The cool afternoon Caribbean Sea breeze wafted over my body as I was daydreaming in the hammock tied between two coconut trees in the front beach lodge of my host during my recent visit to the twin-island State of Antigua and Barbuda in the West Indies.
?I hope you are enjoying the breeze,? Roger asked me gently.
I opened my right eye and raised my right hand to signify my complete satisfaction. For three days, I took it cool and forgot the salty Keta Lagoon in my place of birth and the noisy Makola market in our capital city of Accra.
Indeed, the couple, Roger and Laura Stevens, my hosts, did everything to make me happy and I did not ignore the local dishes which are similar to our African dishes.
There is one called Fungi, which is a cooked paste made of cornmeal and water. Another one is called Dukuna or Ducana and is made from grated sweet potatoes, sugar, flour, coconut, water, grated nutmeg, salt and essence or vanilla extract. The mixture is combined in a bowl until it thickly coats the back of a spoon.
The mixture can be cooked in a foil, but others prefer to cook it wrapped in banana leaves.
The contents must be boiled in salted water for about 25 minutes till the mixture in the wrapping is firm.
Ducana is often served with salted cod (Bacala) and what the islanders call ?chop-up? which is a mixture of spinach, eggplant and okra. Ducana is also eaten cold or thinly sliced and fried lightly.
After three days of gratification, I started feeling bored and told my hosts to tell me why they paid to get me down to the island.
Then on the evening of the fourth day, the couple took me to their spacious study which they also used as worship and prayer room.
The songs of one of the famous American gospel stars Ron Kenoly filled the room. I joined the couple in the worship and praise session. After that Laura led us in prayer and Roger also read a passage from the Holy Bible.
We all sat down for Roger to tell me why they invited me to the island of Antigua and Barbuda.
My dear readers, Roger?s tale stunned me a little, and I would therefore advise you to fasten your reading belts as I pilot you through Roger?s life flight.
He was born in an African country. The father was a career diplomat and so Roger, the only child of his parents, had his formative years outside his country of birth. After some years, the father was appointed by the government of the day to be the ambassador to the United States of America and it was in that country that Roger graduated from college.
Roger?s father was later called down by the president of his country for some consultation and he thought it was appropriate to go with his family so that they could spend sometime with the extended family after meeting with the President.
Roger was also happy and was in expectant mood to meet his family members.
After landing in his country, he had a three-week bliss, savoring the ?raw? environment.
In the fourth week, some happenings affected Roger for many years. It was a day he would never forget in his lifetime.
On that day, some personnel from the Armed Forces staged a bloody coup in which the President was killed in addition to some of his ministers.
Roger?s father realized that his continuous stay in the country with his family was detrimental so he decided to escape and the only way he could do it was to travel by road.
The three, with the help of a trusted driver, left at dawn to the nearest border.
Roger was with the driver and held the handbag that contained their travelling documents and money while his father and mother were at the rear seat of the car. It was not an easy journey as soldiers were everywhere doing thorough search.
On the second day, they hit another road block and they realized that the vehicular traffic was very heavy on that route. Suddenly, they heard heavy gun fire with chilling screams.
Immediately, some of the vehicles ahead tried to turn round to escape, as some were set on fire.
As the driver of Roger?s vehicle tried to maneuver to escape, a hail of bullets whistled past and it was at that moment both his mother and father got hit. However, Roger and the driver strangely escaped unscathed.
The car exploded because the fuel tank was also hit in the melee.
Roger was devastated but there was nothing he could do. He used three months to dodge the rebellious army to get out of the country. Indeed, when he reached Washington D.C, he was shockingly denied entry to their official residence. He was told that their belongings had been removed a month earlier and so Roger became homeless and destitute.
After a month of struggle, he got in touch with a college mate, who readily offered him a place in another city in the US. His colleague was engaged in illegal businesses.
He realized the vulnerable position of Roger and exploited it to the fullest.
He informed Roger about his work and encouraged his confused friend to join him with the assurance that the law enforcement agencies would not get them.
Roger?s friend was into the supply of hard drugs while in College.
However, he ventured into human trafficking because it was becoming very difficult to operate.
He cunningly coerced Roger to join him and knowing how brilliant Roger was at school, made him his IT manager.
He also translated documents from other languages into English because he was fluent in five official languages.
With that, Roger settled down and for two years helped the friend in his illegal business. In the third year, the friend told Roger that he was moving into another branch of the business and that was the establishment of baby factories or baby farms.
In that business, young women were tricked and lured into special areas called camps where they were impregnated and kept till they delivered the babies.
Then the babies would then be sold to couples, who were desperately in need of children.
The baby farm was becoming lucrative because the laws covering adoption had become very stringent and some clients were finding it very difficult to meet the conditions. Again surrogacy was very expensive. So Roger and his friends made a roaring business in Eastern Europe and Asia.
Then Roger?s friend asked him to accompany him on a tour of the baby camps.
Roger was shocked when he entered the human baby factory. He saw young girls at various stages of their pregnancy and some had given birth and were recovering. He noticed that most of the girls were emotionally traumatized. In a room, he saw some of the girls chained because of their mental conditions.
Owing to his in-depth knowledge about the establishment, he was able to interview most of them. He discovered that some of the girls, after delivery, were forced into prostitution. Roger realized that people were in worst situations than him.
He felt it was not right to continue to feel bitter about the death of his parents.
Indeed, Roger became disillusioned and regretted joining the business and by the time they went round the third camp in another country, he decided to call it quits.
At the third camp he met a young African woman who was in her early twenties and had already given birth to two babies and was recovering.
Immediately he set eyes upon the girl, he decided to save her.
He broached the idea to his friend but his friend refused. Roger did not argue with him, but planned to save the girl. He later learnt that the girl was working in a good establishment in an African country before she was deceived by a friend to go to Europe.
Roger?s rescue of the girl would be another story to tell you, my readers, in future.
Roger later settled with the lady on the island of Antigua and Barbuda.
He is currently engaged in genuine business and using the money to build churches, hospitals and schools to help people across the world.
By Amos Amaglo
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