Migrant poetry by Naomi Nkealah

An interrogation by a 16-year-old

Do people wear jeans in Cameroon?

Yes, they wear jeans of the highest quality.

But do they have shops and malls in Cameroon?

Yes, they have big markets and shopping centres.

But do they have cars to get to the shops?

Yes, they drive Toyotas and Mercedes Benzes.

But can they afford petrol to put in their cars?

Yes, you can’t drive a car with water, can you?

Oh, so people know how to drive there?

 Yes, they have driving schools just like here.

Do they have metro police like we do?

Yes, they have traffic officers like you do.

Do the police take bribes like ours?

Yes, some are just as corrupt as yours.

But do people go to prison there?

Yes, criminals go to prison everywhere.

But do they give them pap and meat like they gave Nkateko?

Yes, they give them pap and meat and fish and chicken.

You see, that’s why people won’t stop crime!

Oh yes, crime will never stop! 

Naomi Nkealah is a senior lecturer in the Department of Languages at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus). She holds a PhD in African Literature from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and has published widely on various subjects, including gender, xenophobia, and human rights. Her articles have appeared in South African journals such as the English Academy Review and Tydskrif vir Letterkunde (Journal of Literature). She has also contributed chapters to various books published internationally. Besides her academic work, she writes short stories and poems which have been published in literary journals such as New Contrast, Carapace and A Hudson View, as well as in various anthologies.