Sapeurs

Kweli Journal, Summer 2018

God had prepared all the gifts in a basket and then He went to all the countries of the world. When he got to Congo he was completely tired. He said, “Let me give them everything that is left in the basket.

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Pepe’s mind turned to Herverence when he spotted two miners dragging her father Horeb out of the collapsed tunnel. He elbowed his way through the crowd clustered around the wounded body. A haze of smoke blurred the air and many were covering their mouth and nose with handkerchiefs. Pepe’s chest heaved with panic as he struggled to burst out of the throng along with the other men and children working in the Tchonka mine. His eyes stung. The smoke made him cough. 

Horeb was covered in dust. His right leg was crushed and his scalp peeled back. A piece of cloth hung loosely around his shattered left leg in a futile attempt to hold it together. The miners, who seemed confused about what to do, lifted his upper body and shook him vigorously, trying to keep him awake. Horeb screamed in pain. He moaned and muttered about water. They dragged Horeb into the truck before Pepe could get close enough. Pepe’s heart thumped as the truck sped off, his palms slippery with sweat. He wondered if Horeb was going to die like his parents. And what about Herverence? She worked at the shed selling bread to the miners. Would she have known about her father’s accident by now? She would need someone to look after her. Thirteen year-old Pepe decided he would be the someone.

“Ok, boys, work must go on, said Don’t Mention, the fixer. A gangling individual, he was wearing a torn T shirt caked in mud and a pair of bulbous shorts. Don’t Mention was a Sapeur, so when he was not at work he was dressed in suits of different colours like the other members of the Society of Ambianceurs and Persons of Elegance.

Pepe and the other miners turned to stare at Don’t Mention, not knowing what to say. Then the men and children slowly picked up their shovels…