The society we live in is less concerned about the less fortunate members of the society making them to go through challenges. Suing illustrations from Leonard Kibera’s story A Silent Song. Write an essay to show the truth of this statement.

Introduction.

People are always indifferent about the physically disabled in our society and this leads to their suffering. Mbane is an example of a physically disabled man who goes through a lot of problems due to negligence. This is as illustrated in the story A Silent Song.

C. i. Physical pain – The less fortunate suffers physical pain alone.

Mbane is left alone in a dirty hut, he wants to go out, he gropes towards the door of the hut. He crawls weakly on his knees and elbows. No one is there for him. The pain in his spine and stomach rapidly gathered violence. Sharp pangs from his navel into his body and for one short tormenting moment he was paralyzed. The pain disappeared and vanished with the same savage fury of its onslaught that left him cold with sweat. Even though the pain ended, he knew another pain will come, another attack came, he gave up the fight, let go his chin and hit- his forehead on the dirt of the flea ridden floor. No one was there to help him.

C. ii. Bitterness – They become bitter in life due to their situation.

Mbane feels hungry, he does not know what time it is but time does not matter to him. No one brings food for him. Mbane becomes bitter. Things such as time, day or beauty had no meaning. To him life was flat and it lay beyond bitter limit of darkness. He could not see and this made him bitter, he could only feel, hear or run away from danger. To him he was almost dying, his youth is slumping in horror under the weight of closing death. Crawling away on his lameness, Mbane tackles the world around him negatively with bitterness.

C. iii. Confinement and loneliness.

The physical disabled are confined in one place making them feel lonely. His brother Ezekiel picked him from the street and brought him to his hut which felt serene yet suspicious. He missed the urban noise, footsteps of people in the street that would occasionally drop a copper coin in his hat. However, in the hut he is alone, confined and could only feel the air and winds whizzing though the tress around the hut he calls it his new confinement. He felt his brother is too silent off late and it was strange. Ezekiel would occasionally tell him he rescued him from the barbaric city so that he can see the light of God, he is so lonely that he misses the city where he was not lonely. (pg 17.)

C. iv. Begging.

Mbane survived through begging on the streets.

He had no one to take care of him. Pedestrians would pass by the street where he was sitting begging and their footsteps would taunt him. He would beg for money, gay people would answer to his pleas of begging and give him some coin, he knew in the city, money was important for survival. However, the mean ‘dull people’ did not give him any money. They would pass him with tired footsteps and empty pockets. He suffers as some good Christian men would also mock him that he is crippled more everyday by the idleness of begging. (pg 17-18)

C. v. Lack of shelter.

Mbane suffers in the streets, he had no shelter to live in.

During the day he would sit in the pavement of the street begging. The sun poured its heat too generously upon him, flies crawled along the edges of his lips. While, the sun scorched him the good men and women spent their time working sheltered inside the building next to him. No one cared. At night he also suffers, he would still into the backlane. He would also listen to drunkards, pimps and whores making noise. This disturbs him, he suffers from cold, heat and loneliness at night. (pg 18)

C. vi. Lack of family.

The physically disabled are psychologically disturbed since they lack children and wives.

Mbane has no wife and children, he remembers one day he asked his brother how old he was and he told him he was fourteen. Mbane knew it was not his age, he was much older. It did not matter to him, no one cared. His brother Ezekiel must have been married around his own age. He felt bitter since with him, he would never be able to reach out his hand in fulfilment of his life by having a wife and children. To him, he could only yearn impotently beyond the reach of darkness and lameness. At such a time, bitterness and self-pity overcame him. He thought of his own light –death and he smiles bravely welcoming it. (pg 18,19)

C. vii. Hypocritical relatives.

Mbane is surrounded by hypocritical relatives who pretend to love and care.

Sarah takes medicine to him, she does not stay in the hut to take care of him, she did not take food to him when hungry but only come to give him medicine. She tenderly raises his head and put the cup to his mouth. The bitter fluid explored down his throat and another attack of pain tore through his stomach. He feels pain. Sarah assures him that he will be fine soon and God will be good to him. However, Mbane knows she does not hold out much hope for him. She withdraws and lays him on bed leaving him. Mbane was used to this. Moreover, Ezekiel came to his bed and no one spoke for a long time, he does hot engage in conversation Mbane could not start it since all his life he has been lonely speaking to himself in the streets in his thought. Ezekiel is hypocritical, he pretends to have rescued him from the streets but the only help he gives him is asking if Mbane does not answer, he oly thought to himself that it does not matter. It is even pretentious to say he rescued him and yet he left him to suffer in his house after rescuing him. (pg 19)

C. viii. Hopelessness

The less fortunate lose hope in life and become disillusioned due to suffering.

Mbane loses hope in life. He remembers his religious mother who was dead. He remembers how she used to tell him that life was like a stream and all men were one stream flowing through the rocks of life. Men would cry when  facing challenges just like water get muddy and they would cry in falls – challenges in life however they would laugh and rejoice when their life flows smoothly. However, to Mbane he was hopeless. He was suffering in life, crying and his life has been having challenges not flowing smoothly in the heavenly pool. He was like the bitter liquid in his throat and he saw no reason to believe in God. When Ezekiel asks him if he believes in God, he answers in his thought that it does not matter.

C. ix. Negligence and mistreatment.

Mbane feels neglected and mistreated by the able bodied.

Mbane is bitter for being blind, he often hears that God gave human beings everything yet he has no legs and sight. He criticizes why God is eternal light and yet his life has darkness and blackness. During Christmas procession, Mbane feels neglected, the good men and women in the city sang Christmas carols and hallelujah, drunk in the streets but he feels he did not belong with them to celebrate and they had forgotten him. They have never remembered or even noticed him. He expected them to pray for him and drop him a coin. Instead of bringing the knowledge of Christ to him as he wished they left him alone and some of the good Christian men and women would curse him as an able bodied man only crippled more everyday by the idleness of leisurely begging. The authority handled him badly. They would put the beggars in the big vehicles, and it surprised him that they never swept him away. This made him hopeless. Even though he clings to hope and dreams of a future life, he only thinks of death.

C. x. Death

The less fortunate opt to dies to ease pain.

Mbane loses hope and he feels his soul should have a lost destination. He thought of death that would ease his pain and suffering. Beyond the pang of darkness, he saw light and it gave him hope of a new life without pain after death. He had wished for his life’s journey end. He wished his soul would be free and not incarcerated in a body that smelt of sweat and unwashed. When Ezekiel asks him if he believes in God, he did not answer but sobs. Ezekiel asks him if he knows where sinners go when they die and where the saved go to. He says he knows and ask Ezekiel if he brought him to his home to get saved. Mbane says he doesn’t know if he will accept Jesus but he only sees his own light – death. This angers Ezekiel who tells him he only thinks of his own god yet he is dying, he wants him to get saved before dying. Mbane calms down and smiles, his strength waned and he became weak. His head jerked down and he died. He lost hope in life, gave up and died.

Conclusion.

We should show love, care and support to the less fortunate to make them feel loved.