African Imperialism
Live For The Freedom, Not The Damnation
"Happy birthday." They yelled with such joy that it could stir an earthquake with its intensity. I stood up and looked at my family stunned that they were all there. I shut my eyes and looked again, it was true they all came from great lengths to come and see me on my birthday. I was turning 19 today but i forgot all about it. I never felt so happy in my life. even though there was no cake I did not let myself get sad I was happy that my family cared so much for me that they came and that was a good enough present for me. We hung out on this sunny day. As the day slowly ended I said "Mom, dad I think I'm going to join the join the army"
Their laughter died out immediately and stared at me like they just saw the devil. I now regretted the words that I just said. Several minutes went by and my dad was the one to break the silence that they held within. "What" he said with a stern voice.
"Dad I'm going to join the army" I said back. His face got very mad and i started feeling so uneasy that I got up and headed for the door. My dad stopped me before I got there. But his face started looking a little more settle and he said "Fine if this is what you want to do, then you can suffer the consequences."
As I watched them leave I felt alone, this feeling sickened me, but I knew I had to do this. I wanted to tell them that i wanted to help stop the mysterious white man that has been taking over the land. But it was already too late. So the very next day I left to go volunteer. As I walked down the road I saw my two best friends Ugwu and Adinew they were playing football. I went over and joined just so that I could tell them the news to. We played for about 25 minutes when we were done I said "Guys i'm going to join the army today"
"Yea" they said with a saddening look on their face "Your dad told us when they passed by"
I felt that I was ruining all the friendships that I had built since I was a child. I started to cry but stopped and said "I have to be strong." I left immediately I was scared I didn't want to be but now this decision was even harder to make. I finally made up my mind and headed over to sigh up. On my way I saw my cousin it turned out that he was signing up to so I relaxed and confidence flowed through my body once more.
Its been 15 days and I finally got assigned to my troop I ran over to my cousins and saw that he did to I never felt so happy in my life. I saw us both saving people and being called heroes. When we got there we saw a man named Ras Mengesha Yohannes he didn't look like someone who could lead an army. But if he got to lead an army he must know what he is doing. I hated my first day of training I have never worked so hard in my life. I thought I was going to die. It was January 10, 1895 and we were sent out to fight the Italian forces in Eritrea I was gad to be helping my country. We thought this was going to be a swift and decisive war. As we slept I woke up suddenly to a loud bang far in the distance. Then it happen I saw a huge clump of body parts flying all over us. We stood up grabbed our guns and charged at the enemy we didn't get far when our enemies guns started shooting at us I was scared but I still kept running. Then it hit me I fell to the ground and looked down I saw a hole in my leg that was gushing out blood. I screamed and yelled for help. I saw my cousin and he ran towards me and picked me up as I looked behind me I saw hundreds dead or screaming for help I was so scared. I could swear that we have been running for hours I started felling numb he set me down and tried to patch up my leg. It hurt like hell and I screamed a lot. I could hear the gunshots getting closer and when he tried to pick me up his head gushed out with blood. We fell to the ground and I felt the true feelings of war which I heard stories about. I was so scared that I got up ignoring the pain and running for my life. When I got clear of war I saw thousands of people dead. So I got up and ran and ran until I found a small village and before I could tell them anything I fainted of blood loss. It's been almost 3 weeks and these the tribes people had fed me back to health. As I walked away I thought the first place that I should go to would be the king of Ethiopia. I walked towards Addis Ababa and as I walked further the place started to get very familiar and I saw a town.
It was December 7, 1895 I got a little closer and saw that there was a war going on there I saw the Ethiopian soldiers on one side and the italian on the other. I started getting flashbacks I got scared and wanted to turn around. But this was my home land so I ran for cover. I didn't realize that I was right next to the italian general all I knew was that I was on the wrong side of the war. I looked around for something to use and saw a very suspicious object I picked it up. I turned the corner and threw the object thinking I could lure the soldiers to my side of the field so I could kill them without anyone knowing. I ran and heard an explosion so I stopped and looked again and saw that they were all dead. I felt proud of my self, shortly after I heard someone saying "their retreating" I looked and saw the italians running away, I felt happy that we won. I ran towards the Ethiopian army and got closed lined by the but of a gun. Standing there was a solder with a gun pointed at my head.It took a while to convince them that I was on their side. But when I told them I was a survivor of the Eritrea massacre they immediately took me to their captain unknowing that I was the only survivor they has seen in months. They immediately took me to Addis Ababa I felt so much at home, And the smell of fresh cooked food made my stomach growl like a tiger. When we got to the capital they immediately questioned me and I felt very uncomfortable and scared again. I felt like I was back in the war and had to protect my self. But unknowingly of the stress that was building up I fainted and fell to the hard cold ground.
When I woke up, I was again questioned and after awhile I saw him the king of Ethiopia was standing in a room taking about the war. I got so exited and was sent back to the army that found me. it was about 1 week when they dismissed me due to the lack of running abilities. That bullet really halted my life's dream and hit me hard. When I was sent back to my home I was greeted by my parents and friends. I felt really happy but sad I couldn't serve my kingdom but. I has been month's since I saw or hard about the war. Then one day I heard the town crier yelling that King Menlik the Second was marching his army to Adawa to finish this war. I immediately stood up packed some food and took off running down the road. I thought about how I could kill some more of them to get revenge for killing my cousin. Then i stopped remembering that i just left and didn't tell my parents where i was going. "I have to do this" I said but my conscious kept telling me not to i was being ripped apart but I had no choice so kept running on that path that I had chosen.
When i reached that army i was sent to Menlik and he assigned me to ride a horse for the battle. It was February 10 ,1896 as me and the others looked around we were scared and i started having flashbacks i saw my cousin getting shot and the expression on his face. But as we danced and played games trying to pass the time most of us knew what we were doing. I said "why don't we finish them and go home"
"Cause the King does not want more death he is going to try to starve them out" A man who looked about 45 and could barley hold up a gun. I nodded and sat down easing myself for this short period of time.
"But aren't we also running out of food to" I said
He sighed and said "Yea we are so let hope that they have less than us"
I started getting very uneasy and could not sleep all that much. It getting close to march and know one has charged yet. But the King has been rumored to be talking to the Italians to find a peaceful way out of this. Its been about 18 days I wrote in my book that I have been keeping since I came back for the fight. But everybody knew that today would be different we started getting bombed. But that was at the front of the lines but I still felt sad for them but we held our ground and prayed hard for a better tomorrow.
March 1, 1896, It was four a clock and I woke up to start praying I also woke up my friend and we prayed together. But we started hearing gun shots off in the distance but took no notice. Then a man ran up to us caring his gun and yelling the italians are attacking we rose immediately and looked over down and saw our soldiers fighting hand to hand with the Italian soldiers. I got up on my horse and when I was about to charge my friend stopped me and said "NO the king wants us to wait until he need us to charge"
I halted and watched all these people die I got mad at myself and wanted to go. But then I saw a huge number of reinforcements go by and all the sudden I was eased and stood still. I shouted and screamed trying to give the soldiers on the ground some comfort. I was about 12'o clock and we were sent to aid in destroying a holdout we rode and I felt happy and proud. I looked down and got scared already looking at this sight. I looked at the clouds brewing and getting ready to rain the tears of the fallen soldiers. I screamed as loud as I could and then we clashed I saw the Italians getting pummeled and brought down with one swift blow of our calvary. I looked relived and looked to my side and saw that my friend was not by my side i turned around and looked for him. Tears filled my eyes and i yelled his name. When i was done looking i saw him out of the corner of my eye he was impaled by the tip of the italian flag. HIs guts hanging from the end i ran as fast as i could towards him pulling the pole from his chest and felling the blood covering the my face i yelled and then felt a sharp pain. I was shot through my arm and quickly looked around my eyes filled with rage and spotted the Italian survivor standing there trying to reload. I ran at him knocked him down and smashed his face in with the heel of my shoe. My rage was not over yet I took a sword and looked for more survivors separating their heads from their bodies. I restrained my self long enough to hear King Menlik yell "Stop at once!" I dropped my sword and fell to the ground.
When I woke up I saw many other people wounded I asked the nurse "How long have I been out"
She turned and said " About one week you lost to much blood I thought you were going to die." I grabbed my heart and felt relief flow over my body. When I was strong enough to get up I saw that we had one but took notice to the piles of dead and miles of injured. We went home and awaited the news of the war. So about 7 months has passed and I got a letter. It said that the Italians have called a peace treaty and the war is over. Happy ness filled my eyes and I knew that thing are going to be better.
"Happy birthday." They yelled with such joy that it could stir an earthquake with its intensity. I stood up and looked at my family stunned that they were all there. I shut my eyes and looked again, it was true they all came from great lengths to come and see me on my birthday. I was turning 19 today but i forgot all about it. I never felt so happy in my life. even though there was no cake I did not let myself get sad I was happy that my family cared so much for me that they came and that was a good enough present for me. We hung out on this sunny day. As the day slowly ended I said "Mom, dad I think I'm going to join the join the army"
Their laughter died out immediately and stared at me like they just saw the devil. I now regretted the words that I just said. Several minutes went by and my dad was the one to break the silence that they held within. "What" he said with a stern voice.
"Dad I'm going to join the army" I said back. His face got very mad and i started feeling so uneasy that I got up and headed for the door. My dad stopped me before I got there. But his face started looking a little more settle and he said "Fine if this is what you want to do, then you can suffer the consequences."
As I watched them leave I felt alone, this feeling sickened me, but I knew I had to do this. I wanted to tell them that i wanted to help stop the mysterious white man that has been taking over the land. But it was already too late. So the very next day I left to go volunteer. As I walked down the road I saw my two best friends Ugwu and Adinew they were playing football. I went over and joined just so that I could tell them the news to. We played for about 25 minutes when we were done I said "Guys i'm going to join the army today"
"Yea" they said with a saddening look on their face "Your dad told us when they passed by"
I felt that I was ruining all the friendships that I had built since I was a child. I started to cry but stopped and said "I have to be strong." I left immediately I was scared I didn't want to be but now this decision was even harder to make. I finally made up my mind and headed over to sigh up. On my way I saw my cousin it turned out that he was signing up to so I relaxed and confidence flowed through my body once more.
Its been 15 days and I finally got assigned to my troop I ran over to my cousins and saw that he did to I never felt so happy in my life. I saw us both saving people and being called heroes. When we got there we saw a man named Ras Mengesha Yohannes he didn't look like someone who could lead an army. But if he got to lead an army he must know what he is doing. I hated my first day of training I have never worked so hard in my life. I thought I was going to die. It was January 10, 1895 and we were sent out to fight the Italian forces in Eritrea I was gad to be helping my country. We thought this was going to be a swift and decisive war. As we slept I woke up suddenly to a loud bang far in the distance. Then it happen I saw a huge clump of body parts flying all over us. We stood up grabbed our guns and charged at the enemy we didn't get far when our enemies guns started shooting at us I was scared but I still kept running. Then it hit me I fell to the ground and looked down I saw a hole in my leg that was gushing out blood. I screamed and yelled for help. I saw my cousin and he ran towards me and picked me up as I looked behind me I saw hundreds dead or screaming for help I was so scared. I could swear that we have been running for hours I started felling numb he set me down and tried to patch up my leg. It hurt like hell and I screamed a lot. I could hear the gunshots getting closer and when he tried to pick me up his head gushed out with blood. We fell to the ground and I felt the true feelings of war which I heard stories about. I was so scared that I got up ignoring the pain and running for my life. When I got clear of war I saw thousands of people dead. So I got up and ran and ran until I found a small village and before I could tell them anything I fainted of blood loss. It's been almost 3 weeks and these the tribes people had fed me back to health. As I walked away I thought the first place that I should go to would be the king of Ethiopia. I walked towards Addis Ababa and as I walked further the place started to get very familiar and I saw a town.
It was December 7, 1895 I got a little closer and saw that there was a war going on there I saw the Ethiopian soldiers on one side and the italian on the other. I started getting flashbacks I got scared and wanted to turn around. But this was my home land so I ran for cover. I didn't realize that I was right next to the italian general all I knew was that I was on the wrong side of the war. I looked around for something to use and saw a very suspicious object I picked it up. I turned the corner and threw the object thinking I could lure the soldiers to my side of the field so I could kill them without anyone knowing. I ran and heard an explosion so I stopped and looked again and saw that they were all dead. I felt proud of my self, shortly after I heard someone saying "their retreating" I looked and saw the italians running away, I felt happy that we won. I ran towards the Ethiopian army and got closed lined by the but of a gun. Standing there was a solder with a gun pointed at my head.It took a while to convince them that I was on their side. But when I told them I was a survivor of the Eritrea massacre they immediately took me to their captain unknowing that I was the only survivor they has seen in months. They immediately took me to Addis Ababa I felt so much at home, And the smell of fresh cooked food made my stomach growl like a tiger. When we got to the capital they immediately questioned me and I felt very uncomfortable and scared again. I felt like I was back in the war and had to protect my self. But unknowingly of the stress that was building up I fainted and fell to the hard cold ground.
When I woke up, I was again questioned and after awhile I saw him the king of Ethiopia was standing in a room taking about the war. I got so exited and was sent back to the army that found me. it was about 1 week when they dismissed me due to the lack of running abilities. That bullet really halted my life's dream and hit me hard. When I was sent back to my home I was greeted by my parents and friends. I felt really happy but sad I couldn't serve my kingdom but. I has been month's since I saw or hard about the war. Then one day I heard the town crier yelling that King Menlik the Second was marching his army to Adawa to finish this war. I immediately stood up packed some food and took off running down the road. I thought about how I could kill some more of them to get revenge for killing my cousin. Then i stopped remembering that i just left and didn't tell my parents where i was going. "I have to do this" I said but my conscious kept telling me not to i was being ripped apart but I had no choice so kept running on that path that I had chosen.
When i reached that army i was sent to Menlik and he assigned me to ride a horse for the battle. It was February 10 ,1896 as me and the others looked around we were scared and i started having flashbacks i saw my cousin getting shot and the expression on his face. But as we danced and played games trying to pass the time most of us knew what we were doing. I said "why don't we finish them and go home"
"Cause the King does not want more death he is going to try to starve them out" A man who looked about 45 and could barley hold up a gun. I nodded and sat down easing myself for this short period of time.
"But aren't we also running out of food to" I said
He sighed and said "Yea we are so let hope that they have less than us"
I started getting very uneasy and could not sleep all that much. It getting close to march and know one has charged yet. But the King has been rumored to be talking to the Italians to find a peaceful way out of this. Its been about 18 days I wrote in my book that I have been keeping since I came back for the fight. But everybody knew that today would be different we started getting bombed. But that was at the front of the lines but I still felt sad for them but we held our ground and prayed hard for a better tomorrow.
March 1, 1896, It was four a clock and I woke up to start praying I also woke up my friend and we prayed together. But we started hearing gun shots off in the distance but took no notice. Then a man ran up to us caring his gun and yelling the italians are attacking we rose immediately and looked over down and saw our soldiers fighting hand to hand with the Italian soldiers. I got up on my horse and when I was about to charge my friend stopped me and said "NO the king wants us to wait until he need us to charge"
I halted and watched all these people die I got mad at myself and wanted to go. But then I saw a huge number of reinforcements go by and all the sudden I was eased and stood still. I shouted and screamed trying to give the soldiers on the ground some comfort. I was about 12'o clock and we were sent to aid in destroying a holdout we rode and I felt happy and proud. I looked down and got scared already looking at this sight. I looked at the clouds brewing and getting ready to rain the tears of the fallen soldiers. I screamed as loud as I could and then we clashed I saw the Italians getting pummeled and brought down with one swift blow of our calvary. I looked relived and looked to my side and saw that my friend was not by my side i turned around and looked for him. Tears filled my eyes and i yelled his name. When i was done looking i saw him out of the corner of my eye he was impaled by the tip of the italian flag. HIs guts hanging from the end i ran as fast as i could towards him pulling the pole from his chest and felling the blood covering the my face i yelled and then felt a sharp pain. I was shot through my arm and quickly looked around my eyes filled with rage and spotted the Italian survivor standing there trying to reload. I ran at him knocked him down and smashed his face in with the heel of my shoe. My rage was not over yet I took a sword and looked for more survivors separating their heads from their bodies. I restrained my self long enough to hear King Menlik yell "Stop at once!" I dropped my sword and fell to the ground.
When I woke up I saw many other people wounded I asked the nurse "How long have I been out"
She turned and said " About one week you lost to much blood I thought you were going to die." I grabbed my heart and felt relief flow over my body. When I was strong enough to get up I saw that we had one but took notice to the piles of dead and miles of injured. We went home and awaited the news of the war. So about 7 months has passed and I got a letter. It said that the Italians have called a peace treaty and the war is over. Happy ness filled my eyes and I knew that thing are going to be better.
African Imperialism Art Piece
The Game Of Life Or Death
The fresh scent of the Ethiopian flower
With the illuminating bloom over the plains
Descends over the barren wastelands of war
The shrill cry of man echoing throughout the land
While crows flock over as if ready to feast
The smell of gunpowder takes the scent and turns it foul
Billowing clouds of smoke cover the once blue sky
Flowers shrivel up to the impending taste of the air
Worriers erupt in the game of life or death now being played
The loud cracks of the gun scares the animals
While blood paints the ground
Thousands are killed but millions will be saved
This is the country of the true
The country of the wise
This is Ethiopia
- Noah Hotchkiss
The fresh scent of the Ethiopian flower
With the illuminating bloom over the plains
Descends over the barren wastelands of war
The shrill cry of man echoing throughout the land
While crows flock over as if ready to feast
The smell of gunpowder takes the scent and turns it foul
Billowing clouds of smoke cover the once blue sky
Flowers shrivel up to the impending taste of the air
Worriers erupt in the game of life or death now being played
The loud cracks of the gun scares the animals
While blood paints the ground
Thousands are killed but millions will be saved
This is the country of the true
The country of the wise
This is Ethiopia
- Noah Hotchkiss