brought back to life.
New break in thought, no faltering
Straight on behind darkness of closed eyes;
Yellow as wings, flaps – stirring atoms…
On their way to becoming Yellow.
Yellow!!!
…will reign… on that Day I choose to Die.
It’s a special poetry, where emotions are combined with memories about Africa. Wonderfully metaphorical, deep poetry: I’m as old as the sun and as young as yesterday – says the poet. In this sentence Simon combined the whole essence of Africa, a multifaceted land, big, magical, heroic with a specific culture, maybe older than European; Africa seeking its identity in the meeting with modern civilization; a land which may be sleeping today but probably has a great hope for the future. – said Aleksander Nawrocki (editor of Poetry today).
Ma’vwita (nadzieje)
Simon’s poetry is not nostalgic as a whole, it has also many optimistic accents, as he says of himself— I am an optimistic person. Also in his works we find dreams of the old greatness of the gods and lands, kingdoms of good, freedom and justice, hidden deeply in every child of Africa.
Ma'vwita (Hopes)
Refresh your wings Late-comers with the
rising-Sun's balsam.
Welcome.
The Hoping game is still on!
Fly out your flowery-thoughts
so storm may aid you sail through.
Man betrays and Times restore... through man
yet again!
Famished in barren lands smile at wasps
playing hide-and-seek while
Sky and Earth combine their strengths in snow
and rain.
Now in front of our eyes
political casualties hold their breathe...
at the sign of a new Dawn.
He lives now with this hope that there will be a new, better time when it’ll be possible to go back to a free country where he’ll be able to write the truth. He feels well in Poland, it’s his second fatherland. He can write here, though he still misses his home. This longing doesn’t destroy his power to fight, it builds him up, let him realize what is really important, who he is and what he is like. His works show these feelings:
We are proud of Who we are.
We are proud of What we are.
We are proud of 'a Time'... this Time.
We are proud too of This Place.
We are proud of You watching over us – Might of Mystical Myth
... to prejudice, a silly void.
Culture is not for sale.
Shadows travel far
but Custom is all we have and this forever will remain our Fortress.
Our Gods are silent... but not for long.
We can smell our day of victory, close at hand
Asked about Poland, Simon says: I can't live in bondage. I won't let anybody tell me what to think. There's freedom here. It is fascinating how you managed to change communism into democracy. Bloodlessly. You have a great exile tradition. The Polish anthem was created in Italy, many remarkable Polish writers created their works abroad and they had a great impact on the culture of the countries where they lived. I suppose I can be useful to Poland and add to its culture.
This is his place and his time. This is his task. Perhaps in the future things will take a different turn and the poet will go back to his homeland. Nobody knows. But Simon believes everything has its own deep meaning.
His poetry has strength. When you see this wonderful vision of the world he believes in, which is to come, contrasted with the picture of reality, one is under a great impression of enormousness of hope and joy filling his heart. On Saturday evening Simon gave a lot to his audience - he gave them all he carries in his heart, all his achievements, all that lives inside of him giving him the strength to wrestle with everyday life.
I wish I had wings – like doves;
To soar high, fly, ride on waves of wind,
Siesta on stellar fields,
With the Goddess of Mount Africa.
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