Retelling of Aidoo's "The Message" through the driver, Draba Anan

By Jacquelynn Mondragon

It was another day of sitting and driving. I was at a stop when I saw Kobina running towards the bus out of breathe and hysterical. She came to hold the bus for an old lady, Nana Amfoa. This old lady was holding up the bus. She walked like a bird with a broken foot. I didn’t have all day to wait around plus the bus was already full. However Kobina insisted and kept me there with her mindless small talk about respect and who knows what. Nana was on her way to Cape Coast the town of the young and the rich, she had no business there. But Kobina informed me that her only son’s daughter was having her baby removed from her womb.

It just goes to show that modern wives aren’t made like they use too be. There are so fragile and useless compare to one’s mothers. Kobina was upset with my comments but I was right. I see these young wives around town so thin and dry as sticks-I can blow them a away with a gust of air. Even the men on the bus nodded their heads in agreement. Nana’s granddaughter is the perfect example of what I am talking about. She is a modern woman who has to have her baby removed! I never remember hearing about that from any of my mother’s friends.

Finally the old Nana gets on the bus. I greeted her and she kept referring to me as her master. She was a kind woman but an old woman as well. I made her feel comfortable by saying that I had held the bus only because it was for her. She slowly climbed up the stairs resting her weight on the bars. She was finally in and started yelling, “push back” at those who stared at her, as if she were a block of wood. Some suit started yelling back at her which triggered Nana’s mood. But I calmed her and told her to sit by me and tell me about her trip to Cape Coast. She stared yapping about a telegram she received three days ago regarding her granddaughter.

While driving along the usually route I noticed the old lady was looking sick. She kept covering her nose maybe it was the strong smell of petrol that filled the air. Who knows she’s old and shouldn’t be traveling long distances. She just sat and didn’t say much so I just kept driving she did however look very pensive as she stared out the window.

As I was driving I heard Nana crying. And some passenger asked about Nana’s weeping. Esi got upset and started questioning her about pervious conversations. The passenger I didn’t know that baby was dead or alive and quite frankly I don’t think she cared. They were getting out of hand until I interrupted them. I told them I was going to put them out f they continued to cause commotion on my lorry. I turned to Nana and told her that God is with her and not to weep. We had just arrived to Cape Coast and Nana was anxious to get off. However I began to explain that we were still too far from the hospital.. She insisted that she would find her way by word of mouth. I explained that townspeople were impudent and had no respect towards old age. She sat and waited until I drove here there. Usually I don’t go that way but because of her old age and situation, I made an exception. I continued to drive as I overheard Nana telling Esi that she had buried all her children and now she must burry her grandchild.

We finally made it to the hospital. I decided to get off and make sure they were taken care of. It was going to be difficult to find her son’s wife considering she didn’t know her European name. Inside the hospital Nana spoke to a nurse and she was very adamant about us knowing the rules of the hospital because one could only come and visit at three o’clock. Nana pleaded the nurse to help her. She began to cry and the nurse was unsympathetic to her needs. She stated that one couldn’t make any noise in the hospital. W tried calming Nana down hoping the nurse would help her. The nurse finally began to ask Nana questions as to who she was looking for. Nana again explained that it was the only child of her son and his wife’s name was Esi Amfoa. However that was no help to the nurse. She said that there was no one by that name. I told her to tell the nurse why she was admitted. HS e told her that she was there to have a baby removed. The nurse suddenly knew who they were looking for and referred to her as the Caesarean case. The nurse told them to follow her and that they were not allowed to make noise for that was not the hour for visitors.

We followed her and I told Nana that it would be cold where they kept her. I noticed that the new born babies were being feed. We walked in and old Esi saw young Esi covered in nice white sheets. The Doctor stated that she was a tough bundle who had identical twins removed. Her European name was Mary Koomson. The sheets covered her stitches.

Nana somersaulted into her room and whimpered next to the bed. I was confused at to what was going on. The Nursing Sister grew angry at us. Young Esi spoke causing old Esi to burst out in tears. She cried loudly until all her tears poured out.

I noticed Jessy Treeson staring hard at old Esi. She stood there is her starched uniform, apron, and cap. Then she dismissed all of us. I wanted to kick her in her rear end but figured I would break my toe.

I waited for old Nana as she kneeled by young Esi’s bed trying hard to rise and she stared at the only pot which refused to break.

Survivor Review

By Jacquelynn Mondragon

Once again, I returned to the Pan African Film and Arts Festival, Sunday morning. The atmosphere was still upbeat; however I noticed it was a little more crowded then my last visit. This time the audience ranged in age and there were a lot more ethnicities other then African Americans and Africans. The line grew very long and the people grew anxious, considering they were behind thirty minutes.

I was very interested in viewing Nicole Volavka’s short film, Survivor. The movie in length is fifteen minutes long. The story takes place in the London and is centered on a Rwandan, night cleaner, Ben. The movie begins with Ben cleaning an office and setting a mouse trap under the desk. He proceeds to dust off three picture frames that captivate him. The pictures are of white families and he picks one up and one can assume he is thinking about his family. His eyes seem very connected with the picture until his boss comes in and pulls him away from his emotions.

They continue into the boss’ office where Ben is introduced to Theo, who is a Sudan survivor hence, the title from Darfur. Theo is sitting in a chair clenching onto his duffle bag. He looks very timid and non conversational. The boss orders Ben to show him the house, where he is to rent out a room. Ben on the other hand gives him a dirty look. He argues with the boss in front of Theo, in regards to showing him around the house. The boss once again commands him to do so and Ben storms out leaving Theo behind.

The camera angle reveals Ben in front where Theo is behind trying to catch up. The view shows the early morning, the London streets, and their small home. They go inside and the audience learns about their living situation. It is a very small living room with an even smaller kitchen. The coffee table has a full bottle of liquor next to an old couch. Ben gives Theo a key and tells him his room is in the far back. The scene ends with Theo going up stairs.

Day turns into night and Ben is off to work. The audience learns that there are two other men who live in the same home playing cards and drinking. As far as I can remember, they’re never named and they try and persuade Ben to play with them. Ben looks over and sees Theo sleeping in a chair shaking as if he were having a bad dream. The nameless roommates laugh and make rude comments about him. They continue to beg Ben to play. However Ben protests and they taunt him repeatedly yelling, “what are you afraid of?!” Ben speaks and assertively states: “I am afraid of many things like you and everyone else.” The audience began to clap and was very into this film. Ben exits the house and is off to work.

The scene opens up with Ben under the same desk he was cleaning in the begging of the movie. The camera shows a close up of Ben’s finger and the mouse trap. His fingers were bleeding and again the audience was talking back to the screen. He runs into what looks like a closet/cleaning area and as he tries to turn on the light the bulb goes out. Ben is very hesitant to go into the dark room. Staring at the bulb he proceeds and for me this is when the movie got exciting. In the dark, Ben begins to hear the cries of children and woman and the chilling sound of men being slaughtered. Ben is screaming holding his hands to his ears. The camera is moving in circles until the boss comes in and grabs Ben on the shoulders. He tries to remind Ben that he is no longer in Rwanda that he is in London. Ben runs out and the sounds of war follow him into an alley where he envisions dead corpses. He finally makes it home where he finds Theo watching the news about the war in Darfur. He yells and commands that the television be turned off; however Theo is so wrapped in the news that one can assume he can’t hear Ben. Ben is overwhelmed by his memories that he runs over to the television and turns it off and screams, “You are not there, you have to forget about that place!” Theo responds, “My family is missing, I can never forget!” It was a very powerful scene and a lot if revealed about the characters in a matter of minutes. Ben walks over to the kitchen and makes a sandwich and cuts in half. He walks over to Theo and hands it to him “This will give you strength,” Ben calmly says. Theo thanks him. As Ben sits next to him, Theo hands him the second half of the sandwich, they lock eyes and the movie ends.

The audience was so blown away by this film. As soon as scene faded away the audience began clapping, gasping, and a woman behind me even whispered wow. I on the other hand felt like I missed something. I was lost and very disappointed by the end. I was left wanting more and maybe I was too busy taking notes that I lost what the film was about. I guess I expected more and was really upset that I didn’t have the same reaction as the audience. I looked over at my friend and he was also lost. By the reaction of the audience I would recommend this film and hope one could better explain it to me.

A Walk to Beatiful Review

By Jacquelynn Mondragon

I had the pleasure of attending the 16th annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) held in Crenshaw, California. It’s where one can get to see a cultural side of film instead of the same Hollywood motion pictures that are released every Friday. The PAFF has directors predominantly from all regions of Africa. It was a different movie experience. In line, I noticed the supporters attending were mainly older, black/Africans, with few Caucasians, and Latinos. Quite a few African men and woman were dressed in colorful orange, red, green and yellow Dashikis. Everyone was very conversational and recommending movies back and forth. I meet several people that had been attending for years and were pleased to see a young Latina taking part in their culture. Inside the theater the audience at times yelled at the screen when something dramatic happened. The overall environment was great. As for the films, I choose Mary Olive and Amy Bucher’s documentary film, A Walk to Beautiful.
A Walk to Beautiful is about five Ethiopian women: Yenenesh, 17, Wubete, 17, Almaz, 38, Zewedie, 30, and Ayehu, 25; who all suffer from obstetric fistulas—tissue tears from pregnancy creating holes between the vagina and the bladder or rectum. The holes are caused by extended labor and difficult birth, resulting in delivering a dead infant, and cause the mother to leak blood, urine or feces until treated. Ethiopian woman who live with this condition are ostracized by their husbands, siblings, villages, friends, and worse their parents. They are forced to live in a shack behind everyone in their community, limiting their contact with all.
Ayehu had an impacting scene in the begging of the movie where the camera is shooting her legs drenched in urine and the camera slowly moves to her close up. Her eyes are filled with tears and sadness. She explains feeling like an incontinent pet. Everyone ignores her and talks down to her because she can’t fill the role of an Ethiopian woman. She can’t bear children or keep her husband satisfied. She describes times where hyenas have tried to eat her and no one comes to her aid. It’s a horrifying reality to see what these five women go through. Each one gives their back-story about their condition and what outcomes they’ve endured. Ayehu’s statement: "Even death would be better than this. This is not life,” broke my heart.
Another powerful scene was with Almaz. She has four children and on her fifth pregnancy deformed her vagina and caused double fistula problems. She can’t hold any of her bodily functions. The husband leaves her for a younger woman who can deliver his children and slanders Almaz on camera. He mentions that she is useless and he is a man with needs that she can no longer fulfill. The audience sighed in raged and two women screamed at the screen. It was intense to see this man so uncompassionate to the mother of his four children. Almaz cries and explains that her parents are very neglectful as well. The close-ups on these woman are amazing and their plain faces are over powered by their sad eyes.
Out of the entire woman, Wubete’s story broke my heart and filled my eyes with tears. She is an amazing young woman and I connected with her. Her father beat her growing up and married her off several times. However being a modern, young woman, and never wanting the traditional Ethiopian life style as a mother, lover, and servant; she never wanted to be married. She wanted to go to school and be free from men. The last marriage that she was forced into she escaped pregnant and delivering a still born. The head of her fetus was rubbing against her uterus causing several holes in her bladder and vagina. She describes having no one and she is not allowed back to her village. Her mother died when she was young and remarked that her mother would have never allowed her to be married off and given the lifestyle her father imposed on her. She was forced to work and carry heavy jugs on her back which stunted her growth. She says, “I grew up too fast and now I am so small and useless.” Her voice sounds melancholy and she cries the most. I was saddened by her father’s mistreatment and her wanting an education that she can’t afford. Largely she is simply beautiful and stayed in my heart.
After each woman describes their experiences the camera follows each one as they say goodbye to their family and head out on foot to a clinic in Addis Ababa. The clinic is known to surgically repair their injuries in hopes of giving back their life. Each scene is filled with great angles of their feet on dirt and overhead displaying the long dirt road towards the sunset. The music in each scene is beautiful. It has a lot of violins and drums beat at every step they take.
Following their journey they all make it to the hospital where they are interviewed, given a physical, and bed. Each woman is shocked to see so many of them living with the same injuries. It was moving when Yenenesh with a smile stated “I am not the only one with this problem, there are several of us.” As soon as these ladies are admitted their facial expressions change. Everyone accepts them and they are finally able to converse with others, building their confidence.
Considering they’re planning to open this movie in several theaters in Los Angeles, I won’t go into the specifics of the ending, and will defiantly keep you updated on the date of its release. So without spoiling the end, I was pleased by the results and the symbolism of new clothes which is breathtaking. They close the movie with a remake of “Amazing Grace” which was prefect and set the mood. I feel so inspired by this film and I never knew this type of injury could occur from enduring labors. I feel fortunate that these ladies shared their souls with all who wanted to listen. The scenic shots and music were amazing along with the translation of the Amharic language. I defiantly recommend this movie to everyone.

Here's a link to catch a clip of the movie enjoy!
view trailer