Deh-Nee

by Doeba Bropleh

Circa 1979, Harper City, Maryland   County, Liberia

I am leaving this place in the morning.

Right now it is very late at night; I woke up and could not go back to bed so I have been thinking about what happened today.   After some time I knew I had to pack my things. To tell the truth, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper—I call them Pa Edward and Ma Lindaor Pa and Ma for short—are putting me out.  I’m scared to think how my old people back home will act; not even sure what I’ll tell them.  As the first child and, as I was told, a strong boy, I was supposed to pave the way— that’s one reason they named me Gunoweh.  This whole thing is strange to me, like the African Science medicine men use, but let me tell you about it.

My family is from Worteken, Maryland County on the east side of Liberia where Atlantic Ocean breeze blows through green mountains of trees, part of thePutu Range which points to the sky in the back of the town. The Cavalla River, which flows to thesea and separates us fromIvory Coast, is a walk away.  We still hear stories of strong swimmers drowning at the Bad Mouth, where the Cavalla meets the Atlantic.  It was Teacher Raymond, from my town, who brought me to Ma and Pa.  He was of medium height, big, big muscles and though he had a college degree, talked in a way that everyone in town could understand. “He’s not proud,” people said about him.  Teacher had been away from Worteken for five months teaching at the William V. S. Tubman College—everybody called it WVST—here in Harper City.  These days he only taught math at the college, but back home he used to teach every subject at the only school in town.  All grades sat in one classroom with one blackboard and you paid attention when Teacher Raymond let you know he was talking to your class.  You could take part in lessons from the higher grades since we were all in the same room.  I used to do that plenty; I wanted to be Teacher.

I enjoyed school but didn’t have much time to study. After turning ten three years ago, I started helping my old people on our farm soon in the morning and again in  the evening before the sun went down. It was hard working and going to school, but I passed to the seventh grade before Teacher left for Harper. The school in Worteken stopped at the sixth grade.