THE CRY OF ALMAJIRI (A LEARNER)

 *THE CRY OF ALMAJIRI (A LEARNER)*

Dear mother and father, I appreciate so much that you want me to memorize Qur’an. Thank you and may Allah reward you.

Father you brought me to Malam’s house, entrusted me to him but here I am father, roaming about in the streets of Borno.

Father, when you brought me, didn’t you see the condition of the other children? Or you thought they’re orphans?

Well, I’m here, just like the children you saw, roaming about barefoot with rags on; dirty rags.

Father I stink...nobody wants me near them because I smell and stink badly. I don’t have any soap to bathe myself. There’s no water and baba there is nowhere to bath!

Maa I’m hungry...mama can you eat your meal with your mind at rest while I’m here starving? Mama can you lie down on a mattress or even the hard floor, cover yourself with a sheet or your wrapper and sleep peacefully while I’m here freezing??? Mama I’m cold. *sobs*

Mama I want to sleep in your room, feel the warmth of you. Mama I want you to pull the cover over me when I push it away in the night. Mama why do you do your house chores and run errands for yourself when I’m alive doing it for others just to get a mouthful of food? Why mama? Mama you empty trashes in the morning; I’m here emptying trashes that are heavier than myself. Sometimes, just once in a while, I get a little fresh food but most a times, I get the leftover foods on plates from the previous day. But I eat them anyhow; do I have a choice?? I don’t because I’m hungry...

Mama when I don’t get food, I wash clothes just to get some money to buy some food. Mama your baby boy washes clothes...he does tasks that are not meant for children of his age.

Baba? Mama? I don’t have shoes. I walk under the scorching Sun and heat of Maiduguri with no shoes on. Mama no one takes care of me when I fall sick. Malam’s wife shouts at me. Mama you would never shout at me like that, would you?

Mama sometimes when Malam locks the door before I come back from wherever I went to, I find a corner and cuddle up till I sleep…with all the insecurities.

Baba, I once joined a sweet selling shop as an apprentice. People said it beats begging but when I go close to show my things, they don’t look my way. In traffic jams, they wind the glass of the window up or shout “Allah ya bada sa’a” on me. It’s ok... Amin. That’s all I want; Allah ya bani sa’a. It’s not a responsibility on them to be nice to me after all.

Baba I feel like a loser! A failure baba...sometimes, I think...”why this life? My parents brought me to memorize Qur’an but it’s not happening the way it should be.”

I feel...as a child, I have lost my childhood! Mama I don’t know how to play. I envy children when I see them in uniforms going to school early in the morning while I sit somewhere near “mama akara” hoping for a piece or two of beans cakes.

I have dreams but I can never live to see my dreams fulfilled if I continue living this life. I meet different kinds of people; some are good while some are not.

Mother, the discipline and training you should have given me, I’ve lost. I don’t have it. I lack good behaviour. I’m not trained. I don’t have anyone to show me if something is good or bad. I’m just living life the way I feel like living.

Baba, no matter how poor you are; I believe the surface you lie down and sleep on, the little food you eat won’t kill me...will it? And, suffering together will only bring us closer as I once heard someone saying “there are no bonds so strong as those formed by suffering together”.

I don’t know how it feels to be loved. Please take me home. People despise me, the dislike and show utter disgust when they see me. Only a few show pity. I don’t want to have the material things of life if you can’t afford it. Let me just have somewhere to call my home. When I go to school or farm or to play with my friends, I want to know that I have somewhere to go back to. I want to know that my mother is waiting for me...my bowl of food also...I want to know my father will be coming home in the evening

I want to know I’m the centre of attention, care and love of someone at least

I want a home ….voice fades and echoes.. please take me back home.

Disclaimer: I am not fighting against taking your small child to anywhere to go and learn the Glorious Qur-ān, what I am trying to say is that, if you are taking your child to anywhere in order to learn Qur-ān, make sure you take good care of the child and his teacher. Are you with me?