There goes the neighborhood

     I recall very clearly the day that would alter the course of history for the rest of our lives. The day when they arrived; when they 'discovered' our civilization and robbed us of everything we ever knew: our lifestyle, our spirituality, our homes, our families. The devastation is intolerable and the rift of tranquility bleeds like the bodies of brethren piled in what was once a town's center. I can only ask who could have possibly foreseen the tragedy created by those across the boundless sea.
        I remember that the anguish within myself stems from the fact that I saw them on the horizon many moons ago. I was working on the coast with the other fishermen, trying to procure the catch of the day when I could see a speck appear on the ocean. I assumed it was a rock like the others but everyday that speck seemed to move, closer and closer. I wouldn't dare attempt to reach  that speck with my own canoe but I continued to watch it from the confines of the grainy sand and its powerful tide. Had I thought that speck could have contained a large boat of aggressive people, I would have done everything in my power to prepare us for battle. Then again, I know that my eyes can deceive me and this event only makes me question the moment of when I truly lost my sanity.
           I recollect the panic emerging when the ships and their men arrived. They were absolutely different. Their attire of cotton clothes, their language, their weapons shining of metal like the accessories adorned by the chief, all of it was different. Their ships towered the trees on our land and their supplies were heavily in abundance. Some of us fled for our homes while some of us stood our ground to trade for their materials and negotiate. However, none of us imagined that 'conquering' was a part of their arrival. They attacked our people by taking the fields, building their houses on the foundation of our own, kidnapping our men and women as slaves and taking them back to the boats on the sea like small trifles and souvenirs of the land. Children screamed as their parents were murdered for reasons we cannot fathom why. I did not believe that anyone could be driven to these extremes until now. We were always taught to have a respect and love for one another, and was it this ideology that brought us to our knees? No, I want to believe that it is a clash of two ideals, yet the line of what is right and wrong only seems to blur with each passing day. What I do know is that the chief has successfully declared war and both parties continue to lose men in the fray. I wish to remind the chief that we are a separated people, and that if we obtained the aid of other tribes, we might have a stronger chance, especially since we do not know how many more can arise from the sea, but I fear it may be too late.
             And so I write this message to leave a mark on the entire history that truly is 'his' story. I pray for the safety of my children and that if not them, then someone, anyone unbeknownst of the atrocity and ever growing divide of humanity, can learn from not just my account, but the account of our people. May you find the dim lit candle of salvation in this unsettling darkness. ~
             This work was inspired from the idea of a change in community and while the writing above is on a drastic scale, I hope that the reader remembers that adopting or rejecting cultural differences is not a decision of right or wrong but an ambivalent choice. The morality of that decision is created from the intent of the people.
-Alex Rogers