A Slave's Journey by Jaya

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 Forcefully, we marched on to the floating prison in the harbour. My heart raced uncontrollably as my nails dug into my sweaty palms. The fetters ripped into my skin as we were manacled together like wild beasts. Threateningly, the crew held thick leather whips as they scoured at us with disgust. Many of the captives wept openly for their relatives. We had to stand still as the African sun shone down on us for many hours. Suddenly, we were ordered to go below deck.

The heat of the sun was replaced by a freezing chill of the dungeon below deck that made me shiver. The scent of human waste made me feel completely sick inside. As the smell mixed with the fear of my fellow slaves it made me feel even worse. Once shoved into position I had no space to do anything. The shackles weighed heavily on my arms and knees so we couldn’t escape. Wearily, I closed my eyes hoping I would get to sleep.

The relief of sleep would sadly not come that night no matter how hard I tried. All the moans and groans kept me awake that night. The iron fetters rubbed and ripped my skin and gave me blisters. I felt like crying but surprisingly I did not because I did not want the crew to hear. Suddenly, the floating prison set sail to a county I had never head of called the Americas. I realised I would never get to see my family again.

 

Comments

  1. Mr BainbridgeOctober 23, 2020 at 12:22 PM

    Awesome writing Jaya. You really transported me to the deck of a galleon sailing across the middle passage. It is incredibly sad to think of the horrific conditions faced by millions of Africans.

    ReplyDelete

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