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| Excerpts from Bakhita's story are taken from manuscripts told by Bakhita herself to her Sisters in Venice between 1910 and 1929. |
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One day they took me outside and I was sold to a trader. I was placed with other children at the back of a human caravan. The Arab traders, armed with guns and shields, had all the men carrying the heaviest loads put at the front. They were linked together by heavy chains around their necks. Exhausted, we plodded on through the desert, walking on the sun-scorched sand. During the day it was hot and sticky, during the night it was sharp and cold. The only sound to be heard was the cracking of the whips, the sighing of women and the crying of children...We journeyed for days and days, and finally we reached the place where they selected the best slaves, starting with the strongest. |
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They kept us locked in some filthy huts. We were cold and frightened and so we squeezed up against each other to keep warm and cheer ourselves up. Binah hugged me and said, "Where are they going to take us? I want my mummy! I bet she's really missing me and they've all been looking for me!" "Don't cry," I said, "sooner or later we'll get back home again." "Get back home? Nobody ever gets back home. The traders will take us to the slave market and sell us like animals. Whoever is not strong enough to work will be killed." In the darkness a man's hard voice sounded just like a death sentence. |
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The following day they were brought to the slave market. Bakhita and Binah were bought by a trader and taken to his fields to work on the land. One evening the boss brought some ears of corn for them to shuck, and he forgot to close the door of their prison. It was the chance of their lives. Holding hands tightly, they sprang to their feet and ran breathlessly across the fields, until they reached the forest. All of a sudden, the two fugitives caught sight of a pair of lights moving towards them. Bakhita understood immediately. "It's a wild beast," she cried. "Up quickly." In an instant they climbed a huge tree and crouched on a forked branch. Shaking with fear, they saw a lion. It sniffed the air, then as if taking pity on the innocent creatures, withdrew into the thick forest. |
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