Burning the Last Straw

By Lucien Nzeyimana

As Wundannas, Rungans, and Lords, we share a common treasure as the children of Burunga. The country long referred to as the Hills of Freedom has become a melting pot of different ethnic groups. It is a common treasure, a Bungandy, as our ancestors used to say. From this day forward, the three ethnic groups will live as a same people.
Yet only the Rungans and Wundannas believed in that unity. As the Lords lust for power grew, they created a conflict that would soak the rich brown soil red. For centuries, betrayal, bloodshed, mass killings, and genocide would defeat the heroism of the Djandhis until Haydar shakes off the mantle of oppression and galvanizes his people to fight violence with violence. Lucien Nzeyimana takes the reader into the wicked web behind ethnic cleansing, shining a light, as he does so, on dark atrocities the likes of which besieged Bungandy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493101108

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Copyright © 2013 by Lucien Nzeyimana.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2013916812

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4931-0109-2

                Softcover       978-1-4931-0108-5

                Ebook            978-1-4931-0110-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 10/03/2013

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CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

PREFACE

CHAPTER ONE

THE WALKING EAGLES IN THE CITY OF ANIMALS

1. The Lords with Spears

2. The Walking Eagles on the Mountains of Glory

3. Bungandy under Colonization

4. The Bitter Fruit of Independence

CHAPTER TWO

THE LIGHT OF HOPE SHINES

1. Political Consciousness: A Step toward Freedom

2. Courting the Enemy

3. The Adventures of Haydar Djandhi Mkomboti

4. The Bell of Democracy Rings

5. Back to Square Zero

6. The Inescapable Fate upon Him

CHAPTER THREE

HONOR TO THE NATION

1. Passive Resistance Is Not Passivity

2. Running Away, a Tactical Retreat

3. United for Peace and Love

4. United We Stand, Divided We Fall

5. Joy in the Jungle of Hope

6. From the Mountains of Glory to the Hills of Freedom

7. Sharkom Laughed First and Haydar Laughed Longer

8. The Grave Secret Revealed

In memory of

Pierre Ngendandumwe

Paul Mirerekano

Joseph Bamina

Emile Bucumi

Remy Gahutu

Melchior Ndadaye

Giles Bimazubute

Pontien Karibwami

Cyprien Ntaryamira

Juvenal Ndayikeza

Melchiade Ngurube

and

the victims of man’s greed and inhumanity

If you have never found something so dear and

so precious to you that you will die for it,

then you aren’t fit to live.

—Martin L. King, Ebenezer,

April 4, 1967

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would never have written this book without the support of my beloved children who continue to give unending joy to my life. They have been patient and understanding, and they kept performing well in school when their daddy was busy writing at the same time working hard to keep both ends meet. Edgar-Frank Izodukiza, Adneth-Marie Kaze, Léon—Jonêl Nzeyimana, and Bryan-Malcolm Nzeyimana, you are the best! I couldn’t do anything without you.

I wish to offer high-five to Philippe Nsingi Kalukembelako, Jean-Claude Nsabiyeze, Jackson Ntibesha, Patrick Kataryeba, Emmanuel Gahungu, and Emmanuel Manirakiza for their eternal support and their great deal of encouragement. They were always on my shoulders whenever I needed them. They don’t even know that they helped me, but their emotional and moral support has been of paramount importance. They proved to be far more than just good friends, and a friend in need is a friend indeed. I will be eternally grateful to you.

I would like to thank my wonderful readers for their terrific feedback that touched my heart. I think particularly of Khadar Yussuf Balayah and Dorothy Tobin, Monique Sanders and Eric Dusenge, Marc André Estimable and Robert Howard Richardson, Ronald Wood and Mildred Moss, Nyiki Ceingkuiu and Roy Sutton, Dhaliwal Kulwant and Mohamed Hamshira, Demsu Sirak and Laurie Scott, Annastancia Mustauri and Sarah Olise-Nwosu, Mustafe Good Mohamed, Edward Messer and Mohammud Hafeez, Jack Akiki and Miski Elmi, Martin Bilodeau and Mary McCann-Broderick, Frederick Kaaya Luboyera and Omar Yassin, Simon Gebrenigus and Osman Mohammud, Ahmed Abdi Hussein and Yuri Zyuzin, Hussein Shaheed and Said Kahssay, Jessica Morrisson and Tsige Dereje, Mehari Samueal and Kidane Lisa, Lee Chi-Shang and Melissa Perry, Michel Bourgeois and Bernadette Breen, Bernadette Daigle and James Abesamis, Daniel Thorp and Daryl Rains, Sarah Kaiser and Chun Mihwa, Han Seunghan Bae and Jordon Bent, Kim Hyundong and Garang Yong Deng, Derek M. Way and Ahmed Fareed Saleh. They read my books with enthusiasm and provided honest criticism and valuable comments and insights that enriched my story.

Special thanks go to Jocelyn Barns, Randolph Yetman, Jean Bray, Eugene Stoyanov, Mona Gillis, Sovann Pao, John Kmetty, Nichole Hawco and Abdoulaye Tounkara for listening to my stories and showing sympathy. Thanks also to Pop Laurentiu, Keren Robinson, and Paul Williams for sharing their experiences and knowledge, without which this book would not be this beautiful.

Tremendous gratitude goes to Sam Aloha Singapuri, Youssouf Nour, and Naoufal Belmqeddem for their great deal of encouragement. If I mention just a handful of friends, I apologize for the omissions. I will mention the others in the next book. Mi amigos Edin Pensamiento, Oscar Hernandez, and Nazarena Urena, los quiero mucho.

Gratitude beyond measure goes to the citizens of Canada for their openhandedness beyond measure. Thanks to their taxes, my children enjoy life when they were born to suffer in the refugee camps of Tanzania. Canadiennes et Canadiens, je vous aime beaucoup.

I owe much recognition to the citizens of Tanzania for their generosity, without which I would not have survived the atrocity of the Burundian army from 1972 to 2005. Tanzania gave hope and hospitality to my family when the situation in Burundi was unbearably difficult. Mungu Ibariki Tanzania na Watanzania.

To the people who suffered gravely in Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, poleni sana jamaani. One day, the grave secret behind your sufferance will be unraveled, and you will finally live in peace.

I am greatly indebted to my friends and colleagues at Diversified Transportation Ltd., Fort McMurray, Alberta, for providing a wonderful work environment. With a team dedicated to safety and professionalism, they made me enjoy my new career in the transport industry. Alphonse Greencorn, Cari Ann, Sheila Park, and Rafat Ammouneh made my job an exciting experience.

PREFACE

Burning the Last Straw is a work of realistic fiction with a true story behind it. It deals with factual events that can happen anywhere. I chose a fictitious country and imagined a story that illustrates the adventures described in the book. Readers will make a picture of unreported episodes that continue to take place around the world. The historical details and the political crises may reveal facts, names, and people one can find in history. As the events give a verisimilitude with factual actions that people can witness very often, readers may think of this historical novel as nonfiction. Yet the similarity is only a matter of simple coincidence. The geographical elements such as Bungandy, the Mountains of Glory, the Jungle of Hope, the Hills of Freedom, the clans of the Djandhis and Mesfins were invented for the purposes of the setting. They cannot be found on any map. Likewise, the names of the characters, their action, and their origins are imaginary. My aim is to bring the forgotten heroes to life, to relive their time and honor their bravery for bringing hope and glory to their country.

CHAPTER ONE

THE WALKING EAGLES IN

THE CITY OF ANIMALS

1. The Lords with Spears

The Barungas were a peaceful people who lived in the country of Kalondji on the shoreline of a big lake, the second largest lake in Africa. Although there is no consensus about the origin of the Barungas, they are believed to have arrived in the country as early as the eleventh century. Some had fled the expanding desert in the west and south, while others had escaped tribal conflicts in the horn of Africa. They were in search of better living conditions in a land of freedom.

One night has remained etched in the Barungas’ minds. They were sleeping peacefully after a long day of work. A few minutes after midnight, they were awakened by heavy shooting. Not knowing what was happening, they figured out what to do. Dogs barked, cocks crowed, birds sang, and people cried. The Karunga village had been besieged by the Tuuggees, the biggest tribe in the country. The Tuuggees were killing them shamelessly. As some Barungas were mixed up with other tribes, Tuuggees selected their victims according to their names, most of which contained the root rung. Tuuggees would identify Barungas by checking their names. There were the Nzarunga, Tarunga, Marunga, Rungamba, Rungandi, and so on.

Robert Marungu, chief of the Barungas clan, had to lead his people to safety. He beat the drum and ordered the Barungas out of the village. He had heard of a country with natives who didn’t care about land. The country would provide everything they needed for survival. As they were experiencing the hardest times of their lives, they had no choice but to run away. With neither map nor compass, they set off on the long road to freedom. They did not know what to expect. They needed only to get out of trouble, by whichever means. They struggled through swamps, dense woods, and fast-moving rivers. They climbed over steep rocky mountains.

After forty days in the wilderness, Chief Marungu’s eyes swept the horizon. He looked northward across open meadows. Through the blazing sunshine, he spotted two mountains in the distance. He pointed his walking stick toward the mountains.

There, he said to his people.

His people thought something was coming to protect them from Tuuggees. Shielding their eyes, they looked in the direction the chief pointed. They saw nothing moving. Disappointment showed on their faces.

There. Got it? Robert repeated.

What is there? they wondered, curious to know what had lightened their chief’s face.

Mountains—the land of freedom, said Robert. We’ll get there soon.

Tuuggees are following us. How can we get there? the hopeless refugees murmured, not knowing that the mountains were beyond the borders of Kalondji.

Robert and his people followed the direction of the tall mountains, looking at them adoringly. In their tradition, when two mountains stand together, it is a sign of prosperity, generosity, strength, and hope. More importantly, mountains symbolized power and glory.

After three more weeks of ordeal, the Barungas were a few degrees south of the equator. There was no line of demarcation, and they didn’t know that they had crossed the border. They were tired and hungry, but they still had a long way to go.

The mountains had springs of fresh, natural water. The river between the mountains provided fish. Robert Marungu viewed the river as a symbol of eternal prosperity. The air was full of the aroma of green vegetation. If nothing disturbed them, they would sink roots and live there forever. The hungriest children in the world thought that they had found the best place on earth.

Upon arrival, they discovered natives who occupied the forests. The hunter-gatherers called themselves the Wundannas. As a matter of fact, they looked like the Wundannas in neighboring countries. The Barungas hoped the local people would not show hostility, in which case they would settle down. The Wundannas welcomed the newcomers as their mates. They offered food, pitchers, bowls, and pottery. They also provided tools for the Barungas to use for their daily activities.

After a few weeks in the newfound land, Robert explored the neighborhood to see what lay beyond the mountains. His expedition took him through a thick forest. After the forest, there were open meadows bordered by verdant hills stretching for several hundreds of miles. There was a hill every ten miles. Taking into account the size of the country, Chief Robert guessed that the new land had a total of a thousand and one hills. They reminded him of Kalondji. The grasslands on the hilly and mountainous terrain were a perfect home for the wanderers. They believed that the region would be impeccable for their lives. The land looked fertile, and it provided everything needed to make life livable. They decided the new place was a land of hope, peace and love, milk and honey.

Robert thought that he had discovered another Kalondji. He called it the Hills of Freedom. It was quiet, soothing, and safe. The mountains looked like Ngaso Mount and Hope Mount of back home. Exhausted after the long days of walking, the refugees decided to stay in the open for several weeks. The break would give them time to pull themselves together. They had no mats to sleep on, but the moss and grass around the ponds provided some comfort. Robert Marungu laid his head on a mossy stone, shielded his eyes with his hands, and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he had found names for the new mountains. He named them after the mountains back home. With the river running through the jungle at their base, they would become important to their lives. They became symbols of protection, hope, and glory. In recognition of the freedom recovered, the chief referred to the twin mountains as the Mountains of Glory. Barungas implored the spirits of the mountains to protect them and give them joy, power, and glory on the grasslands with the pleasantly cool tropical highland climate.

The Barungas had found a home. Chief Robert Marungu became the king of the new country. His first measure was to unite the members of his clan scattered in the remote forests of Kalondji and around the continent. He needed a way of communicating with his people en route, but first he had to find a name for the new country. The name should inform scattered minds that there was a country whose inhabitants were members of the clan of Barungas. The name of Burunga was given to the Hills of Freedom. Barungas everywhere heard about Burunga as their own country and joined their kinsmen in the land of freedom.

With the evolution of language mixed with the language of the Wundannas, Barungas eventually changed their name and became Rungans. In the course of time, the traditional Wundanna language and the language of the Rungans evolved. The Rungan language was refreshed and enriched with the Wundanna vocabulary and speaking styles. The new language took the name of Kilugha. Thanks to the increasing number of Kilugha speakers, the new language dominated the country and became a national language.

Barungas were a hundred times more numerous than the Wundannas, and they were more civilized. They imposed their culture and tradition on the aborigines and established dominance over the primitive minority.

The Wundannas lived on the products of the forests and lakes, developing hunting and fishing activities that allowed for the successful exchange of their products. They did not see the open meadows and plains as important to their lives. The Rungans, on the other hand, considered the immense and empty territory a treasure. The land provided all they had lost in Kalondji. So they occupied the land and depended entirely on it.

Unlike the Wundannas, who did not live as an organized society, the Rungans established a set of rules and regulations to guide them. As their numbers grew over time, they dominated the area in a series of kingdoms. Even though Rungans and Wundannas lived separately, they respected each other as human beings, and they cooperated in a variety of ways.

Rungans were very religious and worshiped many gods, having a god for everything. Still, they believed that there was something higher than their gods, the one that sent them to discover the Hills of Freedom. They honored him by strengthening a brotherhood of all human beings.

Four centuries later, God tested the Rungans to see if they would extend to others the same welcome they had received from the Wundannas. They would be doomed if they failed the test. There was a group of nomads in search for grassy lands for their cattle. They called themselves the Lords. They had been chased from their countries by the Dandyans in their tribal conflicts. The Dandyans hated the Lords so much that they wanted to exterminate them.

The Lords were troublemakers. They had caused a lot of disorder in the country, and the Dandyans wanted to finish with them once for all. So they destroyed their villages and forced them out of the country. The Lords arrived in Burunga dead tired and hungry, with perspiration streaming from head to toe. With their feet swelling with fatigue, they could not move any further. They went down on bended knees to ask for a place of concealment.

The Lords came in scattered, individual groups, one clan after the other. They did not know one another as they came from different areas at different times. They could not even communicate among themselves because each group had their own vernacular. Only members of the same household shared a language. With the others, they used signs and symbols to communicate.

Not knowing that their humanity was being tested, the Rungans received the Lords with open hearts, and they helped them to recover from the burden of the war. They provided everything needed to heal their souls.

The Lords recognized one another by the spears, which the men carried everywhere, even when they would neither hunt nor fish. Rungans knew spears as dangerous weapons, for throwing and thrusting with the hand. They would use the weapon in hunting and fishing activities as well as in warfare. They wondered why the newcomers carried spears as they got meat products from the Rungans and Wundannas in exchange for manure for agriculture. The Rungans thought that maybe the Lords held the spears to protect themselves against their enemies, but they had no enemy in Burunga. It was a land of peace and freedom. Carrying spears seemed awkward as no one showed hostility. If the Rungans did not want the Lords, they would never have welcomed them in the first place. For safety reasons, however, the Rungans imitated the Lords by carrying machetes, a traditional tool used in their daily activities. They also learned to carry spears like the Lords. The Wundannas carried bows and slings.

The Lords were not grateful. They did not trust anybody outside their clan. As they were powerless, they feared that their enemies back home might pursue them. When they got familiar with the new country, they opted to live a separate life. They could only perform activities in relation to the cattle. To them, their cows had more value than the Wundannas and Rungans. As they did not want a conflict with the Rungans, the Lords occupied abandoned grassy mountains. On the high mountains they would train for a bitter war in the event of an attack from the Dandyans. At the same time they could deal with their cattle without having to worry about the Rungans’ agriculture. Once in a while, they would take the cows to graze in the meadows. The idea was to keep an eye on the Rungans and familiarize themselves with rulers.

The Rungans lived in valleys and plains, close to creeks. They could cultivate their agriculture without fear of the Lords’ cows grazing around. The Rungans taught the Lords their traditions, customs, and habits. Within a few decades, the Lords were fully integrated in the country.

While the Rungans expressed solidarity by integrating the Lords, the latter led a withdrawn life. They kept themselves to themselves. When leading the cows to the meadows, they would speak loudly, sometimes they would whistle. The noise increased as they passed by Rungan villages. The Rungans would spend time watching the Lords and the cows grazing quietly, swatting flies with their long tails. They listened to the nomads chanting continuously, creating cacophony in the country. The strange words annoyed the Rungans as they were not accustomed to the commotion. They would only make noise during their hunting activities to frighten animals and force them out of their hiding places. They would never make such a loud noise around their homes. They wondered what the repetitious litany was all about. The sound itself looked like a curse, so the Rungans thought that they were being cursed. They could not understand how humans could verbally communicate with cattle.

Years went by and the Rungans got used to the new culture of commotion. They were in close contact with the Lords, and they got familiar with their strange ways. By learning each other’s culture, customs, and traditions, the two major tribes enriched themselves.

After several decades of interacting with one another, the Lords and the Wundanna minorities were absorbed in the vast majority of Rungans. The Rungan culture imposed itself to such a point that, over time, there were no more linguistic and cultural differences between the three different groups. The Rungans and Wundannas learned to hunt and fish together while the Lords would only perform those activities as leisure. Cattle remained their major source of income.

In order to gain more advantages, the Lords would offer cows to local Rungan leaders. They would buy more privileges and have access to the king’s palace. They even offered to protect the king, as his private army. The king trusted these experienced warriors. He used them to defend his kingdom from external invasions. With their fighting experience, they made strong security forces. Tuuggees attacked the kingdom and they were immediately suppressed.

While serving in the king’s army, the Lords secretly prepared to replace rulers at all levels. They bought more privileges by offering more gifts to the local rulers. They would corrupt them with everything, including their women. In the course of time, because of intermarriage, the Lords and Rungans were hardly distinguishable from one another. They spoke the same language, shared activities, and worshiped the same gods. The Lords, however, maintained that they were stronger than Rungans. To express their bravery, they started calling themselves the Lords with Spears.

As the Rungans had passed the test, God was happy that they were worthy. In order to complete the integration, the king called a meeting with top leaders and addressed them.

Ladies and gentlemen, God has been so nice to us. He gave us this land with mountains, providing everything needed to make life enjoyable. He invited all and one to respect this treasure and live in harmony with one another. These beautiful hills, valleys, meadows, rivers, and forests are ours. When we got here, the Wundannas were dealing with their activities in the forests. Now they take part in the development of this country, sharing life with us. A few years later, the Lords joined us and enriched our culture and tradition. As Wundannas, Rungans, and Lords, we share a common treasure as children of Burunga. The country long referred to as the Hills of Freedom has become a melting pot of different ethnic groups. It is a common treasure, a Bungandy, as our ancestors used to say. We, the people of Burunga, share a common treasure called Bungandy.

From that day forward, the three ethnic groups lived as a same people. Yet only the Rungans and Wundannas believed in that unity.

A few decades later, the Lords with Spears felt isolated on the mountains. They could not hide their lust for power. They started threatening citizens, forcing them out of their properties. They did not want to stay far from urban centers. They claimed the plains and meadows. The Rungans, however, did not take the conflict as a serious threat to their safety. Given their number, they could not fear the Lords with Spears. They thought it was normal to carry weapons in a multicultural society. They counted on their numbers and believed that the Lords with Spears would eventually cool down. They had no clue that they were dealing with the toughest people on the continent, who had already dominated the king’s security forces and could impose their will.

As the king did not reply to their request, the Lords with Spears started claiming power. They had lost power in Dandy, and now they needed power in Bungandy. They found the Rungans a weak people that they could defeat easily. The Lords with Spears from neighboring countries patched up their differences and focused on what they termed a common enemy. They regrouped and supported one another. With the newcomers fresh from war, the number of the Lords with Spears increased very rapidly. They ordered the Rungans and Wundannas to leave the plains and grassy meadows. Throughout the country, a discussion over the land divided the two communities for several decades.

The experienced warriors never quit anything until they achieved their objective. They did not surrender their idea of conquering power. They had fought tribal wars and had won most battles. They had been forced out of their country in their attempt to conquer Dandy, the most powerful kingdom. Now that they had gained military power in the king of Bungandy’s army, they became even more powerful. They stole weapons and concealed them in the mountains. Within a few years, every adult was armed with a spear and a gun. They started chasing people from their homes. The king finally understood that his army had been infiltrated by the Lords with a hidden agenda. He fired them so that he could keep peace and order in the country. On their way to safety, the Lords collected the huge quantities of weapons that they had hidden. They became much more powerful than the Rungans, who were just organizing themselves. They decided to finish the discussion by taking control of the entire country.

Miko Froggs was the most radical of the Lords with Spears. He led an attack on the royal palace and killed the king. He proclaimed himself as the new king of Bungandy. He chased the Rungans and forced them to the landlocked forests and mountains. The Lords with Spears had become fierce and fearless enough to defeat a population a hundred times their number. In order to strengthen their power, the new government called the Lords scattered in neighboring countries to occupy Rungans’ land. The new rulers formed a strong army that would guarantee their domination for centuries. They established dominance over the rest of citizens and treated them like dirt.

The Rungans’ presence on the mountain became a big embarrassment to the new group in power. The Lords with Spears feared that the Rungans might spoil the springs of natural water and kill them. They also feared that they would prepare to return to power, so they decided to kick them out of the mountains. The Rungans resisted and remained in hiding here and there.

On the mountains, the Rungans experienced a lot of problems. They had to face mountain animals and martial eagles. Thanks to their hunting skills, they fought the animals and forced them to run away. They only had difficulty dealing with the eagles living on high cliffs. With their extremely keen eyesight, the eagles would catch sight of unattended children. After a fast flight, they would land and snatch them with their strong legs and powerful talons. They would tear their prey with their sharp, hooked beaks before flying to their nests with the flesh. The Rungans had to take measures to protect their children. They learned to fight the most powerful birds of prey. Fighting mountain animals on the ground and eagles in the air, they developed new fighting skills and strategies that would eventually make them the strongest people on earth.

Soon enough, the Lords with Spears realized that they could not perform all duties. They definitely needed some Rungans to perform odd chores. If they kept them in the bush, they would have to do all the dirty jobs. They let them live in the barren plains on condition that they submit to the Lords. Women, children, and seniors desperately submitted to the Lords. Others stayed in forests and on mountains. Those who capitulated were sandbagged into hard labor, working in coffee and banana plantations. They were allowed to work at the king’s palace if they got an employer to hire them. Their duties were limited to tilling the soil, planting and weeding flowers, harvesting crops, chopping wood, cleaning latrines, and shoveling the cow shit.

The Lords transformed the Hills of Freedom into the Darkness of Oppression. Because of greed and selfishness, political unrest occurred, causing deep misunderstanding among citizens. This conflict led to a series of grave crimes of genocide and all kinds of felonies, all of which victimized the Rungans and Wundannas. Leaders at all levels threatened the lives of citizens.

The Lords were malignant, evil, and mean. Every place was like a prison or a graveyard. The Lords never recognized citizens as higher sources from which they should derive their power. They dominated by their crushing military power, a force that jeopardized the exercise of individual freedom. Human rights were never thought of.

The oppressed could not imagine a country free of violence. They viewed the Lords not as the simple Lords with Spears but as the Lords of Death. Every week they heard of their people being tortured, killed, or imprisoned.

Burying dead bodies every day became unpleasant. So new strategies were adopted in order to achieve more casualties in a small lapse of time. The Lords created a situation that would send thousands of people to prison for questioning and investigation. The army would put small doses of poison in the detainees’ food without anybody noticing. When there was enough of a buildup in the body, they would see symptoms that the poison was working. The prisoners would then be released and sent back home, where they would die as if of a natural death.

The slow poisoning was efficient. The killers would not have to deal with corpses and at least the families would bury their own with dignity. Basically, survivors were not really living. They were attempting to survive.

While oppressing citizens, governments pretended to promote the well-being of society. However, they did not fall in line with their mission but behaved like rebels to their own people. Rather than promoting the well-being of the governed, they used their power to oppress them. Only the Lords could take advantage of public facilities. Since Miko Froggs had taken power, governments were made of self-appointed despots who imposed on the people for their self-interest, or for the interest of their ethnic group. They claimed total control over the governed. They were opposed to such principles as individual equality, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. They used the army as an instrument to achieve their personal goals. Their reigns were based on genocide, terror, murder, torture, human rights abuse, and all forms of mistreatment of mankind.

While democratic governments work to maintain basic security and public order, the Lords were concerned with perpetuating power rather than fulfilling the will of the people. They controlled individuals’ liberty by threatening citizens with their military junta. In so doing, they enfeebled more and more those who worked to provide an alternative to government actions or policies. Such governments were described as terrorist organizations. It would have been better not to have rulers at all. In fact, there was no point in having leaders who commit crimes on the governed. They never thought in terms of improving society as a whole. On the contrary, they wiped out the lives of millions of their citizens. They were only concerned with the security of their kinsmen. All government activities aimed at improving the lives of a small minority while oppressing the majority. From the seventeenth century onward, their greatest achievement has been their record in killing their own citizens. Even though the Rungans were allowed to live in the villages, they never found happiness. Whenever they saw governmental troops, they would hide to save their lives. For this reason, the oligarchic governments never received grassroots support.

The Lords’ policies ran against human rights. According to their reasoning, human beings meant Lords. Every Lord was entitled to the rights and freedoms set forth in the declaration without distinction of any kind. In other words, Bungandy dictators ran contrary to the spirit of good citizens who seek to bring people together and live in harmony with one another. The freedom of the governed and equality in dignity were rarely thought of.

During the dark period of oppression, Bungandy had different forms of government with elements of anarchy, dictatorship, and oligarchy. The majority of citizens regarded the Lords’ governments as the worst in the world.

The Lords hired and trained their army to kill; it was viewed by citizens as the Army of Death. The oppressed learned the hard way to understand that they were born not to die a natural death but to be killed. This concept of being born to be killed forced the Rungans into total submission. Hope for better conditions was never thought of, and any step to move forward was strongly quelled.

Soldiers, police, and death squads would kill ruthlessly. Politicians were promoted for their nastiness in dealing shrewdly with the governed. The more they killed, the more the Rungans fled to the forests and mountains, the only places that would provide them with some comfort. Jobs and educational opportunities were given on the grounds of ethnic background. The Rungans and Wundannas could not even take advantage of the state facilities, not even the graveyards. Many were buried alive in mass graves. Others were simply dumped in rivers. Others still were left to decay in the jungle. The only state facilities that harbored Rungans in great numbers were prisons.

Public infrastructures were used as detention centers or slaughterhouses. Rather than building schools, governments would invest huge sums of money in building prisons and detention centers. Throughout the country, innocent civilians were arrested and transported in inhumane conditions. Soldiers would sandwich them in trucks and pound them with their boots and butts of their guns. Many died before reaching the slaughterhouses. Others were incarcerated with neither trial nor judicial process. Others still were held in bondage in camps that were as bad as the Nazi concentration camps. Officially, the camps were established for the purpose of blocking contact with the men living in the forests. In reality, they were intended to prevent them from influencing the youth. They feared that they would organize resistance to tyranny.

In the camps, the army would carry out the extermination of people accused of claiming their rights. Thousands died through mistreatment, diseases, starvation, and execution. Strong men were singled out for questioning. They were accused of having been to the mountains to train for fighting. The majority were tortured to death. Others were tied together, loaded on trucks, and dumped into rivers.

The Lords were smart. Their misdeeds were not written in any of the public documents. Like other countries, Bungandy had constitutions that not only shaped the way governments operated but also set out the rights of the citizens. The constitutions guaranteed rights as enumerated in the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, but the governments never acted in accordance with their own constitutions.

The Rungan situation was always associated with negative concepts. The Rungans had this chip on their shoulder that developed into an inferiority complex. Being frightened all their lives, they saw the Lords as superhuman. The phenomenon deepened the inferiority complex.

Rungans were emboldened to lose their Rungan status to become Lords in spirit. They would not be treated as immoral beings anymore. They were honored to be treated like the Lords. The phenomenon was so enabling that the candidates would pay tributary gifts to purchase the status. To prove that they deserved it, some people would betray their kinsmen by selling them to the Army of Death. They would even take part in the killing. Such traitors would be honored and encouraged to apply for the status change. Once accepted in the Lords’ community, their families would be accepted as Lords with all the accompanying benefits.

The change of status was not a rite of passage. Not all applications were approved. The Lords had developed stereotypes against the Rungans that they were untrustworthy. For this reason, applications were seriously screened. Only candidates who would demonstrate so much loyalty to the Lords and bitterness toward the Rungans would be considered as good citizens. They would get over their Rungan ideas and learn to think and behave like the Lords.

There were ceremonies of acceptance into the community of the Lords. The new Lords would vow to put the interests of the Lords in front of everything. Their acceptance would completely change their lives. It would also provide them with security as they would be treated as Lords. When killing Rungans, the new Lords were even tougher than the original Lords.

The change of status involved a lot of sacrifices. One had to betray one’s conscience, which was not easy for the vast majority of Rungans. In general, the Rungans had developed a brotherhood and they would share the misery. They would express solidarity even in times of sorrow. Only the greedy ones would betray their fellow Rungans by changing their status. The event reinforced the Lords’ increasing power. They would use Rungans to catch Rungans. The Lords, however, never realized that they were making a stupid mistake that they would regret eternally. They contributed to their self-destruction.

A few decades later, God revealed himself to the Lords, reminding them how the Rungans’ houses were always open to people in need of shelter. One night, the Lords were sleeping when each one heard a voice speaking to them.

You were wandering helplessly, and the Rungans sheltered you. You were thirsty, and they gave you something to drink. You were naked, and they clothed you. By so doing, they followed my commandment. When you gained strength, you responded to generosity with bitterness and you killed my people. You disrespected me, and you ignored my word. I will punish you for your greed and cruelty. I will destroy your power, and you will start begging again.

When they woke up, each one thought that they had been the only one to hear the voice. No one revealed the dream. According to their tradition, revealing a dream would allow it to come true, and no one wished that dream to be true. In the morning, the Lords found themselves reading the same chapter in the Bible. In the church, priests and pastors read Romans 12:13,

Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

As they did not believe in the good news, they did not give the verse a second thought.

Dandy had become a powerful empire, and it was threatening the entire region. Since the Dandyans had defeated the Lords and forced them out of the country, they feared that they would fight back. Now that they had gained power, they were a threat to the Dandyans. The emperor of Dandy decided to attack the Lords and destroy their growing power. Bungandy was very important to the Dandy’s economic growth as it was a strategic point to the conquest of the region. The conquest of Bungandy would give to the emperor of Dandy, who was expanding his empire from coast to coast, a way to the richest country on the continent. If he defeated the Lords, he would take control of the entire land from east to west and Dandy would become not only the biggest country but also the most powerful on the continent. The emperor sent Gen. Alex Almaliza to conquer Bungandy. The general was notorious for his nastiness. He had succeeded in many operations, and the conquest of Bungandy was as easy as drinking water.

The Lords were inexperienced fighters. They had a young army that would only shoot on unarmed civilians. They were not trained to fight a real war. They also feared dying. Now that they were under attack, they were worried sick about their power. They could not fight the enemies invading the country with modern weapons. Being a minority, they did not have enough soldiers to face the challenge. King James Scavengo was too protective of his tribe; he did not want his army to perish on the battlefield. As Lords were believed to be smart, they counted on the Rungans to fight for them.

The frantic king called a meeting with the officers of high rank and announced that his power was at stake.

The kingdom is in terrible danger. We can by no means defeat the Dandyans. Within only two days, a third of my territory has been occupied. I called you today to decide what to do now that our power is at jeopardy. Shall we fight till the end or abdicate? He paused. There was silence in the conference room. Gen. Daniel Crock, what do you think? Can we still hope to win? He gave the floor to the general so he could give the situation on the ground.

We trained our soldiers to protect our kingdom against Rungans. We never expected a bigger enemy. The Dandyan army has already killed half of our soldiers, and others are seriously wounded. I had to pull out the remaining soldiers as they could not fight any longer. We don’t have enough equipment to face the enemy. Even if we had ten times more soldiers, the Dandyans are so powerful that they will defeat us. In point of fact, they have already defeated us. They will soon march on the capital. It is only a question of days. Your Majesty, we still have a choice. Either we abdicate and negotiate with the enemy or we run away. I have spoken. The army chief of staff moved to his seat.

Anybody with a different opinion? the king asked.

There was dead silence. The king bent his head for a few seconds. He looked around to fetch new ideas. Everybody seemed to agree with the abdication. The king buried his face in his hands before speaking.

We killed the Rungans like flies, not knowing what was awaiting us. They were only armed with slings and spears. We did not expect an external invasion. The Dandyans will force us to the mountains. How will we live with the Rungans out there? We will be reduced to their level. Any more ideas? the king asked.

May I speak? Gen. Jean Baptiste Deeroy asked.

Yes, General Deeroy, you may speak.

It won’t be easy to leave everything and join another enemy in his hiding place. And I believe it is too late to reconcile with the Rungans. Since we are losing power, it will be a shame for us to join them after the misery we caused them. They will definitely join the enemy, and we will be doomed forever.

He paused and took a deep breath. After wiping his face with his beret, he resumed his speech. We have to run away. What else can we do? The Rungans are less dangerous than the Dandyans. If we do not leave now, the Dandyans will annihilate us.

Get straight to the point, General Deeroy, the king butted in. To the point. What can we do now? We need to do something, don’t we?

We need to kill the strong Rungans in their hiding places and make sure that they are too weak to support the Dandyans. We will be defeated, but at least we won’t feel humiliated in front of the Rungans. Then we will occupy the mountains without the slightest fear of Rungans. The Dandyans are only interested in our natural resources. They may not seek to exterminate us if we tribute to them. Let me make this point clearer, he added briefly. All strong males, including boys about to enter manhood, must die before we abdicate. I am finished.

There were objections.

General Crock, do you have something to add? You may speak, the king said.

Your Majesty, the Rungans jubilantly wait for our defeat. We don’t want to lose face in front of them. However, in my opinion, contrary to General Deeroy, we cannot start killing them now. We are already in terrible danger, and we have to save ourselves. What is the point of killing them now when we cannot even protect our wives and children? Where will we get the strength to kill poor peasants hiding in mountains when the biggest enemy is destroying our country? We cannot obliterate them under such circumstances. Instead of killing them, I suggest we use them as human shields. There were nods of support.

After sipping at a glass of water, Daniel Crock added, We will send them to the front line, and the Dandyans will wipe them out. Basically, we will have our two enemies killing each other.

I don’t think the Dandyans have enough ammunition to kill all the Rungans, the king said.

The Dandyans will run out of ammunition and stop fighting. If any Rungans happen to survive, they will counterattack with their slings and liquidate the enemy, Crock continued. Stones, arrows, and spears are reusable ammunitions. The guys hurl them like missiles. He paused.

There was pandemonium. He is right. That is a great idea. How did he think that up?

I am not done yet. The general raised his hand to silence the crowd.

Go on, General. You hit the point. Go ahead, the king encouraged.

Like I said, we can use the Rungans for a good purpose. Everybody listened carefully. Their participation in the war is twofold. First and foremost, they will weaken the enemy due to their number. We will then finish the war with a tired enemy out of ammunition. Also, the Dandyans will kill the strong Rungans. If we win the war, we won’t have to worry about them any longer. They will have perished. The king nodded in support of every point raised.

In other words, the general continued, we will defeat both enemies at the same time.

The king turned to stare at General Deeroy, who showed his approval with a nod of the head.

That sounds great, Jean Baptiste said. If we lose the war… He interrupted himself to make his point clearer. Please, understand me. I am not saying that we are going to lose the war. In the event of a defeat, at least we will have somewhere to go. We will move our headquarters to the mountains, and we will set up a new kingdom there. I am finished. He slipped into his seat.

The king nodded his head in agreement. General Deeroy rose from his seat. After clearing his throat, he recapitulated the main ideas.

If I can sum up your points, the Rungans will fight with their traditional weapons.

That’s right, Daniel Crock confirmed.

Go ahead, General, the participants chorused.

And they will die in the war.

Correct.

The enemies, I mean, the Dandyans will run out of ammunition, right, General Crock? he asked, just to make sure they were still on the same line of thought. Crock replied with a nod. General Deeroy stretched his chest and arms.

Then we will finish the war by fighting an army overwhelmed by war. And our prosperity will be guaranteed. Applause.

Your Majesty, I entirely support this plan. It will save the kingdom. On behalf of the army, I request your approval of the plan.

Capt. Lynzo Mesfin cut in and asked for precision. Can we send children to fight?

King Scavengo heaved himself from his chair and proclaimed, There is no age for an enemy. Send all males to the battlefield. Rungan children will grow up in the grave. We want the Dandyans to kill as many Rungans as possible. They will reduce their number. Everything is clear. Let’s call it a day. He worked his way out.

The king mobilized the entire country to send male Rungans to the war. Rungans, who had not been allowed to touch a weapon, had everything to gain. They did not show any reluctance to fight for the Lords; on the contrary, they surprised everyone by showing enthusiasm. They found it a good opportunity to use guns and learn fighting skills. They would use the weapons that had been used to force them out of their land. Every able-bodied male was excited about the offer, though there was no assurance that they would return. They summoned the Rungans still hiding in the mountains and forests. When they learned that they would go to war, they joined Crock’s operation.

The raw recruits were sent to the war with no contract or coverage whatsoever. Anybody killed in the war would be forgotten. The wounded would not be entitled to treatment either. They would only be finished as they would be useless to the war effort. After all, the Lords did not need them. The Rungans and Wundannas went to the war without salaries, incentives, or life insurance. They never realized that their participation in the war was a death trap. Everybody was obliged to go. Otherwise, they would be accused of disobedience, hence, enemies of the kingdom.

In their reasoning, going to war would reunite the country and reconcile them with the Lords. They had been longing for reconciliation, and this was a golden opportunity. In their minds, the Lords would see their importance and would treat them accordingly.

To their great disappointment, the king neither gave them weapons nor did he let his army train them. They had to use their hunting skills.

By tradition, only Lords could use guns against Rungans and Wundannas. Anybody else who touched a gun would be killed. The king ordered the Rungans to fight tooth and nail with their traditional weapons. If they won the war, they would not be allowed to return home. It was a war of no return. The Army of Death would only be used when all male Rungans would have been killed.

In order to encourage the warriors to fight with all the devotion of a dog, the king pledged to share power if they defended the kingdom efficiently. The warriors believed him as they needed peace with the Lords. They would do anything to unite the country. Most of all, they wanted their place in society. They had to defend the country, heedless of the military power of the belligerent.

Even though they had no war experience, they had been honing their hunting skills. They steeled themselves for a war and went to the battlefield. On their way, they rehearsed their hunting tactics. If they could fight the strongest animals and the most powerfully built birds of prey, there was nothing else they feared on earth.

The warriors became sure of themselves. Proud of their fighting skills, they called themselves the Walking Eagles. As experienced hunters, they had learned how to make Molotov cocktails. With their traditional weapons in a gun battle, they knew that any single mistake was fatal. They had to hit the target at the right time. They hid in the bush and watched the enemy. As the Dandyans got close, the Walking Eagles camouflaged themselves in caves and trenches where they could see their targets better. They would raise their upper bodies and watch the enemy’s every move. When the enemy got in the Walking Eagles’ range, they rapid-fired them with Molotov cocktails, arrows, slings, and spears. They had practiced hundreds of times, and they fired their traditional weapons with