1.0 FICTION
Waking up to the familiar sound of birds singing helped me keep my cool every morning. Knowing that the lush green forest was always around me gave me a kind of comfort I could not describe. But will the birds and green forest always be around me? I don't know, but I pray nothing changes, I hope nothing hijacks the peace and I wish for the stay of the tranquillity the green meadow offers.
I am from a family of six; my father has three boys together with my cousin from the next village who had to stay with us until she finished school. I was the youngest child. The first male child (who I fondly called my biggest brother) already left for the city to get a job. My immediate big brother who was my favorite person in the family is in his final year in school, and would leave for the teacher's college once he finishes school.
My mother was always proud to announce that all of her boys could cook, that you could give any of us a strange plant, and we would make a delicious soup out of it. But, since the arrival of my cousin, most of the kitchen duties unanimously became her chores.
Every school day, I would dress up in my green shirt and khaki shorts and head to the only school in our village, Global Comprehensive College (G.C.C.). I was in the seventh grade. I trekked over two kilometres to school every morning, and the only thing more interesting than trekking to school was trekking back home from school with my jolly friends. I would always have something new to do every day, from kicking fruits around, to marching in a straight line, to playing hide and seek, to singing and chanting the school anthem and pledge.
We would always engage ourselves until we started waving goodbye to each other, and until our numbers dropped until I was the only one left. My house was the farthest from school, and for about five minutes I had enough time to savour the serenity of the forest paths that separated our house from the rest of the village.
My parents planted an orchard just before we got to our house, and I would always pluck some fruits for my friends on my way to school. Passing under the fruit trees on my way home from school always made me think about the world without trees or forests.
I participated in a debate in school on Wednesday last week; strangely enough, the topic was "The sky should be green not blue." It was meant to pique our interest, promote self-reflection, and force us to think outside the box, as our teacher, Mr. Rogers, had said to us.
We had three students support the motion and three kids oppose the motion. I was supporting the motion, and I was glad Mr. Rogers placed Lydia in the same group as me; she was a quiet girl who loved green as much as she lived it.
From her green backpack to green ribbons in her hair to green erasers, and she was a vegetarian, obviously. I never particularly enjoyed sitting beside her for lunch; her plate was always a combination of different shades of green, fighting for dominance.
But having Lydia stand with me against Kyla, Benjamin and Bello on the opposing team gave me the vibe of 'just the two of us against the whole world'. Kyla was the smartest kid in class and the proud one too, she took home the prize for 1st position every term unopposed.
She was a menace and she knew it, but with Lydia and Ashley beside me, the scowl on her face couldn't bother me less.
I'd spent countless evenings sitting with my big brother, gathering points for my debate. But I took the green a little too literally, as I spent the latter part of those evenings imagining what life would look like under a green sky. My very first discourse with him revolved around defining green. It can be in whatever context I remember telling him, then he went on about how green could represent a lot of things;
Emotions: joy, envy, serenity, harmony and lots more.
Symbolism: nature, harmony, agriculture, fertility and lots more.
He then advised me to focus on agriculture and nature, seeing we grew up on a farm.
I had several discussions with my big brother, which sometimes included other members of my family/ Everyone was happy to drop a point to help me in my debate. My big brother made me write my speech and would help me grade my performance. 'Blood and parchment' as often called pen and paper, was the best for me to remember what I was going to say, word for word.
It was when I could conveniently write down the speech he'd edited to his satisfaction off-hand, that he believed I was truly ready for the debate. Lydia, Ashley and I met after school every day to discuss the debate topic and how we were going to present our points. I was to go first, Ashley second and Lydia last. We decided that Lydia would finalize everything by subtly attacking the point the opposing team had given.
On that fateful Wednesday morning, I woke up early to get ready for school and got to school before others to revise my speech with Ashley and Lydia. Immediately after the morning assembly in front of the staff room, all seventh-grade students marched to the school hall for the debate. Mr Rogers had already gotten permission from the principal to use our first two lecture periods in the school hall for the debate.
We had arranged the hall the previous day after classes. Exactly how Mr. Rogers wanted it. Walking towards one of the three desk allocated for the supporting team on the right of the high table (allocated for the panel of judges) was exciting and scary at the same time, but I kept my cool, even as everyone settled down and Mr Rogers gave an opening speech about the topic to be debated upon and the essence of the debate.
I kept my cool, even as he called the fist speaker of the supporting team to the podium. I remained calm, even as I walked to the podium, scanned the crowd, took a deep breath, held my heart in my hands and started.
'Good morning Mr Chairman, impartial panel of judges, accurate time keepers, co-debaters, and my fellow students.
My name is Joseph Mambezi, a bona fide student of this great school. I am here today to support the motion "The sky should be green not blue"
Firstly, I'd love to define the word 'sky', the sky according to Merriam-Webster's is 'the upper atmosphere or expanse of space that constitutes an apparent great vault or arch over the earth'. And from research, the sky is blue because of the scattering of sunlight in earth's atmosphere.
Secondly, could you all take a look outside the windows, what do you see? Green. Over the years a lot of people depict mother nature as a woman dressed in green. As we all know that the colour green represents; nature, fertility and a lot more. And as we would all agree, without mother nature, the essence of humanity would be lost.
Furthermore, the green chlorophyll in the leaves of plants help them to draw nutrients from sunlight, plus a green sky would support more chlorophyll production, leading to healthier plants and crops, leading to a healthier living. And I really don't know why the chlorophyll is not blue. Maybe someone will enlighten me after this debate.
I am very proud to let you know that my parents have an orchard around our house, and the trees take in the carbon dioxide we exhale and produce oxygen for us to breathe in. Without them, the earth would be inhabitable. All this is possible because of the green leaves, so we can also say that green is keeping us alive.
In addition, although it is not a scientific fact, I think a green sky would probably have a natural greenhouse effect on the earth. Thereby strengthening the ozone layer, or at least preventing its complete depletion, and thereby preventing extreme climate changes that might lead to our extinction.
Plus, I've seen a lot of people eat green. I'm not a vegetarian, though. But if everything we eat is green, then why not have a green sky to remind us of how important healthy consumption is to our health? It would be amazing if everything around us, including the skies, were in harmony, bearing mother nature's green hue, because they are all works of nature.
With these few points of mine, I hope I have been able to convince you that if that day ever comes, we all should vote for a green sky. Thank you very much."
As the first speaker for my team, and after my short and concise delivery, as my brother called it, I passed on the baton to the second speaker for the opposing team.
Lydia gave her points accurately and I've never been more proud of her. Mentioning agriculture, forestry and lots of other stuff as strong points to influence the belief that the sky should have been green, because green is organic, and organic is life.
For the first time, it was obvious that Kyla felt cornered. She objected and quickly retorted that if the sky was green, humans would suffer from colour blindness, and I will be like the emerald city in 'The wizard of Oz'. But calmly, Lydia continued she said that the debate topic was not as literal as she was making it, but an appreciation of the green wonders under the sky. Her calm response had me smiling as Kyla scowled in fury. But for someone like her who lived 'green' literarily, I guess her response should incite a little self-reflection.
After we all gave our speeches, Mr Rogers gave room for questions from the audience. Two questions came my way, one; if the sky was green, would everyone be vegetarian. My answer was: "Well, being a vegetarian is healthy and nice, buy it's still your choice, and it's not a sin to not become one. In our community there is no law, forcing everyone to pledge to the veggies, so I expect it to be the same if the sky was green."
Two; The sky is blue, maybe because it was meant to be blue, not any other colour, don't you think? How convenient cause this came from Tyla's friend, and from the corner of my eye, I could see Kyla smiling in mockery. Before I could decide the perfect answer for the occasion, Lydia raised her hands to answer the question, and Mr. Rogers permitted her.
Lydia took a deep breath and started, "A thousand years ago there was no aeroplane, if humans left the possibility of air travel to the conclusion that it was not meant to be, simply because we do not have wings, there still would be no aeroplane today. This debate Is about exploring options and the creativity of our minds."
This answer earned her a round of applause from everyone single person in the hall, excluding Kyla who was almost green with envy. After the question and answer session, we had a short break for the panel of judges (a few other staffs) to collate point and decide the winner.
The supporting team, my team won the debate, and we were given our prizes; new notebooks, a pen, pencil and eraser. 'Oh, my brother would be so proud of me' I thought. And as anyone would expect Lydia had the most points, a fact that angered Kyla to her bones.
But that I think about it, it was from that moment that I began to develop friendly feelings for Lydia, 'friendly feelings' Is what I call the tingle I feel in my belly whenever I saw her in class every morning since the debate. 'friendly feelings' is what I call the sensation I felt that made me subconsciously want to brush my hands against her, ever since she excitedly held my hands when we were announced winners of the debate contest.
Walking to school this Monday morning everything seemed brighter, all the plants seemed to have a special glow. Is it just me, or Mother Nature is calling to me? Even my mother's bonsai tree on the front porch seemed a little bigger and greener. And the only thing I could think of was seeing Lydia in school.
The first person I saw was Kyla, her head buried between her books. Exams were fast approaching, but I didn't understand why her studies had to be where everyone would see her. Well, it was none of my business; the only girl I was concerned about didn't look like she was going to be in school anytime soon. I just hope she's okay, after the assembly Mr. Rogers announced to the class that Lydia won't be coming cause she's down with fever, she because ill over the weekend. And that we could send our wishes through her little brother.
Nah, this is the time to show her how much I care about her. It's much better if I stop by her house, on my way home after school. The classes that day were uneventful, and immediately the closing bell rang, I picked up my school bag and calmly walked out of the class.
My friends were assembling at the gate, ready for us to begin our journey back home, but I excused myself and went to get Lydia's little brother, she always walked him home, and since she wasn't in school today, I decided to help out, not only because I wanted to see her, but because I'm a gentleman.
After about ten minutes we got to their house, Lydia was with her grandma at home, and I could bet she was ten times prettier in house clothes, even though she was sick she didn't fail to radiate mother nature warmth. She was getting better already, and would make it to school tomorrow.
She was surprised to see me, I was too. I showed her the notes I took in class, and explained one or two things so she won't miss out on school work, then I gave her the fruits I brought for my friends, wished her quick recovery and continued my journey home.
I didn't fail to notice that a lot of her things were green, I still don't understand this her love for green, I am going to ask her one of these days, I decided.
When I got home, my big brother was sitting on the porch peeling oranges, I greeted him and was about to walk into the house, when he called me back, he took one good look at me, and asked why I was smiling sheepishly. I looked at my feet, said 'nothing' and darted into the house to greet my mother.
On Tuesday morning, Lydia walked into our classroom, her head perched elegantly on her shoulders, she looked way better than yesterday, and you could even tell that she was recently Ill. She came to my seat first, thanked me for yesterday, and walked to her seat; some of my friends were giving me suspicious glances, but I just raised my nose in the air like it was nothing.
After school I caught up with her in front of the gate and offered to walk her and her brother home. Little Manuel was happy to see me, but something told me Lydia was happier, even though she did not show it, but at least she did not refuse my offer to walk home with them.
One of my friends saw us going home together, I'd told him to tell our other friends that I wasn't going home with them, and I'm sure they'll give me an earful and interview me tomorrow, but that was the least of my worries right now. Actually, I have no worries right now, maybe because I'm with her, but who cares.
Immediately we left the school premises completely, I asked her the question that had been bothering me, 'Lydia' I said, 'yes?' She responded, 'can I ask you something?' I asked, 'sure, go ahead' she responded smiling. 'Why are you so in love with the colour green? You wear green, you're a vegetarian, you literarily live green, why?'
She took a deep breath, looked at me and started, 'Well, my middle name is Gaia, my grandmother named me after Mother Nature herself.' 'And what does that have to do with your green lifestyle?' I asked. 'Be patient' she responded. 'Let me tell you a story'
"Many years ago, when our ancestors communed with the deities. Mother Earth took a beautiful young lady named Lily as her apprentice, on the condition that should would remain a virgin until she died, she taught her everything one could learn about herbs, medicine and agriculture.
Her knowledge of nature was so vast that humans regarded her as Gaia herself. This displeased Gaia a lot, but as a goddess she did not allow envy to control her.
Everything was going well, until one day when a young man more beautiful than any lady came into their village. Attracted by Lily's intelligence, he decided to pursue her to have her as his wife. Entrapped by his beauty, she found it difficult to resist him. She did all she could, but his charms broke through her defences.
Eventually she gave in to him, despite the condition under which she became Gaia's apprentice. Immediately after her marriage, she was put in the family way, her belly grew and when it became noticeable, she stopped going to Gaia's shrine. After nine months, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, everyone in the village came to look at the child, and brought her gifts.
Unfortunately, their happiness was to be short-lived. Gaia, as punishment for the disobedience took the child and she was never to be seen again. Lily cried and pleaded with the goddess, but it all fell on deaf ears.
The villagers were sad, and everyone went to Gaia's shrine to entreat the deity. After seven days of fasting, singing, and dancing, she eventually forgave them, and Lily conceived another daughter. She was born with three birthmarks on her right thigh. Gaia decided that she had to be dedicated to her until the birthmarks disappeared, and then they would appear on another daughter in Lily's family.
Ever since then, there has always been one daughter dedicated to Gaia in Lily's lineage, and as it is, she is my direct ancestor. The last girl child dedicated to Gaia was my grandmother, and now it's my turn to take on that mantle." With that, she showed me the birthmarks forming a triangle on her right thigh.
I immediately remembered that yesterday, when I went to greet her at their house, even her grandmother was putting on a green shawl, and strangely enough, she was knitting a green sweater.
Oh, now I understand. It all made sense to me now. Her love for green, and her interest in nature, all came naturally to her.
'But that doesn't stop you from getting married, right?'
'No silly, if we didn't get married, how would we give birth to children' she responded, laughing.
I just wanted to be sure.
With that, we continued our walk home, as our hands found there was to each other, entwined in ardour. I'm sure that somewhere, Gaia must be smiling on us.
2.0 NON FICTION
In this small office that I am in, there is nothing green, nothing promising. I am only as close as I can be to some recurring blackness. As always, today's sound is from the nearby Accident and Emergency Unit. A crying man is wailing endlessly; he is calling the name of his wife
He calls her middle name. He calls her by her children. When he calls out, he says "mother of X" and "mother of Y" with X and Y being the names of her first child and second child.
He is not romantic; he is mourning as he calls, and he calls his wife names that would otherwise sow some smiles on her face were the day not a mound of mishap.
But she is nowhere near to responding to these calls. The texture of the man's grief says his wife is lifeless. In his sorrowful entreat, he pleads with her that she should have grown old before dying.
He is a religious man. He prays intermittently as he grieves. He seeks God's hand in the entire matter.
I feel his pains but I am unperturbed. I am not as bland as I sound. I am only overly exposed to the gory of numerous grieves and the daunting wails of mourners who have lost their loved ones.
But beyond this bereavement, the year is 2024, and my planet is draped in green, wrought with an endless search for balance, meaning, and preservation. And close by is a map of the earth.
AFRICA
Without stress or strain, I can see the African continent.
Africa with all her 1.5 billion folks is in search of green: of a newness that encompasses improved standards of living and unprecedented progress. And although, at least 75% of humans on this continent are dark skinned, they are no different from the red, yellow and white humans in other continents of the world.
As elsewhere on the planet, these Africans seek opportunities; they seek governments that take responsibility for their people and for the sustentation of life and judicious use of resources for the folks that currently are and for the imminent and far-flung posterity.
Maybe in decades to come, the African continent would strip itself of its dawdling and would wear the vintage of developed nations.
Zooming in on Africa and to the continent's west, I see nations.
Burkina Faso
As every usurp as there has ever been and particularly such characterizing the African continent, Ibrahim Traore overthrew the military governance that only shortly stood.
He is young at 36, fearless, and exhumes the grit of any military head. At the centre of his soar is a fierce and striking green promise.
He is a colourful green shrub, a breath of fresh air, and true to the promises of his appearance, he sprung up to tackle the insurgency that has ravaged his country without end.
Thrusting with terror-destructing force, his administration allegedly burnt more than 400 insurgents in one day. Non-disabled men, all demised and roasted in the open field as compensation for some prior attack.
Lined behind Traore's vision of a green and boisterous tomorrow are more than 20 million Burkinabes. No wonder the citizenry erupted with newfound joy at his emergence. Or perhaps they were just worn out from the prior government of the day and how hope was not painted in their faces with intensity.
And perhaps, the citizenry was right to embrace Traore's assumption of power with enthusiasm because since his military rulership he has taken strides that are far-fetched in Africa's leadership.
He has doubled the payment of workers and reduced the salaries of politicians by a third. Sticking to the earning of a captain, Captain Traore is doing away with the pay befitting presidents.
He holds compelling ideologies stemming from firm resolves of total African freedom and the utilization of the resources of Africa for Africa. Perhaps, this is reason for which in January, 2023, his leadership gave French military one month long stay in the Burkina Faso soil. And perhaps, this ultimate was further strengthened by the anti-France protests rocking Burkina Faso at the time.
His speeches are a promise of a green dawn. One where his continent is no marionette at the hands of the imperialist. One where the imperialist is not granted access to power enough to take resource control of his nation and continent. One where African leaders rise up, solve their food insecurity challenges, crush jihadists and insurgency of every form, and stay proof against the dividing whiles of misinformation and communication exploitation.
Haven withstood past fifteen coup attempts, perhaps the relentless usurpers would wane their efforts in frustration. Maybe they'll catch a glimpse of green glow and perhaps someday embrace his bright greenery.
Nigeria
Elsewhere in West Africa, where Nigeria, the most populous black nation on my planet is nestled, a new government emerged on the reins of a renewed hope mandate. This government is spearheaded by President Tinubu who bears a promise of a transformed Nigeria.
His rise to power features political savviness and decades of adeptness with the nature and pipeline of power. I hear that the electoral processes that led to the emergence of his government were tainted with some inconsistencies. Regardless, he brought a far-fetched newness, the sort that is elegant and verdant.
After times and times of speculation, weeks ago, I saw on the news that there are rows of protests and the citizenry are crying about lack. They are scattered across different parts of their nation in their usual different tongues but they possess a unified intent. In their demonstration of displeasure, they are taking a page from Kenyans who have only recently taken their protests to the government's face.
Elsewhere in Kenya, President Ruto is succumbing to the demands of his protesting countrymen. Much that now in Nigeria, change seeking citizens are taking the bull by the horn and calling out the government on bad governance characterized by corrupt government officials and gross economic hardship.
Perhaps the people are not wrong, and maybe the government is not alien to the oil theft affecting the nation. Who knows where the crude oil thieves are and who they are as they steal from the nation with big vessels and on a large scale, with likeness to grand organized crimes?
Perhaps, the nation's oil thieves have heavy stakes in governance. Maybe they influence the petroleum policies of the country directly and have indirectly captured the nation's petroleum resources with a strong grip.
Great leadership is open to the needs of its people. And perhaps like Keir Starmer is healing the United Kingdom from wounds of rioting protestors who are angry about immigrant crime and the lowering of opportunities from the competitive presence of immigrants and naturalized citizens, maybe President Tinubu would heal his country.
Perhaps, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer repaints the petals of the United Kingdom as a home for acceptance of all, irrespective of skin colour, diversity, and creed, President Tinubu would succour his countryfolks with quench-halting motivation and action.
With an enormous youth population and human power, maybe his country would rise up rapidly to stand as an African superpower. Maybe he'll usher his countrymen to trust and herald the hope of a green sunrise across the African continent.
AMERICA
The U.S.A.
And seeing America, I mean the Northern part and middle wards, there seats the U.S.A. An expanse spanning 3.81 square miles: diverse, powerful, opportunity-rich, surfing on the pointy edge of cutting-edge innovations.
Leftwards
In the U.S.A. and to the left, I see Kamala D. Harris, an ode to blossoming yet unexampled greenness. I learned that she is the first in many things.
Adding up until becoming the first female president of the U.S.A. and with other scents of viridity, she fills this exalted office.
And to the left brews newness edged on the renewed mandate of the preservation of our planet and every green matter it holds. In this regard, not just algae, rain forests and every literally green thing. In this regard, "green" webs everything in nature including species close to extinction, as soil eroding from human activities, as marine life ebbing from ballasts and everything vomited by the maritime and doings of humans on water.
This path holds sustainability efforts in high esteem, watches climate change closely and takes big proactive steps as a result. Maybe as a result, the process would be dispatched through a fast horse rider and the real estate would be transformed with more ecofriendly constructions. Maybe more homes would have water recyclers and IoT-meshed homes to improve energy and resource efficiency in communities and households.
Maybe as a result more holistic grants would emerge and more citizens and foreigners would be researching our planets sustainability in American laboratories. Perhaps, there would be a surge of post grad and post doc students basing their researches on oceanography, marine conservation, coral courses, et al.
This green glow would continue to manifest in boosting the capacity of the U.S.A. to adopt electric vehicles and alternative forms of energy that would wane and halt carbon emission. Maybe Tesla and other companies in its sphere would discover a means to make electric vehicles more affordable. Maybe this green glow would materialize interventions that'll widespread electric vehicle charging stations across the country and reduce the cost intensive nature of setting up each such station.
Furthermore and as always, it would continue to care for immigrants and offer profound humanitarian aid on the American continent and elsewhere around the globe. It would continue to offer justice by preventing stronger nations from bullying less strong ones. It would continue to offer war aid to support-needing nations such as Ukraine.
This oath to greenness would continue to manifest in human rights as retrieving the government's power over feminine bodies and instead, empowering women to decide what they do to and with their bodies. This oath would continue to let people be what they want, love the way they like, live with who they love, bear the names they wish, and be comfortable in their own skins.
This hope would continue to bring homes happiness as they make their choices to enlarge their homes through invitro fertilizations and other options in its circle.
This route promises safety in an order revolving around gun restriction. It seems that unchecked law enforcement would be a weight on everyday Americans, and so it promises to wade into police brutality by striking a balance in the operations of law enforcement agencies.
The path of this green promise holds tens of millions of Americans in its wake. First, they anticipate the reinvigoration of the policies on the path. Secondly, they want a leader who'll accomplish all of the goodwill of the path while wearing a colourful cloak of unprecedented features. Should this be the case, these unprecedented features would manifest in being the first female president of the United States of Indian and African descent.
Rightwards
In the U.S.A. and to the right lies the promise of a newness hinged on crushing wokeness, defunding schools pushing gender theories and affirmation. As possible as it is within the purview of the law, this rightward promise seeks to purge 'progressive' infestation. It names wokeness a festering viral infection that would crush the pillar of the nation, say through unburdening what has been. But is it that has been?
This route promises to plunge the strength and vigour of the ideologies of the left into the abyss. It calls the ideologies radical and finds fault in its being.
This course offers safety in an order that seeks to halt plentiful immigrant influx. Through the tag "immigrant crime", it affixes allegedly surging crime rates to the presence of migrants and pursues the deportation of every folk who migrated illegally in a manner never seen before.
Perhaps overly but it screams that the world is on the verge of a third world war and thus there's a need to swap leadership and lean the nation rightwards. This path takes pride in a strength stitched to sharing warmth with leaders of powerful global nations as North Korea and China that would have otherwise been at logger head with the States.
This course promises to stand with unique allies of the States. It promises to stand with Israel and offer open aid, support and continued empowerment to the existence and advancement of Jews in the Middle East and elsewhere. It promises to help subside the threat of Israel-hostile nations and amplify the voice, interest and demands of Jews on a global scale.
Perhaps, there would be much beneficial intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism coverage and military synergy. Maybe this promise is as strategic as it sounds and maybe it will spur the foothold of the U.S. in the Middle East.
The Mix
The fate of the States is a mix and it the end, it would either sway rightwards or leftwards. But from anchors of both sides, the year election is said to be the most crucial in the history of the nation.
Perhaps it is merely a means to spur the people. Maybe they'll say the same in close by four years. Or perhaps they truly believe their stance and fear that should the opposition lead the government, the country would get hit with dire extremity.
Still, in the mix of these things, I see people and floods of them numbering past 330 million. I see Hispanic and Latino Americans. I see African Americans, Asian Americans, White Americans, and so on.
I see political jostling and battle ground states. I see Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, et alia. I see the media. I see Fox News, A.B.C., MSNBC, CNN, et alia. I see them lean to the right or left.
ASIA
Bangladesh
To Asia's South, I see Bangladesh and everything done to usurp her green turned beige or better still, her grass green withered to burnt brown state.
Not long before, I see on the British Broadcasting Corporation's network, what change seeking Bangladeshis are doing to bring newness. In a bid to cease a leadership fraught with money laundering, and nepotistic ministers, I see them Bangladeshis welder their frustrations into protests mounting up until an unseated government and a fleeing prime minister.
Elsewhere, I hear that Bangladesh's youths and student groups are fed up with a quota system in which more than half of government positions are held up for specific groups.
I see a people who are undeterred by paramilitary clampdown and the dissuading efforts of the teargas.
And without gainsaying, these protestors are quickly hit with the instant economic impacts of their movements. The effect is worsened with cut telecommunication, shut schools and imposed curfews, yet they are persuaded by a green promise.
Of hope for a government that holds the promise of shrunk corruption, plummeting unemployment, plummeting inflation and more openings in government for all. Governance sans excessive considerations for descendants of patriotic fighters from distant 1971's War of Independence.
Maybe to this day, Prime Minister Hasani opines that the protesting Bangladeshis are wrong, but from a population enraged by more than 200 deaths and arrested protest leaders who are forced to retract the terms of their protests, wouldn't she have envisaged that the impacts of the teeming rage would be dire, fueling and climaxing to the declaration of a complete non-cooperation movement and calls for her resignation?
Nonetheless, the military has taken over and the people have spoken. What feels green to the people is the call for and would be the presence of an interim government free from military takeover and with global minds as Nobel laureate Yunus as Chief Adviser.
Prime Minister Hasani's son did speak of her return for elections. Should she return for Bangladesh's next election and remerge as the nation's leader, maybe she'll be more sensitive to the people's demands.
And maybe when Bangladeshis are against a policy, they would be better heard and would not have to protest in their thousands. And maybe, as a result of this imminent dawn, there would no longer be the stifling of the voices of human rights activists and music of dissonance to the government in power.
Maybe tomorrow or the day after, a new bonsai will sprout from the soil of Bangladesh, and not just South Asia but the entire continent will catch a glimpse of its striking and absolving green.
May this glistening green glimmer until it engulfs the entire globe with its glow.
"This post is taking part in the t2 x Bonsai x Stack writing challenge"