Sierra Leone Civil War (1991 – 2002) in relation to the poem dining table by Gbanabom Hallowell

THE DINING TABLE

Dinner tonight comes with

 gun wounds. Our desert

tongues lick the vegetable

blood—the pepper

strong enough to push scorpions

 up our heads. Guests

look into the oceans of bowls

 as vegetables die on their tongues.

The table

that gathers us is an island where guerillas

walk the land while crocodiles

 surf. Children from Alphabeta with empty palms dine

with us; switchblades in their eyes,

 silence in their voices. When the playground

 is emptied of children`s toys

who needs roadblocks? When the hour

to drink from the cup of life ticks,

cholera breaks its spell on cracked lips

Under the spilt

milk of the moon, I promise

 to be a revolutionary, but my Nile, even

without tributaries comes lazy

upon its own Nile. On this

 night reserved for lovers of fire, I’m

full with the catch of gun wounds, and my boots

have suddenly become too reluctant to walk me.

For eleven years Sierra Leone was involved in a very devastating war that claimed the lives of about 50,000 persons with 2.5 million displaced persons internally and externally. During this war which lasted from 23 March 1991 until 18 January 2002 thousands of girls and women are subjected to rape and some used as sex slaves and often combatants. During the war numerous atrocities were committed including war, rape, mutilation and mass killing of civilians. The war was between the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) and the Sierra Leone’s military leaders. The RUF forced native Sierra Leoneans to be soldiers including children below the ages of 18 sometimes the children were forced their own family members  to make them mindless killing machines. These children are used as guerillas in fighting against the government. Fortunately an official end to the civil war was declared in January 2002.

child soldiers

The poem “the dining table” by Gbanabom Hallowell was written at the aftermath of this bloody war in Sierra Leone. The poet uses the metaphor “dining table” to mock the combatants who have gathered to feast on each other in battle. The poet records his unpleasant experiences during the war and the effects of the war, he recalls of the killing and the horror associated with the war. The poet-persona, as a revolutionary fighter, has been fatally wounded and his “boots have suddenly become too reluctant” to proceed with the macabre banquet of bloodshed. He seems to have realized that waging war is futile. Violent change breeds more violence. His reluctance to continue with the revolution signifies an urgent call for peace.

Themes

Violence and bloodshed

Hopelessness

Famine and economic devastation

Child Soldiers

The fall of education

War

Youthfulness and Revolution