SocialistStories حكايات اشتراكية

This short story (30pgs) by Sengalese radical Sembene Ousmane is about the struggles that a rural man and wife go through in the capital, while trying to bury their dead son. In this brief story of a suffering, confused poor man, Ousmane shows many of the reasons why this story could take place at all, i.e. some of the main characteristics of a neo-colonial society. First of all, there is the complete abandonment by the state of any concern over the welfare of it's citizens. This is shown by the fact that while the officials at the morgue are more than willing to release the body of their son and give them the required paperwork for burial, after that they completely abandon the parents to their own fate. Not only is the cemetery where the body needs to be buried on the outskirts of the opposite side of the city, but no transportation whatsoever is provided to the parents. And if the people taking the body are poor, and have no money to hire transportation to the cemetery, they are not given any help or assistance, but are just left to themselves to figure out a way to get the body of their loved one to the cemetery. Second of all, Ousmane shows the rich people who would never have these problems, because not only do they control the state itself, but they have enough money from looting the country that they would never need to rely on state services, they could always pay their way through for whatever they needed. This story is unfortunately only too real and relevant for many poor people living in neo-colonial countries around the world, just another reason we need to get rid of imperialism and capitalism forever and never ever compromise with the neo-colonial puppets who have sold our countries out! Enjoy comrades:

Liberation:

Niiwam - Sembene Ousmane.pdf