Free Weep Not Child by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o

strong bond of brotherhood. And with all this, there was growing up in his heart a feeling that the Gikuyu people, whose land had been taken by white men, were no other than the children of Israel about whom he read in the Bible. So although all men were brothers, the black people had a special mission to the world because they were the chosen people of God. This explained his brother’s remark that Jomo was the black Moses. Whenever he was with Mwihaki, he longed to impart some of these things to her. Yet when he tried to define them in words, he failed. So he kept them all to himself, walking alone in the fields and sometimes finding companionship with the nights.

6
    Sometimes men came to see his father. Ever since Njoroge was a child, he had seen Ngotho as the centre of everything. As long as he lived, nothing could go wrong. And so Njoroge grew up, fearing his father, and yet putting implicit faith in him.
    The men who came to see Ngotho usually went to his
Thingira.
But sometimes they went to Nyokabi’s or Njeri’s hut. This pleased Njoroge, for he loved to listen to the mature talk of men. These men were the elders of the village. They talked about affairs of the land. Kori and Boro too brought men at weekends, but these men were different from the young men of the village. The young men of the village usually allowed the elders to lead talks while they listened. But these others who came with Kori and Boro from the big city seemed to know a lot of things. They usually dominated the talks. And because most of them had been to the war, they were able to compare the affairs of the land with the lands to which they had been. They did not joke and laugh as young men usually did, but their faces were grave, as they talked of the foreign lands, the war, their country, the big unemployment, and the stolen lands.
    Njoroge listened keenly as they talked of Jomo. Already he felt intimate with this man. For Njoroge was sure that he had read about him in the Old Testament. Moses had led the children of Israel from Misri to the Promised Land. And because black people were really the children of Israel, Moses was no other than Jomo himself. It was obvious.
    The men also talked of the strike. All men who worked forwhite men and the
serikali
(the government) would come out on strike. The government and the settlers had to be shown that black people were not cowards and slaves. They too had children to feed and to educate. How could people go on sweating for the children of the white men to be well-fed, well-clothed, and well-educated? Kiarie, a short man with a black beard, was a good, compelling speaker. He usually walked together with Boro. His words stirred Njoroge strangely.
    A man asked, ‘But do you think it will succeed?’
    ‘Yes! Everybody will go on strike. Every black man everywhere. Even those in the police and the army will sit down too.’
    ‘Shall we really get the same pay as Indians and Europeans?’
    ‘Yes!’ Kiarie explained with a confident nod of his head. ‘All the black people will stop working. All business in the country will come to a standstill because all the country depends on our sweat. The government and the settlers will call us back. But we shall say, No, no. Give us more money first. Our sweat and blood are not so cheap. We too are human beings. We cannot live on fifteen shillings a month…’
    The old men and village folk listened with deep interest. They did not know much about strikes, but if this meant more money, then it was a good idea. The solemn voice of Kiarie had conviction and quiet assurance that, Njoroge felt, gave courage and faith to all those around.
    ‘What about those employed by black people?’
    ‘We must concentrate on the government and the white people. We black people are brothers.’
    Ngotho knew of one or two who were certainly
not
brothers. But he did not say so.
    When Njoroge went to bed, he prayed that the strike be a success. He hoped it would come soon. If his